Friday, November 04, 2011

Sam Adams Third Voyage

Sam Adams is an interesting brewery. They are a brewery that has done great things for the craft beer movement, but many craft beer nerds, turn their nose up at Sam Adams, and don't really consider them a craft brewery. Sure their flagship Boston Lager is not a mind blowingly complex beer, but is a great alternative in hotels and airports when there isn't much other options. Plus they make a great many other beers than just their Lager. Their Imperial Pilsner they brewed a few years back is one of the best beers I've ever had. They really helped create the whole extreme beer movement with Utopias and their Imperial series is damn solid (although I don't care of the Imp White at all). Sure they have their misses (Triple Bock I'm looking at you), but for the most part they make beers ranging from good and solid, to outstandingly complex.
They continue to release special beers, first it was their Barrel Room collection that we unfortunately don't get in Texas (damn label laws) and now its a collection of Small Batch beers, that luckily we do get. The first one I have had the opportunity to try is their Double IPA, Third Voyage. The beer is brewed with simcoe hops and Cascade hops from England, New Zealand, and the US which is where the name for the beer comes from. The name is based off of Captain James Cook third voyage that took him from England, to New Zealand before completing his journey in the Pacific Northwest of the US. But enough of the history lesson, how does the beer taste?
The Beer: The Beer weighs in at 8.0% (not sure of the IBU's) and pours a crystal clear ruby color capped with a dense foamy slightly off white head. The nose is full of hops, citrus, along with some earthy mustiness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a comforting level of carbonation. Massively hoppy, citrus peel, and pitch. Caramel malts, buttered bread, help give balance to the beer. There is a quality to the beer that I equate to hop marmalade on toast points. There is a slight sweetness to this brew that counters the over the top hops of the beer. However after the third or fourth sip, all I get is hops, hops and more hops. The tongue becomes saturated and its all I get. I like the white pepper spice impression that the resiny hops leave on my tongue. This is a fine beer, and makes me want to go out and try the other ones from this series. This one gets a strong B+ from me.

4 comments:

Mark said...

Interesting, I'll need to seek this out. I've always been surprised that Sam Adams hasn't been able to really crack the IPA nutshell. Oh sure, they've got a passable IPA in Latitude (and I love the concept of the single hop beer case they put out around that beer), but I don't think they've ever put out a truly great IPA...

Incidentally, I totally agree that Sam gets unfairly maligned in the beer nerd community. They put out a ton of different beers - so many that it's hard to keep up. I find it hard to fault them for anything, and I think they're a big boon to the craft beer industry...

SumDumGuy said...

I am sipping a Third Voyage as a I type this and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I love the hoppiness. Just as a I was starting to lose my love for the Boston Beer Company, they go and produce a beauty like
this... I definately plan to try the others in this series.

SumDumGuy said...

I am sipping a Third Voyage as a I type this and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I love the hoppiness. Just as a I was starting to lose my love for the Boston Beer Company, they go and produce a beauty like this...

I definately plan to try the others in this series.

Anonymous said...

Ive been really enjoying these special Sam Adams, particularly the third voyage double ipa and the norse legend sahti. I see it as an effort from SA to brew truly craft beers that would satisfy even the most skeptical naysayer.

Samuel Adam and its Boston Lager will always have a special place in my heart, because it was the first non pale lager beer i ever tried and instantly loved, nearly 20 years ago.