Beer Review: Samuel Adams Irish Red

This review is a little late since St. Patrick's Day was a few days ago, but I thought I'd give a little shout-out to what may be my new favorite beer from Sam Adams, their Irish Red.

I should start by admitting that though I live near Boston and I'm strong supporter of drinking local brews, I'm not a huge fan of Samuel Adams in general. For some Bostonians, this may be akin to saying I'm not a huge fan of the Sox or the Pats, but it's true nonetheless. Their flagship Boston Lager is a fallback in bars if nothing better is available, and their seasonals are often more misses than hits with me. It's not that their beer is bad, per se, I just don't usually find it interesting enough to choose over something from Magic Hat or Red Hook or any number of other New England breweries.

That said, I picked up a six-pack of their Irish Red (from the Brewmaster's Collection) and I'm impressed. I've sort of avoided Irish Reds for a while now because I think I drank one too many Killian's in college and it put me off the style for about a decade. I suspect Sam's Irish Red is way better than Killian's (the BeerAdvocate thinks so, too). It pours a deep ruby brown and smells a bit like brown bread. The Caramel malts are immediately apparent upon the first sip, but it's not a cloying sweetness (like the Cherry Wheat...blah!). It's definitely a malt-heavy beer, but there's just enough hops in there to give it a kick at the end.

A few brew facts for the beer nerds:

Samuel Adams® Irish Red is brewed with two-row Harrington, Metcalfe and Caramel 60 malted barley. The Harrington and Metcalfe malted barley provide most of the body and sweet backbone of the beer, while the Caramel 60 contributes to the deep red color that defines the style. To balance all of that sweetness, we use earthy East Kent Goldings and Spalt-Spalter hops. Their subtle bitterness and aroma provide a delicate complexity to the brew.

The taste is a bit complex, but in a good way. You want to take another sip and ask youself, "What did I taste this time?" All in all, Sam Adams has redeemed itself in my eyes with this brew, and since it's sold year around and could potentially be good both in warm weather and cold, this might the first Sammy to go into my regular rotation.