Review Date 4/29/2012 Last Updated 5/26/2016
Try?
Re-buy?
Do you ever get a feeling of Déjà vu while drinking a beer? I certainly do. Why, it happened to me just the other day while sipping from a freshly poured bottle of Samuel Adams Belgian Session Ale. The beer seemed quite familiar to me, and then it dawned on me: it was not all that different from the Samuel Adams Rustic Saison included in last year’s summer sampler 12-pack.
Both beers were on the lighter side, brewed with Belgian yeast, and spiced. Alcohol content was light (4.4% for the Rustic Saison and 4.3% for the Belgian Session Ale.) To be fair, though, they did use different hop and malt makeups, and the Belgian Session seemed to have more flavor to me. I think it’s really the spices and yeast signatures that make them seem similar to me.
Session beers seem all the rage this spring. Tonight, of course,
I sampled the Samuel Adams Belgian Session Ale, but in the past week I’ve tasted
a few other beers identifying themselves as session:
Terrapin Easy Rider Hopped Up Session Ale and Highland Little Hump Ale.
Samuel Adams Belgian Session Ale is brewed with pale malt and Gambrinus honey malt. It’s hopped with Ahtanhum, Strisselspalt, and Hallertau varieties. Boston beer says this about the brew:
Our Belgian Session combines two brewing styles—Belgian and Session. Our base beer is most similar to a Belgian pale ale. While history tells us this style has been brewed for centuries, Belgian pale ales really emerged during World War II as an alternative to pilsners.
I am not so sure about all that myself. Surely, Belgian Pale Ales exist, but “session” is not really a beer style in and of itself. It’s merely a term for a light, (relatively) low alcohol beer that can be enjoyed over an extended period of time without too much ill effect. Personally, I think any beer can be a session beer as long as you pace yourself.
Anyway, you get two bottles of Samuel Adams Belgian Session Ale in the 2012 Beers of Summer 12-pack, along with two bottles each:
· Samuel Adams East West Kolsch
Samuel Adams
Belgian Session Ale
pours to a light golden color with a minimal head formation and a light spicy
clove and coriander nose. The body is light with softly pronounced crisp malt
followed by spice (more clove and coriander to me) and some light funky Belgian
yeast character. All of this is followed by some subtle but bright citrusy hops
in the finish and a drying bitterness from hops and spice. All in all, a great
little warm weather refresher that is light, bright, and spicy. Perfect with grilled corn,
brats and potato salad.
Update 5/26/2016: Sipping this beer today is a lot like it was four years ago. The coriander is bold in the nose, with hints of clove too. A sip reveals a gentle malt palate followed by soft spice, gentle funk, light citrus and a gently balanced finish. If there's a difference now versus then it might be that it seems less hoppy than I noted before, but this is still a very tasty brew.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
