Samuel Adams Porch Rocker

Review Date 6/14/2012  Last Updated  5/27/2022  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Radler   Brewery: Boston Beer   Country: USA   State: Massachusetts   $ Per OZ: $.11 (B), $.33 (D)   ABV: 4.5%

There go the beer geeks again. Doing a little research on Samuel Adams Porch Rocker a take on the German  Radlermass beer mixture, I found it got a lowly 41 rating on Ratebeer.com.What’s up with that? Beeradvocate was a little more forgiving, granting an 81. That’s more in line with the 4 out of 5 stars I give the beer as you’ll soon see.

Radler, as it’s known for short, isn’t really a style. It’s more of a mixed drink really. Mix a fine German pilsner or Helles with German Limonade (lemon soda, sort of like Sprite without the limes) and you get a radler, as well as one hell of a refreshing drink. And before you can say Reinheitsgebot, you should know that that venerated German beer purity law only governs how beer is made. What you mix it with after brewing is your own affair.

Radler was invented in the nineteen twenties as a refreshment for German bicyclists (Radler is German for cyclist), and you can read more about its history here if you care http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Radler.html. Samuel Adams Porch Rocker is a slightly different take on a Radler, as it blends a Helles lager with fresh lemons in lieu of soda.

The Helles lager here is made with two row pale malt and Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops. The final product has an alcohol content of 4.5% by volume, a bit higher than you might get in a typical Radler I think. The base beer used to mix the soda with in Germany would have only about 5% alcohol by volume, and the soda would dilute that. Samuel Adams says this beer is a May through July release, though I think it’s extremely quenching nature would make it perfect in the heat of August and September as well (this would make a great beach beer).  

Samuel Adams Porch Rocker pours to a pale golden color with a thick foamy head formation and a citrusy, slightly grassy nose.  The beer has a bit of very fresh tasting biscuit malt up front that quickly surrenders to the lemon tartness, with just a hint of sweetness underneath. That lemon tartness becomes even more forceful in the finish, adding a distinctly quenching character. The biscuity malt reappears there, too, with perhaps a hint of creamy texture and flavor throughout. A gentle hint of grassy hop is present in the finish, with a light bitterness, too.