Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.18/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bright orange-gold with not one hint of red. The cream colored crown has a soft texture, deflates to a thin disk and leaves an average amount of lace in ragged rings. The nose is earthy, musty and sweet... and has no cranberry that I can detect. Odd that.

SA Cranberry Lambic is overly sweet, as if corn syrup was added with a heavy hand. The flavor features the same earthy funkiness that is present in the nose. The beer is slightly bitter and slightly sour-acidic, but I still get no sense that cranberries or cranberry juice were added. A light syrupiness means the mouthfeel is slightly more full than medium.

This isn't bad beer when all is said and done. Nor is it good beer. Call me crazy, but if the word cranberry appears on the label, the contents should smell and taste like cranberries. Even if only a little.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2004 23:50:03 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

1.3/5  rDev -52%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Oured a hazy, cloudy light amber with lots of fizzy, soda like carbonation. No head, no lace, but it did leave a thin film on the top, mostly due to the fizzy carbonation. Smell was not very inviting. Smelled like a cheap wine. Musty fruit smell, some alcohol, but again like a cheap fruit wine, I don't like where this is going. Taste was almost putrid. Spicey cranberry horrible. This was the first beer I have ever dumped down the drain. It was just too much. Too much cranberry, too much carbonation, too much of everything. I am not sure what they were try for with this one, but it just did not work. I was actually suprised as I generally like most Sam Adams brews, even tried this is a tulip, just could not do it.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2007 00:15:09 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

2.25/5  rDev -17%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: The pour is initially bubbly and a cloudy pink with a light pink head. The head and carbonation quickly subside leaving a rather lifeless looking beer.

S: The smell is very, very strange. There are aromas of a classic witbier, such as coriander and citrus, along with a substantial wheat scent. There is also a fake cranberry smell.

T: The taste is just about the same as the aroma. A strong spice flavor mixed with a tartness (I'm guessing from the cranberry juice). The cranberry flavor, however, is rather subdued.

M: The beer is lightly carbonated and has a medium body.

D: This is a really strange beer. It's certainly not a lambic (or anything resembling one). The combination of spice, fruit, and tartness just isn't working out here.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2009 07:00:05 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.17/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Reviewed from notes.

My dad always buys the Sam Adams seasonal variety packs. I used to love that he was showing an interest in craft; now, it's about all here drinks. Long story short, I shouldn't have to drink this again any time soon.

Pours a faint amber orange color with an off white head. Nose is loads of cranberry juice. The taste adds in a bit of caramel, but this makes it taste more like some caramel candies have been soaking in a glass of slightly-carbonated cranberry juice cocktail overnight. Feel is a bit cloying and a bit tart. Poor drinkability. Many of the winter pack beers are pretty decent; this one is not.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 18:52:31 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.73/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a pale orange body with a small, fizzy white head.

Smell: The aroma has a light wheatiness to it, fruity notes of cranberries and bananas, and comes armed with a lactic sourness. Hint of clove.

Taste: Wheaty, cereal taste starts when in comes the cutting sour-sweet cranberry and banana flavors. A big lactic note chomps down on the palate. A slight acidity sweeps any remnants of fruity sweetness leaving a sour finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-high carbonation. Oddly mouth-coating.

Drinkability: I must admit, it's not my favorite in the Samuel Adams line-up.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2007 22:22:31 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

2.9/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a hazy peach color without much head; little lacing

Smell: A touch of wet dog and some maple syrup notes; not particularly enticing

Taste: Starts out with a wheat biscuit taste; after the swallow, the sweet maple notes emerge, along with a bit of funk, but no sour lambic notes - this is a fruit beer

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied and fizzy

Drinkability: This grows on you a bit; its not as bad as some reviewers believe, but its not that good, either

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2006 00:39:53 | More by brentk56

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +47.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tried as part of their winter variety pack. Seems a bit out of character from what I'd normally expect from Boston B.C. A classic sourness caught me a bit off guard because of the genuine lambic character. Sweetened with malts (or sugars) to reduce the sourness to a solid tartness. The lambic tartness along with the cranberry tartness made for a plesant complex flavor. Still sweetened to drinkable levels. The appearance is a very non-assuming straw color with firm head retention and carbonation. Aromas grab hold with a pleasant sweet-tart character. Very clean and palate-cleansing in the finish. Cranberries make for a Christmas brew, but I'd love to have a few of these in the heat of Summer.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2006 01:59:22 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

2.83/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The best thing about this beer is the appearance,it pours a nice prange/red with a decent fluffy head,the aroma is pretty tart and slightly yeasty.Taste is very tart with the cranberry not really evident to much the tartness of this beer is the main thing I get with a hit of sweetness in the finish.Ah not a horrible beer but wont buy anymore of the holiday gift packs to get it.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2003 22:16:42 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +50.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The full glass displays a slightly hazy (which is OK because it is a wheat beer...) orangeish-amber body with a crimson cast beneath a long lasting head of frothy off-white foam. The head retention is good and it maintains a thin lid throughout the glass and leaves some very nice rings of lace as well. The nose offers a bright combination of grainy malt and mildly tart fruitiness. The body is medium and its fine, median carbonation caresses the tongue before warming to become lightly creamy and smooth. The flavor delivers the promised Cranberry atop a delicate, grainy, wheatish malt base that's backed by just enough hop to keep it from becoming sweet. It finishes crisp and dry with some residual swirling notes of juicy fruit and cereal. Quite nice! I'm quite sure that this beer has improved over the years, and now offers a better balance with a reduced graininess and more fruit in its profile. I look forward to it each Thanksgiving - before, during, and after my meal!

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2004 22:47:04 | More by NeroFiddled

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

2.15/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I have not had this beer in at least a decade or so, honestly, and I remember the consensus back then was that it was so terrible, that I've steered clear ever since. Got some in the latest holiday sample package, so, goody me, may as well get a review out of it.
Clear, pale apricot/brandy color, like a faded cherry, under a slim white head.
Aroma: musty and yeasty, slightly sour, then comes the cherry, creamy, soft, a little off, but not unpleasant.
Taste: kind of dull. A bit flat. I'll keep giving it a chance, though, gonna finish this thing...it's weird, though. The cherry essence is but an echo in the flavor, and there's little real presence on the palate. An old bottle, or this really how this beer is supposed to be?
Huh!
Ridiculous of them to call it "lambic", but even as a "wheat beer brewed with cranberry juice and other natural flavors", this is, at best, a dud. Doesn't taste as bad as I remember from way back when, but it's still very disappointing. Lackluster taste, minimal texture/mouthfeel, forgettable finish. Feels like lightly cherry-dusted damp cardboard.
No wonder they dumped this in the sample pack, can't imagine they move too many pallets of these.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2004 10:46:32 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

3.33/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a translucent pale red color with a 1/4" white head. The aroma is musty with the scent of cranberries. It also has some malty undertones. The taste is of sour cranberries and a maple syrup. It rings of lots of pale malts as well. This is the worst tasting Lambic style beer I've had, but still it's better than most beers. The mouthfeel is good. It is a medium bodied beer with creamy finish. It has low/medium carbonation. This is a fine choice for a seasonal sampler. I just wish these guys knew how to brew it.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2003 12:10:26 | More by WesWes

Mora2000

Texas

3.58/5  rDev +32.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to hudsonphotog for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a red-orange-amber color with a white head. The aroma is caramel, maple syrup and cranberries. The flavor is heavy on the cranberries with some vanilla and maple notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

I tried this several years ago and remember hating it. Not sure what is different this time, but I didn't dislike it - even though I went in expecting to.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2010 02:32:36 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

2.78/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A - Poured out an orange color with ruby tones. It had a white, bubbly, two-finger head that left minimal lacing.

S - It smelled of tons of cranberry. I didn't even have to put my nose up to the glass.

T - It tasted of cranberry. It was also quite sweet and had a touch of yeast flavor.

M - It was fairly crisp and smooth. It pretty fizzy, too. A light-bodied beer.

D - I'm just not a huge fan of cranberry, but I can appreciate it in a well done beer. This isn't one of them.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2008 18:22:05 | More by zeff80

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

1.95/5  rDev -28%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

12oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a cloudy, light gold color with a short and foamy off-white head and leaves a thick, even lace that fades quickly.

S: Sour cranberry & malt with a very faint whiff of hops.

T: A cranberry & apple sweetness dominates the taste along with some sourness, which you would expect with anything that has a “cranberry” flavor. There isn’t very much else that comes through. Tastes more like apple juice than beer.

M: A little bit smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finishes a little bit sticky, like I said before, it’s more like juice than beer.

D: You don’t taste the alcohol at all, so if you like the taste I guess it’s drinkable, but I can’t see myself drinking more than the two bottles that come in the mix pack, as long as I have something else available.

I typically like the stuff from Boston Beer Co. and I can see how their trying to use a local flavor to create something different, but this isn’t a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2006 03:47:56 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.18/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a a pink to dirty brown head that dropped off in nuthin' flat.
Good lacing though. Body is a hazy/dirty brown in appearance.

Smell: A lot going on in this glass sour smells, vanilla notes, and hints of oak.

Taste: Sour, tart and dry through out. Sourness doesn't really make me think of the lambics I tried over in belgium, I will give them a little leeway for "american styling".

Mouthfeel: Pricklyfeel throughout , but carbonation level is fine for the style. Fairly balanced

This effort has thirst quinching aspect to it, that makes me think it would be good with a turkey sandwhich, otherwise I will pass on this.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2005 04:34:46 | More by russpowell

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.83/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

First time I ha this beer I found it to be cometely undrinkable. I had a few sips and dumped it out. I was given another bottle as a gift some time later and gave it another try. This time It was much better. The red color was always attractive to me but the idea of cranberry isn't for me. I've never been a fan of them so naturally this brew wouldn't please me. For this who enjoy cranberry do try this, you'll probably enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2011 02:45:35 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

2.95/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. bottle, from the mix-pack,

A: Pours a somewhat pallid, translucent, red-orange, with a small white head, fair retention, minimal bubble lacing.

S: Smells very good, of cranberries, of course, and ripe apples, a full smell that hits you as soon as you open the bottle.

T: Taste is not as good. There is a nice cranberry undercurrent of flavour there, but it is too damn sweet to be very appealing, almost like soda pop. The bit of caramel and wheat I tasted clashed a bit with the cranberry flavour, creating an interesting tasting, but not really enjoyable mix.

M: Slightly acidic, bubbly, close to a sweet lambic in mouthfeel, but missing bite.

D: Not a true lambic obviously, if Sam Adams had marketed this as a Christmas style fruit-wheat beer, it might have been better recieved. In my opinion, below average, but drinkable, but the weakest of the beers in the mix pack.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2007 01:02:58 | More by Halcyondays

jwc215

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Poured into a Linndemann's lambic flute glass.

Pours deep gold with a thick, foamy head that settles to a thin head then disappears. Some lacing sticks to glass.

The smell is of a funky raw yeast with some cranberry juice.

The taste is of sweetened, syrupy, carbonated cranberry juice with a raw yeast, sour background. A bit plastic, and certainly has that artificial fruit taste. Sweetness develops, and approaches out-of-control, but for some balancing sour. This is certainly not a lambic. And, even as a fruit beer, is "off".

The feel is light with sweet and sour holding on into the bad aftertaste (not good - just can't describe aftertaste, other than a funky sweet and sour - artificial-like).

Misses the boat on a lambic. Cranberry stands out, but more in an artificial way. I didn't care for it at all.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2007 13:51:49 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Ok, so its not a great beer and its a pretty weak lambic, but I was expecting something undrinkable along the lines of Saranac's Caramel Porter after all the pissing and moaning I heard about this one.

Amber body with a pink tint, white head and a little lacing. Smell is sweet and sour with a fruity cranberry note. Taste is predominently sour with the fruit sweetness coming through underneath. A bit watery and light for a lambic but drinkable and I'd have another.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2006 17:01:42 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

2.78/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Hazy dark amber peach color leaves light cream head with evenly strung lacing. Aroma: Tart cranberry and malts with an eerie bledn of maple syrup among an oatmeal cereal grain scented aroma, kinda weird. Taste: Even weirder funky twang of cran and malt which almost induced the ol' gag reflex as the wave of cloying maple syrup flavor hit me I remember tasting this one in past Holiday samplers and I must say I don't recall disliking it this much. Mouthfeel: Medium body slight spritzy carbonation coats the palate and won't let go. Drinkability: I don't recommend this brew I didn't care for it, and it's definitely not a lambic sorry folks.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2005 00:07:19 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

2.4/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured red with a clearer hue, strong aroma of cranberries, hops, and a whiff of alcohol. Taste is somewhat sweet, not all that balanced. Very fruity taste but too sweet and sugary, has more of a malternative taste than a lambic. Not a fan of lambics but wanted to give it a shot.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2008 16:24:43 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Very nice frothy head; great lace; the color is light amber with a slight red tinge.

The aroma reminds me of tart cherries (not cranberries). The smell is surprising light, mostly a dry malt. I had expected a more robust aroma.

Tart flavors up front. The flavor of wheat is powerful. Again, I taste sour cherries. Not a true lambic, but pleasant enough--probably not one I'd re-purchase. Long sour aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2004 23:07:38 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

3.5/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice clean/clear golden amber color, nice carbonation, nice creamy tannish head, which then leaves some nice sticky lacing. The nose is a sweet/sour/bitter malty, slight hops, and some nice caramel tone. The taste is nice and malty and bitter, I like it. There is also the fruit taste which is kinda sour. Light-Medium body. Drinkable, I liked this one and would recommend to others.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2007 03:24:31 | More by Wasatch

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

(Served in a S.A. Boston Lager Glass)

A- This beer pours a warm coppery color with a red hue and a clear body. There is a strong carbonation of big bubbles that supports a creamy white head with a pink hue to it. The head soon fades to a film.

S- This beer has a light cranberry relish smell with a faint bit of sweetness to it.

T- The light taste of tartness increases as the cranberry flavor develops followed by a white wheat note. The beer finishes with a slightly sweet maple sugar flavor.

M- This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel. There is no alcohol or tartness at all in this beer.

D- This is an average wheat beer but the cranberry flavor is a bit too sweet and taste like it is right out of the can. The cranberries aren't tart enough to balance the sweetness of the maple sugar at the finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2007 19:11:48 | More by rhoadsrage

Jason

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz brown bottle with a "purchase before" date on the label. "Wheat Beer brewed with cranberry juice and other natural flavors added" stated on the label, nothing about spontaneous fermentation or aging it in barrels, blending and aging for more time. It's a fruit beer nothing more and nothing less.

Dull and cloudy rusty reddish hue, holds a ring of white lace strongly. Fruity aroma, little cranberry with a faint tartness. Maltiness is present in the aroma though not too much as the yeast flavors blanket with faint wild herbal phenols.

Semi-smooth and a touch creamy within the medium body. Tartness is there, some cranberry flavor with some fruitiness as well. Malt is there with a mellow sweet graininess. Hops are very mild. Finishes with a lingering tartness, flash of cranberry and vague malt.

Notes: A good fruit beer but not a lambic at all, how they get away with using "Lambic" on the label is beyond me ... its not even close. The new Longshot Cranberry Wit should take the place of this beer IMO.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2008 02:53:46 | More by Jason