Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection

Sitting here today on a sweltering and muggy Maine summer day watching the news and trying to understand what's going on in the Middle East, I thought this would be the perfect time to crack open the four-pack of Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection. First let me say that this was difficult to find and on sale it cost 10 bucks for four bottles of beer; but as much as I like good craft beer, especially Samuel Adams, I figured I could treat myself and give it a try.
The four varieties in this pack are a Traditional Ginger Honey Ale, which I'm sampling first right now (very much worth the $2.50), based on a recipe used by Thomas Jefferson; a George Washington Porter; James Madison Dark Wheat Ale and 1790 Root Beer Brew.
The Ginger Honey Ale is fantastic. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg and that the other three varieties are just as good. It goes down very smooth like any good ale should, no aftertaste at all. The hint of lemon peel fits perfectly. This is something you'll have to try for yourself because it is impossible for me to convince you given the ingredients just how good this is, because the ingredients would make you very skeptical that it could taste good. It tastes much better than good. Too bad it's hard to find and $2.50 a bottle. This is what it says about this brew on the bottle: "Ginger beer in the colonies can be traced back to the 1700's. Ginger beer ferments quickly, making it ideal for brewing in the colonists' kitchens. Thomas Jefferson and his wife brewed 15 gallons of beer every two weeks at their Monticello estate. Brewed with fresh lemons and sweetened with honey, ginger beer was perfect for dailing drinking." I concur. Again, nice and smooth...quaffable, as my brother would say. And as is the tradition with Sam Adams, the description around the neck of the bottle reads, "True to its colonial heritage, this effervescent golden brew remains unfiltered. The bright flavors of fresh ginger and lemon zest are balanced by a subtle maltiness and the floral sweetness of wildflower honey." I'm almost to the bottom of the bottle as I write this and wish I had another. This tastes like no other beer or ale I've ever had, yet it's so good it makes me think why didn't this last through the years; why isn't this something we're very familiar with. Perfect for a hot day. Later today, I'll do another.

I decided to try the 1790 Root Beer Brew next as I'm not big on root beer nor licorice. So I suspected I would like this one least, perhaps not like it at all, and didn't want to leave it til last. Well, it's complex to say the least. The first thing you taste is the sassafras, which is fine, but it's immediately overtaken by the licorice...thankfully not overpowering but I don't like licorice at all, and then vanilla. So this one for me is as odd as it sounds when you read the ingredients. On the back of the label it says, "Our forefathers were an innovative people. They quickly learned to brew from the local ingredients available to them. Root beer, for instance, comes from the root bark of the sassafras tree, which is native to Eastern North America. Originally added to tea, it was soon adapted for beer. Root beer was also brewed with wintergreen, another indigenous ingredient that is one of the main flavors in root beer today (I didn't know that). It's not hard to imagine Samuel Adams brewing with these ingredients himself and enjoying this rich beer after a long day of planning a revolution."
And from the words on the neck you'll see why I said this was complex, because it has a lot of ingredients we would find strange in combination. "The intensity of this unfiltered brew is immediately evident with spicy, herbal notes of sassafras, wintergreen and licorice. These are balanced with the sweetness of caramelized sugar, molasses and vanilla." Make no mistake, this is beer and alcoholic, not modern-day root beer. If you like root beer though, you may like this one. I don't much care for it but mostly because I don't like the ingredients.

beer Samuel Adams ale brewer Thomas Jefferson Brewer Patriot Collection Ginger Honey Ale