Showing posts with label samuel adams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samuel adams. Show all posts

Friday, October 9, 2015

Oktoberfest Burger at Hard Rock Cafe

For the month of October, Hard Rock Cafe will be serving a special burger, the Samuel Adams Octoberfest Schnitzel Burger. This is two pieces of breaded pork schnitzel with a beer cheese sauce made with Sam Adams Octoberfest beer, smoked bacon, sauerkraut, whole grain mustard, arugula, on a Pretzel bun. The burger with a side of fries is $16.95.

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Of course, this burger is going to be paired with the Samuel Adams Octoberfest.
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Monday, May 2, 2011

Snowiest Cities and Sam Adams' Summer Ale

The past winter, Columbia, Missouri had 51.6 inches of snow, making it the snowiest city in the US. Boston brewery Sam Adams decided to help by hosting a "Summer in a Bottle" party, hosted by brewer Dean Gianocostas. The party will be held on May 3 (that's tomorrow!), complete with grilling and beach photo backdrop. Lucky Columbia residents can win tickets through local promotions. They will also send summer ales to the 2nd through 10th snowiest cities.

Los Angeles certainly was not one of the snowiest city, but I received a special Summer Ale delivery anyway. According to Sam Adams, the Summer Ale was "brewed with lemon zest and grains of paradise, a centuries-old exotic African pepper." I was curious and googled it. Wikipedia says the pepper is a native West African plant, also commonly known as melegueta pepper, not to be confused with the South American malagueta pepper.
Samuel Adams Summer Ale
It wasn't as peppery as I had expected, just a hint below the citrus flavor. The golden-colored beer was crisp with a richer aftertaste, and only a touch hoppy which made it very drinkable for me. I'm sure I'm completely biased here since I drank one after a 7-hour bartending gig, but it was quite refreshing! Nothing like a glass of cold, crisp ale to revive you, right?

Monday, March 29, 2010

Saturday, SNL, Sam Adams Spring Brew.

What do you do when you get a six-pack in the mail? You bring it over to your friend's house with the big TV on a Saturday, of course!

That's exactly what I did with the 6-pack of Samuel Adams Noble Pils - their new spring seasonal beer that's brewed with all five of their Noble Hop varieties. This Pilsner replaces the White Ale as Sam Adams' spring beer. We kicked back with some korean omelet rice that my friend's roommate made and watched SNL.
The beer: a pale yellow/straw pour. Citrusy aroma. Crisp and light but still has a malty character. Hoppy finish - but not too bitter. Very easy to drink. Definitely a good inexpensive beer to drink with friends in front of a TV.

I also thought my friends can give me some input about the beer that I can incorporate into the review. Alas, I miscalculated.

These statements were the extent of their contribution:

"It's good."

"It's ... uh ... citrusy?" (me: Stop reading the label!")

"It reminds me of something. But I don't know what."

Good job, guys. Good job.

-- update 3/30/10 --

One of my friends actually came up with a great review after all! It was a bit late but I decided to append it here since it was a well-written and thorough review:

"Sam Adams' Noble Pils, brewed in time for Spring, can make for a pleasant seasonal alternative to the more mainstream beers.

A first sip and you notice that the beer is not as carbonated as expected. Another sip and you realise that this allows you to taste the hops that much better. The beer has a surprisingly watery feel in the mouth, which can be a nice change from some of the 'drier' beers.

Taking a look at the green colours on the label, you might think of citrus, and you'd be right - in theory that is. Whilst the blurb on the label mentions the 'lively, citrus hop character', the taste of the citrus is barely noticeable. This is a pity, as it would have made a positive contribution to the flavour of the beer, particularly given that it seems to be intended as a spring beer. However, there's plenty of taste there - the 'Noble Pils' is so-named because, as the label informs us, it was made with all five Noble hops.

Whilst those accustomed to heavier lagers may not be so interested in Sam Adams' latest offer, it makes for a welcome alternative to those who are used to lighter beers and are looking to try something with a little extra taste to it."

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Samuel Adams Beer Pairing Dinner and The World's Strongest Beer

This Boston Beer Company wants people to rethink the role of beer on your dining table, and that's one of the reason Samuel Adams has been going around the country holding beer pairing dinners (Sam Adams-paired, naturally) - pairings beyond bbq ribs and burgers. For Los Angeles, what restaurant could be more perfect than Jon Shook and Vinni Dotolo's Animal?

Let's not forget the second reason though. The reason many of us were there that night: the launch of Utopias, the Guinness Book record holder of The World's Strongest Beer at 27% ABV.

But that comes later. Before that, food. "Cocktail" hour starts with a series of canapes: shell bean bruschetta, goat cheese with fennel marmalade bruschetta, squash arancini which I managed to eat 3-4 of, and chicken liver pate.

The sit-down dinner starts out with the Sam Adams Coastal Wheat. Instead of serving the beer with lime as is usual, the Animal chefs instead decided to pair it with some deep fried hominy with lime.

Even though Animal is known for rich and heavy dishes like the foie gras loco moco or the poutine, it does not mean they're incapable of preparing more delicate dishes. The next course of fluke with grapes, yuzu, and apples is proof of that. Not to miss out on bold flavors, though, they accentuated the dish with some heat from serrano peppers.

Then we're back to rich and heavy dishes with the melted petit basque cheese, chorizo, paired with the Cranberry Lambic.
Melted basque cheese on grilled bread - I can probably eat at least half of this on my own. Warm, rich, and extremely comforting. The light sweetness followed by the crispness of the Cranberry Lambic cuts the richness of the cheese, making this quite a pairing.

Unfortunately, estarla and I already have 8 PM tickets for Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA from Goldstar, so this was as much of the dinner as we go to taste.

Now, let's get back to why we were all there that night. Before we busted out of there, we sneaked in a tasting of the Utopias.

The world's strongest beer. "Beer", that is. 27% ABV.
A collector's item shaped like the brewery's itself, this beer runs approximately $150. Expensive, for sure. Did I mention it was a collector's item?
Sam Adams brewer Bert Boyce shows us the production number under the bottle. It's a very limited production but you should be able to find it in stores like BevMo if you act fast enough.

The Utopias has been decanting for a while at this point - and you should decant it before drinking. Even with their warning to discard any prior notion of "beer" before tasting, I was surprised nonetheless. The aroma was sweet and caramel-y, but unlike a cider, it smelled "thick". The aroma was just like sherry. With no carbonation left, this "beer" sits somewhere between a sherry and brandy in both aroma and taste.

A unique beer, indeed. If you have $150 to spend on a beer lover this holiday, this would probably make a great gift.

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