Tags
Beer Review, Belgian-style beer, Sam Adams, Sam Adams White Latern, variety pack, Wheat ale, White Lantern
Being it a hot spring day, I felt the need to do my yearly ritual of picking up the Sam Adams summer variety pack. A few years ago, I feel like they changed the recipe for the summer ale. It used to be my favorite. Now it seems a little heavier and I replace it with Hoegaarden or Blue Moon. Dark beers just are not my thing and I am just not a fan of overly hoppy beers.
Sam Adams White Lantern is a beer featured in this variety pack.
The website says it is available all year round but I am sure it is a little harder to find. The bottle states:
Belgian-style white ales have a long history of unique ingredients as brewers experimented with spices discovered during the spice trade. For our hazy brew we found a refreshing combination of crisp wheat, tangy sweetness of tangerine & orange peel, and the subtle spiciness of coriander & Grains of Paradise. Cheers!
Interesting seems right down my alley.
Color – Hazy golden with hints of orange. A tad darker than Blue Moon
Taste – Crisp and you definitely get that orange peel and those Grains of Paradise I remember from their other summer beers. This is kind of the bridge between the old Spring release White Ale and the Summer Ale.
Body – A little heavier than a Blue Moon or a Hoegaarden but it is still pretty easy drinking.
Overall, really good beer by Sam Adams. If they made it a tad lighter it might have replaced one of my favorite Belgian-style beers. But since it isn’t quite there and it really isn’t as easy to get when the variety pack goes away, it will not.
Rating: A-
~Justin