Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

Review Date 1/30/2009 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Witbier   Brewery: Boston Beer   Country: USA   State: Massachusetts   $ Per OZ: $.12 (B)   ABV: 5.5%

Once a year, the Boston Beer Company, makers of the Samuel Adams line of beers, does a really neat thing. They travel to major cities across America and let beer enthusiasts sample two tasty and innovative brews in their Beer Lover's Choice Program. Votes are tallied, and the winning recipe becomes commercially available the following year as part of the Samuel Adams Brewmaster's Collection.

In 2008, beer drinkers were able to select between two very worthy brews. The runner up was a spicy coffee stout brewed with Rwandan coffee beans, and it almost seems a shame that such an interesting sounding brew came in second.  The winner, though, was Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier, a Belgian-styled wheat brew made with Oregon Blackberries just hitting store shelves as I type.

Years ago, Boston Beer introduced a second line of beers in addition to their Samuel Adams brews. The beers were sold under the Oregon Originals brand, and one of the most interesting was a fruity, chocolaty Blackberry porter. In a way, the use of Oregon blackberries in Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier makes it a direct descendant of that tasty libation.

If you're wondering about the Witbier part of the brew, you should know that witbiers are a Belgian style of wheat beer that are spiced with orange peel and coriander (Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier is too). Wit is Flemish for white, and beers of this style usually do have a cloudy white hue. That's not the case here, though, since the addition of berries adds a bit of rosy color.

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier pours to a golden straw color tinged with a trace of pink. The liquid is capped with a thick head of foam and the aroma of juicy sweet berries wafts to the nose from my glass. Taking a sip, I taste the fruity berry flavor immediately; indeed, it seems to overpower the malt here, though a hint of biscuity light malt and wheat tartness do come through.

But mostly, this is a fruity beer. The orange peel imparts a hint of citric dryness, but is pretty much drowned out by the dark, sweet berry notes for the most part. If you allow your beer to warm slightly, you should notice a distinct creaminess that makes this beer particularly appetizing. The coriander spice only comes through in the finish, adding a bit of peppery flavor. The wheat tartness helps balance the beer and prevents it from being overly sweet and cloying.

Still, this isn't really akin to a Belgian Wit for me, being more like a tangy berry fruit beer. I think it would be better suited to the hot muggy days of July than the biting cold weather of January, and mayhap Boston Beer will take heed and re-release in the summer some day. It is certainly a refreshing beer. That said, this is growing on me, and I'll likely buy a full six-pack of it when I see one (I've only seen it in a sampler with two other beers so far, but it will be available in dedicated six-packs, too).

I think this is worthy of three and a half stars,  since it avoids the pitfall of thick and cloying, overly sweet fruit beers.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??