Samuel Adams Toasted Caramel Bock

Review Date 8/8/2016 By John Staradumsky

Oh no. The Samuel Adams Fall Variety 12-Pack is out. Really, this is a good thing, because I love Samuel Adams beers. I’m just currently kind of overstocked on beer (I know, a terrible problem to have), and I was making a serious dent in my stash. Now, though, I’ve got another 12 beers to drink. As I said. A terrible problem to have.

Fall beers are starting to hit the shelves here in the first half of August, and I have to say that after a relentless parade of mid 90s days here in Georgia, I am ready for cool fall weather. Cooler weather would certainly be conducive to the thick, chewy flavors of Samuel Adams Toasted Caramel Bock, the first beer from the sampler I’m popping.

Along with 2 bottles of this beer, the 2016 Fall Variety Pack includes 2 each of:

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Samuel Adams Maple Ale

Samuel Adams Hoppy Red

Samuel Adams Bonfire Blonde

From the label:

Molasses is the secret to this Lager, and creates a pleasant sweetness with hints of caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup. The pale and caramel malts merge with Hersbrucker and Saaz hops to create a delightfully toasted flavor in this bock.

Ingredients from the website:

HOP VARIETIES: Hersbrucker, Tettnang Tettnanger

MALT VARIETIES: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Munich, Caramel 60, Pilsner

YEAST STRAIN: Samuel Adams Lager Yeast

Interesting that the neck label says the beer is made with Saaz but the website does not list them. They don’t list any special ingredients, either. While German bock brewers would cringe at the thought of using molasses as an adjunct, it was certainly an ingredient in some colonial American brews. In any event, Samuel Adams Toasted Caramel Bock has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume with 18 IBUs. My bottles are notched best before January of 2016, and I paid $13.29 for the 12-pack at Target.

Samuel Adams Toasted Caramel Bock pours to a lush mahogany color with a medium sized head of creamy foam and a rich nose of caramel and toasted nuts. Taking a sip, the molasses really comes to the fore right off the bat; this should really be called toasted molasses bock. It’s nutty and toasty under the thick brown sugar and molasses notes, and finishes nicely dry with grassy noble hops.

They really should have called this Molasses Bock, but it is delicious. The flavors are perfect for fall, but my bottles of course will be gone by then. I would definitely buy this in six-packs, were it sold as such. The rich molasses notes make this recall a doppelbock, though the beer isn’t nearly strong enough for that, and isn’t even as strong as many bocks.

Yet another wonderful new beer from Boston Beer, purveyors of fine brews for the past 30 years.

 

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

 

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