A few nights ago, I had a chance to finally finish off the seasonal beers I had stacked up in my fridge. I would say the night was "one for two."
The Sam Adams Stout (#531) was pretty damned good! On the pour, the 1"+ tan head looked pretty appealing on the deep brown/black beer. The chocolate (or perhaps coffee?) and roasted aromas were full and pleasant (unlike some aromas which might be weak). Overall, the body was about average while all the roasted tones and caramel sweetness blended well with perfect carbonation. The finish was a tad dry, but certainly nothing to scoff at. I would give this a 4 out of 5.
How about the Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic? #532 will go down in my notes as pretty bad stuff. On the pour, the fruitpunch-like color tones with bubbles was to be expected. I could certainly get a handle on the fruity aroma, but I would testify that I was smelling cranberries. The taste was, well, fruity. That was to be expected, as well.
Keep in mind, up until this point, that the fruity aroma and taste were not bad, but they were not really good either. The finish finally killed any chance this beer had of being passable. It was acidic, dry, and lingered faaaaar too long. Gross really. To make matters worse, a film coated the tongue, cheeks and teeth. While it is not unusual for a beer to linger on the palate by "coating", I don't feel it should be akin to that "morning breath" sort of film we all can get now and then. (Yes, we all get it. I f you don't think you get it, you are just lying yourself again. Get counseling. Its bad for you.) Except this was really bad morning breath film. Maybe like Hippo morning breath. Bad. Really, really bad... 1 out of 5.
The Sam Adams Stout (#531) was pretty damned good! On the pour, the 1"+ tan head looked pretty appealing on the deep brown/black beer. The chocolate (or perhaps coffee?) and roasted aromas were full and pleasant (unlike some aromas which might be weak). Overall, the body was about average while all the roasted tones and caramel sweetness blended well with perfect carbonation. The finish was a tad dry, but certainly nothing to scoff at. I would give this a 4 out of 5.
How about the Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic? #532 will go down in my notes as pretty bad stuff. On the pour, the fruitpunch-like color tones with bubbles was to be expected. I could certainly get a handle on the fruity aroma, but I would testify that I was smelling cranberries. The taste was, well, fruity. That was to be expected, as well.
Keep in mind, up until this point, that the fruity aroma and taste were not bad, but they were not really good either. The finish finally killed any chance this beer had of being passable. It was acidic, dry, and lingered faaaaar too long. Gross really. To make matters worse, a film coated the tongue, cheeks and teeth. While it is not unusual for a beer to linger on the palate by "coating", I don't feel it should be akin to that "morning breath" sort of film we all can get now and then. (Yes, we all get it. I f you don't think you get it, you are just lying yourself again. Get counseling. Its bad for you.) Except this was really bad morning breath film. Maybe like Hippo morning breath. Bad. Really, really bad... 1 out of 5. 
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