SAM ADAMS SUMMER ALE – SIMPLE, YELLOW, DIFFERENT

I read somewhere that last year’s fifth best selling beer in America was the catch-all called “SAM ADAMS SEASONALS”, which one would presume includes their Spring Ale, White Ale, Oktoberfest, and their vast variety of winter beers. I’ll bet ya dollars to donuts the best selling of those is this SAM ADAMS SUMMER ALE, which I encountered on tap last week at a sports bar as I watched my San Jose Sharks win yet another playoff game with a masterful performance. I’m always game for a new Sam Adams beer, even though the result is almost always the same: “Eh, that was decent enough”. No deviation here. Their SUMMER ALE is, as you might expect, a golden ale that’s decidedly cloudy, with the requisite lemon/citrus zing to it and the very “fluffy” mouthfeel. Not a lot of character at all; different from other, better summer ales in its thinness and lack of depth – but I figure it’s still alright for the right occasion. It’s one of the rare halfway-OK beers that I’d have no problem drinking out of the bottle instead of my delicate Belgian stemware. What the hey, slam a few cold ones, slap yer buddies on the back after a goal, shout out a hearty “woo-hoo” whenever appropriate & call it a night, hunh? 5.5/10 – I passed up Boont Amber to try this one instead; I shan’t do that again.