Sam Adams "Porch Rocker" Radler

I'm not going to lie - I had to look up what a radler was. From what I understand, it is exactly the same as a shandy. Both beverages start with a pale lager and add lemon or lemon and lime. I think they can both also be a cider with the lemon added, but I don't know for sure. What I do know is that I'm not creating a new label for one beer, so this is going in the shandy list. 

The exceedingly pale light gold beer is reluctant to produce a head, and it fizzle that head away like my money in a beer store. It looks more like a cider right now than it does a beer. The aroma is quite hard to detect, but it's lemons, limes, and a bread malt. So, it doesn't smell like a cider, at least. It should probably be noted that I'm not drinking this at the right time of year, either. This is supposed to be drunk in the summer. Oh well. 

First sip is not bad. It's quite watery, but that was kind of expected from the style in the first place. I could see this being quite crushable and refreshing on a hot day - which isn't today. The lemons and limes are running the show, but the beer isn't absent. The bread malt is a good backing, but the yeast seems to assert at a strange time in the sip, and it puts it a bit off.

Tip-in is minimal carbonation with lemons and limes being made effervescent, even with the minimal carbonation. Carbonation then moves to the roof of the mouth as the thin beverage glides across the tongue with its lemons, limes, and a surging bread malt. The finish introduces the yeast as a counter to the sweetness, but it holds on a bit too long in the trail off.

Bottom Line: After mowing, this could hit the spot.

3.25/5