One of the things I admire most about the Boston Beer Company is even as they have grown into the premier craft brewery and (last I checked) the tenth largest of any kind of brewery in the U.S., they have not relinquished the urge to innovate and experiment. The culture of innovation at Samuel Adams is evident in extreme beers like Utopias and in the Rebel IPA series and the new Nitro Project beers reviewed here.
“Rebel” IPA Series
The Boston Beer Company introduced Samuel Adams “Rebel” IPA (the company’s first IPA brewed with only American hops and made in the brash “West Coast style”) in 2014 and it was an immediate hit. In the two years since, the company has released several iterations of Rebel IPA.
Building on Rebel’s success, which the brewer has marketed as a celebration of founder Jim Koch’s and Samuel Adams’ revolutionary (beer) spirit, they soon released Rebel Rouser Double IPA and Rebel Rider Session IPA. And now there are two more new Rebels for us to enjoy.
Rebel Grapefruit IPA (6.3% ABV, 52 IBUs)
Rebel Grapefruit IPA relishes the grapefruit character so often imparted especially by West Coast hop varieties by actually adding grapefruit juice and peel to augment the Mosaic, Cascade, Centennial, and Citra hops. Tropical and citrus notes compliment that classic grapefruit character.
Rebel Cascade IPA (7.3% ABV, 76 IBUs)
Rebel Cascade IPA of course, is a tribute to the Cascade hop (thought the brew is accented with Zeus, Simcoe and Summer hops). It presents as more to the piney, resinous end of the citrusy hop spectrum. But is enticingly rounded out with hints of sweetness from Caramalt and Honey Malt.
And on to other new releases:
Escape Route (5.0% ABV and 30 IBUs)
First brewed in 2014, Escape Route is a limited release, Kölsch style brew (Kölsch is an ale/lager hybrid originating in Cologne, Germany). It is delightful and easy drinking (or what is typically called “sessionable”) beer. This unfiltered drink uses Aramis (French) and Strisselspalt (German) hops, with Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, acidulated malt, smoked barley, and carafoam malts.
Crystal Pale Ale (5.3% ABV, 35 IBUs)
No surprise, this pale ale features Crystal hops grown in Oregon, which give the beer its distinctive citrusy, floral American hop character, while the British varieties East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles supplement with earthiness. Balance is provided by Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Maris Otter, and Honey Malt, which lend a deep yet subtle malt sweetness with notes of toffee.
Scotch Ale (5.5% ABV, 35 IBUs)
Rich and full-bodied as anticipated, with roasted and smokey notes, this one is lower alcohol than expected for this “strong ale” style. Its Munich 10, Caramel 60, Peat Malt (Scotland), and Chocolate Malt provide complexity, while the East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops keep the whole thing fresh. It is a good introduction to the style.
Samuel Adams Session Ale (5.0% ABV, 30 IBUs)
Typical of the session style, this new release is light – light on hoppy character, light on malty notes – but pleasantly so. And being made in an Extra Special Bitter style, it also has a nice impact on entry, probably from its earthy English hops. Definitely one to sip and dream of warmer weather.
Samuel Adams Nitro Project
And finally, Samuel Adams has made its first foray into the world of nitro beers with the release of its first three brews from the Nitro Project – Nitro White Ale, Nitro IPA, and Nitro Coffee Stout. Nitro beers, of course, use nitrogen in place of carbon dioxide (although upwards of 30% CO2 often is still used) and are most commonly associated with porters and stouts.
While Guinness pioneered the nitrogenation process, and countless other craft breweries offer nitro beers on tap, the beers of Samuel Adams Nitro Project are a welcome addition to the small community of canned nitros. Each can is equipped with a nitrogen-filled “widget” that releases the gas into the beer once the top is popped.
[As an aside for Colorado readers, Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing Company has brewed Nitro Milk Stout for about 15 years and that has been joined by Sawtooth and Wake Up Dead. These nitros are bottled with the gas already dissolved. ]
Not surprisingly, when Samuel Adams decided to get into nitros, they weren’t content to just follow the crowd. In a press release, company founder Jim Koch said they brewed more than 50 beer styles on nitro and experimented with more than 200 recipes ranging from porters to Belgian sours before settling on these three.
Nitrogenation doesn’t necessarily make a beer better, just different. And these Samuel Adams brews should introduce a lot of beer drinkers to the process. With nitrogen compared to CO2, the resulting bubbles are smaller and create the rich, creamy texture familiar to nitro beers. These beers also show more malt character.
Nitro Coffee Stout (5.8% ABV, 32 IBUs)
As I mentioned earlier, the nitro process is ideal for stouts, so it’s not a surprise a stout is among the first releases of the nitro series. It is rich and robust as dark roasted Caramel 60, Special B and barley malts added to the basic Samuel Adams malt blend create toasty, chocolatey notes. These are accented with Sumatran Mandheling (Indonesia) and Indian Monsoon Malabar coffee, which definitely shine through the bouquet and palate while the East Kent Goldings hops are barely noticeable.
Nitro White Ale (5.5% ABV, 15 IBUs)
Reflecting its Belgian influences, orange peel, coriander and Grains of Paradise are added to the brew, along with white wheat, lending hints of citrus and peppery spice in the nose and mouth as a light wheat character peeks through. An extremely light hand with the (Citra) hops leave it smooth all the way through.
Nitro IPA (7.5% ABV, 100 IBUs)
So, of course IPAs are all about the hops and this one sports six varieties – Amarillo, Centennial, Galaxy, Polaris, Simcoe, and Zeus. Under any other circumstances, this brew would be considered a “hop monster” but the nitrogenation process reduces the acidic bite and perceived bitterness typical of carbonated IPAs. The aroma tends more toward the spicy/ piney/resinous end of the spectrum, yet some citrus emerges. Full and rich, it is plenty smooth and has a nice, long finish.