Samuel Adams New Albion Ale - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

metter98

New York

3.46/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

A: The beer is slightly hazy light yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger and a half high white head that took a long time to die down, leaving a thin head covering the surface and lots of lacy rings of bubbles down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of grainy malts in the nose along with notes of floral and grassy hops.
T: The taste is similar to the smell, except that it also exhibits some hints of herbal hops. A very slight amount of bitterness is present.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a little crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink. Although the Cascade hops seem a bit muted compared to today's standards, this beer is definitely in a league of its own if you compare it to the other beers that were available during the New Albion Brewing Company era in the late 1970s/early 1980s.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 00:55:37 | More by metter98

gritz147

Louisiana

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-22-2013 02:50:11 | More by gritz147

DruC4

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-21-2013 16:58:08 | More by DruC4

hopley

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-19-2013 22:41:32 | More by hopley

Buster

Oklahoma

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-19-2013 02:19:22 | More by Buster

BFCarr

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-18-2013 19:57:14 | More by BFCarr

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.31/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, a bit of hops are present. Taste is also mild, malts, some hops, a bit of a strange taste at the finish, something herbal and different. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a mediocre beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 16:33:21 | More by tone77

gtermi

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-18-2013 05:30:16 | More by gtermi

brentk56

North Carolina

3.05/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a clear golden color capped by two fingers of foam; both the retention and the lacing were notable

Smell: Really unusual grain bill - smells of bread, corn and a hint of caramel; grassy hops in the back

Taste: The malt bill is even more unusual on the tongue, bringing bread, caramel, corn syrup and a load of diacetyl; although the beer is malt forward, there are some grassy hops that arrive in the mid-palate and linger vaguely into the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Overall: The sweetness of the beer gets to me after a while and though I am enjoying the history, this is not a beer that I would want to try again

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 01:27:56 | More by brentk56

MightiestBeard

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-17-2013 23:11:02 | More by MightiestBeard

Beerrenda

California

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-16-2013 02:59:05 | More by Beerrenda

Michigan

Michigan

2.54/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

A- Drank from the bottle around a fire with my BMC bros.

S- Grainy. Apparently it's a "pale ale" but smells like an adjunct lager.

T- Macro brew. Grainy. Bland. Just a bad metallic taste. Not exciting.

M- Thin. Fizzy for a bit. Expected

O- Eh.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 01:03:16 | More by Michigan

Buck6196

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-15-2013 19:48:27 | More by Buck6196

hickmancase

California

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

05-14-2013 03:15:54 | More by hickmancase

Kerrie

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

05-13-2013 23:35:00 | More by Kerrie

BlackBelt5112203

South Carolina

3.46/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz beer poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint at fridge-cellar temperature.

L – Deep gold color with a 2-finger bubbly, white head. Decent retention but not much lacing. Clear with lots of bubbles.

S – Grainy, cereal malts with grassy, herbal hops and maybe the faintest scent of citrus. The aroma isn’t very robust but it’s pleasant.

T – It starts off with a grainy malt and then progresses to bitter grassy, herbal, and mild grapefruit and orange hops.

F – Light-to-medium-bodied with good carbonation, a creamy but crisp mouthfeel, and a bittersweet and mildly dry finish. Citrus hops and grainy malt flavors linger for a bit.

O – This is a decent pale ale. The aroma and taste are pretty weak but they’re not offensive. It’s decently tasty and drinkable, but I can’t say that I wasn’t expecting a bit more.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:55:36 | More by BlackBelt5112203

scot959

California

2.5/5  rDev -26%

05-12-2013 02:42:07 | More by scot959

sharpski

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-11-2013 20:13:02 | More by sharpski

mikehillman

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-11-2013 02:05:07 | More by mikehillman

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-10-2013 22:55:46 | More by mikeburd1128

Tavo2311

New Jersey

2.75/5  rDev -18.6%

05-09-2013 23:24:32 | More by Tavo2311

Ralphs66

New York

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-07-2013 23:05:01 | More by Ralphs66

dalepryor

Kentucky

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-07-2013 21:04:11 | More by dalepryor

Jadjunk

Georgia

3.23/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

"Jack McAuliffe's pioneering spirit paved the way for the American craft beer revolution. We're rereleasing his original Pale Ale, with it distinct American hop character, for the first time in 30 years in honor of Jack and his contributions to craft brewing. Cheers!" Brewed in the style of an American Pale Ale. Best by Mid-July 2013.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a Samuel Adams pint glass. Served north of 56º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a light, frothy near white head over a mild pale amber clear body with a moderate carbonation. Clarity is very high. Retention is average+, with medium sticky, spotty lacing. Despite looking to be on the lighter end of the spectrum in color and depth, it's a pretty enjoyable appearance for a Pale Ale. 3.75

(Smell) Malt is characterized by some mild biscuity malt character, lightly toasted grain, and chased by a light dose of grassy American hops for a mild bitterness. Aroma is very clean, almost to the point where any off-characters are right in front. There's a mild smell of some unusual grain choices, perhaps even adjuncts. Also notable is the mineral-heavy water, plus mild yeast strain that imparts a lager-like quality and dryness to the beer. Aroma is very light but decently balanced. 3.25

(Taste) Malt character is much sweeter with a biscuity, bready grain character and a grassy, floral hop finish with a common bitterness. Some mineral-like notes are notable on the lasting finish, but not as sharp as in the aroma. Sweetness is overall quite forward, much to the disdain of the hop character. I'm not sure that I like this over the aroma, it has a bolder flavor but sacrifices a bit of balance in the process. 3.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is very smooth, mildly slick, lesser sticky with a very subtle carbonation presence. Sweetness is notably far over bitter qualities for an imbalance. Body is medium+ for the style and light/medium overall. Alcohol presence is very light. Overall, the slick, thick texture intensifies the sweetness and doesn't draw much attention to the subtleties of the hops. 2.75

(Overall) This beer was anticipated to be light and drinkable, but turned out a bit too heavy in sweet malt character and too light in other characters. Overall, I'm torn between finding this beer as decent or just passable. Perhaps it's just a slice of history poured into a glass, but our expectations in regards to balance and intensity have fine tuned our palates to look for bigger and better. This one may have fit the bill in the 1970's, but is merely a small mark on what craft beer has moved to today. 3.25

Boston Beer Company's
Samuel Adams/New Albion Brewing Company's New Albion Ale
/5.00

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 20:39:11 | More by Jadjunk

Braz

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

05-07-2013 07:15:11 | More by Braz