Samuel Adams Summer Ale

The Samuel Adams line of beers are from the Boston Brewing Company of Boston, Massachusetts. This is a 5.3% ABV wheat ale brewed with lemon peel and grains of paradise. I remember having this years ago and not liking it. It is part of the summer variety pack, so I'll give it another try.

The beer pours a deep yellow golden in color. There is an inch of pure white foamy head. The aroma is lemon peel and toasted grain. The taste follows the aromas, lemon over toasted wheat, along with a floral, creamy fruit note. The finish is dry and lightly bitter. The beer drinks smooth, with tingling carbonation. The aftertaste has an herbal, as opposed to hoppy, bitterness. This is better than the first time I had it, but would never be a go-to beer for me.

My first try I did not like at all: The beer pours honey golden with a quarter inch of pure white head that dissipates rapidly.  The aroma is lemon, wheat, fresh and slightly floral.  The taste is smooth, slightly sweet, yet cut by the lemon, with a strange floral and very bitter aftertaste, bitter in a medicinal make you nauseous way.  I do not like this beer at all.