Series of Sam (4 of 6)

You know, the problem with constantly having good beers is that eventually you become kind of inured to the whole thing. As much as I love reviewing beers, sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy the beers, without having to worry about flavor profiles.

Over spring break, I got to enjoy Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Allagash White, and Stoudt's Fat Dog stout, all of which were delicious. However, I had these while hanging out with friends and being social. And as much as I enjoyed them, I must shamefully admit to not having put much more thought into them than "damn! this is a delicious beer! I should drink more of it..."

However, luckily for me, this kind of exhaustion doesn't last. As you saw earlier this week I'm right back into the swing of things. Now, I only intended to review one beer tonight, but I ended with two, which is just such a darn shame.

The beer I intended, as above, was another from the Sam Adams mix pack. I'm saving their delicious cream stout for last, but I wanted a beer I could reliably enjoy, so the noble pils had to wait as well. Hence, I went with their ubiquitous Boston Lager.

It pours light golden, with supririsingly little head for a beer whose commercials always feature suds going freaking everywhere. The smell was tough to place, but is one I instantly associate with their Boston Lager and Ale. It's dark, and kind of malty. The beer, if anything, is more so. The taste is dark, maybe chocolate or caramel, and pleasantly malty, with an almost bready flavor.

This beer is pretty much the definition of a fallback beer, good for dinner or sipping with friends, but isn't exactly a thrill ride. If you haven't tried it, shame on you. If you have, it's a solid beer to have on hand for when that crazy beer you're trying ends up tasting like suck.

Speaking of a slightly more crazy beer, I had the good fortune of grabbing a brew with The Parental this evening at Pratt Street Ale House. A typical favorite, I was deciding between their delicious porter and scotch ale, when a new beer caught my eye. It was called Biere De Garde, and was their take on the French farmhouse ale.

Intrigued, I ordered myself a glass. It pours dark amber/reddish. The taste is delicious fruits (maybe cherries?) nicely mixed with a citrusy hop note. Rounding it out, thanks I imagine to the Belgian yeast, is a certain spice flavor that runs undercurrent to the rest of the beer. It's a very tasty beer, but I'm not sure I could share my focus with anything else - it's a holds-its-own kind of beer.

Ah good beer. May I always be cursed with such a bounty of delicious drinks. Cheers!

-The Unabashed Ungourmet