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While it has only been since February that I had my last Sam Adams beer, it certainly feels like longer. Contributing to that belief is that since 2015, I've only had two Sam Adams beers that I reviewed. One of those was the more recent radler, and the other was the impressively expensive Utopias. Well, I got a multipack this time, and anyone who reads this blog knows I love multipacks, this appears to all be types of citrus beers from Sam. Since the Porch Rocker, I have listened to the audiobook that the founder of Sam Adams wrote. I think it was "Paddle Your Own Canoe" or something similarly stupidly named. It wasn't a great book.The beer pours relatively unremarkably clear gold with a reasonable head that dissipates rapidly to leave an incomplete ring with an incomplete lily pad on top of the beer. The aroma is sweet and refreshing. I don't know how aroma can be refreshing, but this one is. I think maybe I'm drinking this out of season, as it's way too cold outside for me to be doing work. The date on the can leads me to believe that this was canned not that long ago, so I guess this was their goal. Drinking a fruity citrus beer on a cold day. That's a bold choice, and I will take the ride with them.
First sip is not the strong flavor I had hoped for. Instead, carbonation seems to rule the day, and there is a tang of citrus zest that gets sprinkled about the mouth. This isn't the refreshing, strident, fruit filled beer that I was led to believe it would be. In the interest of completeness, I broke from my normal routine and took a second sip. Again, I found that this was not oozing with citrus as I wanted it to. I've recently started drinking clear, lemon lime sodas as a matter of course, and those present significantly more citrus, flavor, and thirst quenching. I'm not really sure what this is bringing to the table other than a paltry 4.6% ABV. I can get higher than that with a Mike's.
Tip-in is pretty furious carbonation above an orange, lime, and grapefruit mist. The middle continues the carbonation assault on the mouth while the fruit just doesn't seem to amount to much other than a slight flavor and heaviness of acid. The finish is a wash of bitterness while sweetness stays on the lips and the murky mist of citrus flavors fades away.
Bottom Line: Not epic.
1.75/5
