Samuel Adams Summer Styles Variety Pack

Samuel Adams Summer Styles Variety Pack
Samuel Adams Summer Styles Variety Pack

Summer has arrived! At least for Samuel Adams it has, since the Summer Variety Pack has arrived in stores.  This year, Pale Ale and Blackberry Witbier (a winner in the 2008 beer lover’s challenge, which didn’t seem to be judged by beer lovers, in my opinion) were replaced by two new styles: Rustic Saison and East-West Kolsch.

In the pack, there are 2 bottles each of:

  • Boston Lager
  • Samuel Adams Light
  • Summer Ale
  • Latitude 48 IPA
  • East-West Kolsch
  • Rustic Saison

I have to admit, there’s a lot of potential in this mix pack, particularly since I’ve tried the Rustic Saison on tap and it was pretty good. It should be a great summer beer.

Have you tried the Summer Styles Variety Pack?  What’s your opinion?

Preview of Millstream Sun “Ryes” Helles Doppelbock

Sun Ryes
Sun Ryes

Last night I had the chance to sample Millstream Brewing’s next beer in the Extreme Series (after the Hop 2 Double IPA), the Sun “Ryes” Helles Doppelbock at Old Capitol Brew works in Iowa City.  It was a very nice, full bodied beer with a lot of malt sweetness and a nice crispness from the rye.  The rye crispness makes it seem a bit lighter than the 7.9% ABV, and should be in stores in the next couple of weeks.  They recently posted a photo of the bottling line.

One of the representatives from Millstream told me they were having a lot of fun with the Extreme Series, and the next one in the series after Sun Ryse was going to be a Honey Hefeweizen.

Have you tried the Sun Ryes from Millstream?  What did you think?

Peace Tree Brewing Imperial Stout

Peace Tree Brewing Imperial Stout
Peace Tree Brewing Imperial Stout

When I visited the Peace Tree Brewing a weekend ago, I picked up a bottle of the small batch Imperial Stout.

It poured very dark, and was a sweet smelling stout with a hint of a chocolate aroma.  Immediately I could taste the dark malts with a chocolate flavor, and there was a bit of flavor from the Belgian yeast.  It had slight flavor notes of figs or prunes.  There was very little alcohol warming, even though the beer was listed at 10 percent.  The body was lighter than I thought it would be at that strength, but it balanced it out quite nicely.  It was a great beer, and should be found across Iowa now.

Have you had the Peace Tree Imperial Stout?  What was your take?