Tuesday, August 08, 2006

BOSTON BEER CO.'S BREWER PATRIOT "BOX SET" - DISC 1

There's some quality marketing behind this new "Brewer Patriot" 4-pack collection from the BOSTON BEER CO. (also known to many as "SAM ADAMS"). If this catches on, I see a Harvard Business School case study emerging on the wisdom of pairing quality beer with olde-tyme graphics and nostalgia for an era that I’m not even convinced existed (one in which the founding fathers were throwing down incredible, complex microbrews as they created the nation), and throwing in a ROOT BEER for added measure. That’s right, for 9 bucks I got three interesting-sounding beers and a rooty toot toot beer – how about that? I think I’ll give the root beer to my wife, but I started delving into the remaining three just minutes post-purchase.

I was very intrigued by the JAMES MADISON DARK WHEAT; after all, President Madison was famous for – famous for – um – why, being a brewer and a patriot, of course. His beer was pretty damn good, too. I'm one of those folks who's always happy when there's Samuel Adams on tap at, say, the airport bar, and it does not surprise me that they make quality limited-batch beers as well as their micro-turned-macro. This particular one has a great roasted taste that reminded me a bit of the Hacker Pschorr Dunkle Weiss I had a month ago, definitely a little spicier than that but certainly what you'd expect in a "dark wheat". I found my scorecard and marked a 7.5/10 full stop, and I'd be proud to have this one again. In the meantime, I've got a Ginger Honey Ale and a porter or something sitting in the fridge from this pack - so I'd better drink 'em and let you known how it went, hunh?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

But the root beer is a root beer BEER right?

scott

Jay H. said...

Noooooo. It's a root beer, sans alcohol. You gotta admit that probably opens up a few extra buyers for novelty factor alone, while closing down a few others who don't want to waste their money on something non-alcoholic.

Anonymous said...

The reason I ask is because I tried one the oter day & while reminiscent of root beer, it definitely had a beery taste. I just checked on the Sam Adams website & the stats of the Root Beer Brew are:
Original Gravity:15.3
Calories: 208
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5

hmmmmm

scott

Anonymous said...

You should at least try the root beer beer. It strikes me as homebreweresque in that the flavor balance is tipped very much toward the spice and flavorings rather than the base beer, but it's interesting. Not life-changing, but fun.

the said...

It is indeed a beer and a horrendous entity at that.