Sam Adams Black and Brew

Yes, I know. It’s been awhile. Which is why this will be published as soon as I finish writing it, and not a minute later. 🙂

Anywho, tonight (this morning? It’s 12:38 am as I write this…) we are reviewing a coffee stout from Samuel Adams: Black and Brew. I don’t really consider Sam Adams to be a “craft” brewery; since they are one of the largest “microbreweries” around. That said, I do like to taste their craft-style concoctions such as this one. I’ve also looked at a few of their other microbrew styles. On to the review.

Style: American Stout.According to BeerAdvocate, “Coffee Stout” is not a style–it happens to fall under American Stout. Broad category if you ask me. Most of these are easy session stouts, with coffee or chocolate added for extra flavor. You may occasionally find one aged in bourbon or whiskey barrels (such as Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout.)

Overall Impression: *thinking to self* “Robin, I can’t wait to drink this!” And I was right to be excited. It’s quite a good example of a coffee stout.  Honestly, the only reason this gets a 4-star rating is because it’s a very typical coffee stout. Great beer, but nothing amazing going on.

Appearance: Deep, thick black with a creamy head.

Aroma: It really smells like the grocery aisle where you can buy coffee beans in bulk. If you like that aisle, try this beer.

Taste: Deep, rich (but not too rich) coffee/malt taste.

Mouthfeel: Smooth but not very creamy with slight carbonation.

Try this if you like: New Glarus Coffee Stout, Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, Lakefront Brewery’s Fuel Cafe, Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout,

Samuel Adams: Infinium

Sadly the beer I’m reviewing isn’t available anymore (at least not anywhere in New York) but there’s still two bottles in my apartment! Today’s pick is a very interesting beer which was released just in time to ring in the New Year: Infinium.

First of all, the brewers at Sam Adam’s worked with the people at Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, to brew a different kind of beer that still met all the qualifications to be considered beer. Which is: malted barley, yeast, and water. Hops is not actually a requirement for beer, though the majority of beers include hops, as does Infinium.

Infinium is a different kind of beer. See how it’s being served in a champagne flute? This is the REAL champagne of beers. Sorry, Miller High Life. It is very carbonated (just like champagne), and has a crisp, clean, citrus-y fruity-scent. Just like champagne. See where I’m going with this?

Unfortunately the four kinds of malts kind of take over, and what you smell isn’t exactly what you taste. The four kinds of hops also seem to have disappeared as this doesn’t have much for bitterness.

I’m glad I tried Infinium, but in all honesty I wouldn’t buy it again. Especially not for the price. If it were available year round I wouldn’t buy it the way I buy Leinenkugel’s, that’s for sure. But for being a one-shot deal at this kind of beer, which will probably never be tried again, it’s not bad.

Try this if you like: War Horse Riesling Ale, Bell’s Sparkling Ale. These beers are a FAR better attempt at combining wine and beer.