Beer Review: Sam Adams Honey Porter, Scotch Ale, and Red Ale

I don't usually buy beer in anything larger than a 6-pack (in the name of variety, of course), but a Sam Adams Variety Pack ended up in my shopping cart and I found myself with three beers I've never tried before. Check it-

Sam Adams Honey Porter
B / 3.6
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 3

Oh, this is a nice looking beer. A dark brown body with a tall light tan head that leaves thick lacing. The rest of the beer, unfortunately, is less impressive - though still good.

The aroma is of sweet bready grains and honey. The flavor expands on the honey, adding a small, but crisp hop bite with subtle chocolate and caramel malt flavors. The flavor is a touch plain, but the overall feel has a great balance between the honey sweetness, dry malts and hops. Worth a try if you like honey, but this can't stand up to most porters.

Sam Adams Scotch Ale
B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

In a word - smoky. Not overpowering though. this beer appears a dark amber with a thin white head a nice, thin lacing. The aroma focuses on the smoke with a hit of toast and wood. The flavor however, expands with the malts and mild hops.This is wonderfully balanced beer. There's an element of the smoked peat that blends with dry cocoa and toffee malt flavors and a balancing slightly herbal bitterness.

This is a great scotch ale and worth trying if you're into the style.

Sam Adams Red Ale
B+ / 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4

This is good. It immediately reminds me of the Thomas Hooker Irish Red Ale. The Sam Adams, however, is drier yet very rich in flavor. There's a dry caramel and toffee flavor similar to the Boston Lager, but it's complimented by spicy and smokey flavors like you'd expect out of a Scotch ale. It may be a little off for the style, btu it's still darned tasty. This is very much an American interpretation of the style. The flavors are big and the yeast doesn't do much, but this is a must-try if you dig red ales.

Beer Review: Stone Brewing Co. Oaked Arrogant Bastard

Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Stone Brewing Co.

A / 4.3
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5


Single from Bocktown Beer and Grill

Appears dark red with a short white head and lacing. The aroma has a smooth mixture of the citrus hops and oak. It comes off like one note, making it unlike other hoppy beers. There's a dry, woody flavor, not like your normal oak, it seems like there's more spice to it. The hops are big with spicy citrus juice and a dry grapefruit finish that lasts long into the aftertaste. Yummy.

Now this is an American strong ale. Big, bold, and completely out there.

Beer Review: Captain Lawrence Fresh Chester Pale Ale

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Fresh Chester Pale Ale

Before any trip I always check BeerAdvocate's BeerFly guide and Beer Mapping to ensure I don't miss out on any opportunities for great beer. On a drive back from New Haven, CT these great websites led me to the Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. tasting room. Delicious.

After trying a few offerings I settled on their Fresh Chester Pale Ale and I took home a growler. Check it out:

A- / 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

Poured from a growler 24 hours after being filled.

I'm not often impressed by pale ales, but this beer got me. All the flavors were familiar, but it was like they were turned up to 11. The malts are a big bready mix of biscuit, toast, and all-grain crust. Pizza and sandwiches need to be paired with this beer.

Then there's the hops. A great profile of American citrusy hops with grapefruit and a harsher fruit zest finish. All very tasty and in a nice balance to the malts.

Basically this pale ale is big on flavor and bitterness while still maintaining bitterness. A must-try for pale ale fans.

The 56 Mile Bar Crawl

I'll be honest about this, if there were any decent form of public transportation in MN or a willing designated driver, we wouldn't have touched our bikes. This was a journey of necessity, that necessity being the need to drink Minneapolis's best beer. So on a recent, unseasonably warm Saturday, I set out with a couple friends from deep within the suburbs to East and West banks of the University of MN campus. We were able to take bike trails nearly the entire distance and followed the Mississippi most of the way.

We first hit up Stub and Herb's, taking advantage of their $1.50 off pints for happy hour. A couple highlights were the Leiney's Big Eddy Imperial Stout - beer that has the audacity to be big, delicious, and made by a brewery partially owner by Miller - and Surly Mild, a full-flavored English ale with only 4.2% abv.

Surly Mild
B+ / 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4.5

Basically and big-flavored beer with great drinkability. The aroma is pretty subtle, with toffee and roasted-caramel malts. That same caramel makes up the main flavor, with lighter caramel and toffee around it. As it fades into the aftertaste, the malt continues to develop turns into a creamier candy flavor. If I wasn't on a mission to try other new beers, I'd be ordering a second and third pint. Just like Surly's Bitter Brewer, it makes a lot of flavor out of a litter grain and then develops as you drink it.

Later, we made our way to Town Hall Brewery, home of the infamous Masala Mama IPA. There was an interesting Dr Irish Stout on tap brewed with potatoes. I basically tasted like a fine stout, a big step up from Guinness, but there was mild potato taste that might not be for everyone.

Pot Of Gold Potato Stout
B+ / 3.8
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Served on nitro, this beer is pitch black with a creamy light tan head that leaves thick lacing. The aroma gives off a hint of mashed baked white potatoes complete with skin mixed with burnt malt. The flavor is fairly mellow, but slowly develops from the cold coffee, potato note, cocoa, black malt to dry, herbal hops. Yum. There are a few better dry stouts (Sly Fox's and Victory's) come to mind, but none are as interesting as this. Definitely worth a try.


After a good long while of enjoying the sun and fine beer, we realized the sun would be dropping soon, so we scrambled over the the Acadia Cafe for one last round. I had a goblet of Rogue Ales' Charlie 1981 Ale, an American Strong Ale (think Arrogant Bastard) made in honor of homebrewing and craft beer pioneer Charlie Papazian.

Charlie 1981
A- / 4.2
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

JLS Release #33, Charlie 2008 on-tap at the Acadia Cafe. Served in a Duvel tulip. I'm not sure where this review is supposed to be, so hopefully this is good enough.

This beer is just big on everything and immediately reminds me of Arrogant Bastard. The grains are a touch rough with rich caramel, toffee, and biscuit flavors. Big piney hops rock the bitterness with slightly earthy and citrus flavors. Medium body and carbonation. Very tasty and fairly drinkable. A must-order if you see it on tap.

All in all, there were 4 hours of biking and 4 hours of great beer. What more can you ask for out of a Saturday?