Boston

I've been looking forward to this beer for longer than I care to admit. Infinium is the product of a collaboration between Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner. When I first read that these two breweries were going to collaborate on a beer I was intrigued to say the least. I'm not crazy about many of the Sam Adams beers but they do make solid beer that occasionally tickles my fancy. Weihenstephaner on the other hand, they make what may just be the best Weissbier in the world. Hearing that they were going to brew an entirely new style of beer is what really made it interesting...

Sam Adams Cream Stout is one of those beers I've passed by a thousand times and never thought to pick up. I finally grabbed a bottle to give a formal review. For some reason it never occurred to me that this is a Milk Stout... I mean, it doesn't say Milk Stout on the label but I never put much thought into what a Cream Stout really is, but it made sense as soon as I took a sip of this beer. Though Sam Adams' Cream Stout doesn't taste quite as creamy as I like my Milk Stouts to be, it's still a solid beer. Maybe that's why they decided to call this beer a Cream Stout and not a Milk Stout... either way, it's definitely more Stout than cream.

Longshot Traditional Bock, a beer created by homebrewer Alex Drobshoff. How cool is that... You enter your beer in a homebrew contest sponsored by Samuel Adams, win and not only do you get your picture on the label but your beer gets distributed nationally. It doesn't stop there though, probably the coolest thing about the Longshot is that it's actually quite delicious. The folks at Sam Adams know their beers so I wasn't really doubting the quality of a handpicked contest winner, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the quality of this beer. Even though this is labeled a Bock I think of it as a borderline Doppelbock. After all, it is almost 7% ABV and has a lot of Doppelbock qualities. The Longshot packs a ton of roasted barley up front, it hits you as soon as the beer lands on your tongue. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't taste like it's smoked or anything. It just has that warm, almost salty quality... like an Amber but replace the hops with malt.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest, despite its spelling, is probably my favorite domestic Märzen style beer. Admittedly, I haven't had a huge number of American Oktoberfest beers, but those that I have had just don't taste as well rounded as the Sam Adams. The Octoberfest has a great set of flavors that are rich but not overpowering at all. This is a beer you could certainly drink more than a few of without stripping your taste buds. This beer has a warm toasted malt sweet and salty harmony that finishes with just a bit of hops on the end. This is a nice, well rounded Märzen style lager that most people will enjoy. If you're new to fall seasonal beers, Sam Adams is the perfect jumping on point.