Belated Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Alpine Spring

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Alpine Spring.

[Ed note - due to a severe winter cold and an (over) abundance of caution over the OTC interaction warnings, I was unable to try this beer until Monday evening, thus necessitating a belated Sunday Night Suds posting].

I saw this beer at Beer Heaven (more formally known as Shangy's of Emmaus) while vacationing with my family in the Allentown/Harrisburg area. Since the Pennsylvania beer laws require beer stores to sell beer in 24 packs, I did not think that I would get a chance to try the Alpine Spring, as I was not going to purchase a case of the this as yet unknown beer. Luckily, the staff at Shangy's recommended a Wegman's in the vicinity where you can mix your own six packs.

The Samuel Adams website indicates that Alpine Spring is a Kellerbier which is a style that I admit to being completely unfamiliar with. Of course the gurus at BA have seen this style, which they define as:

A rather old, rare, and unique German beer style, Kellerbiers are unfiltered and unpasteurized lagers that date back to at least the Middle Ages. The beer is matured, unbunged (beer is exposed), in deep vaults. The final product is a smooth, naturally cloudy beer that's rich in vitamins (from the yeast). Hop bitterness can be high and alcohol will vary.

Now that I know that Kellerbiers are rich in vitamins, I wonder if maybe I should be imbibing this instead of OTC cold medicine. Although I don't know how well that would go over with my employers...

The Alpine Spring poured a cloudy deep orange and was unlike any lager that I have ever tasted. There was a fruitiness which was slightly reminiscent of Blue Moon (although that happens to be an ale). I have to remind myself that it is unflavored, because the citrus and spice notes from the yeast keep making think that something HAD to be added to bring out this kind of flavor.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. Unlike most Samuel Adams brews, this bottle has the Star-K certification mark on the label. It is not on the current Star-K LOC (http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf), but I have emailed them in the hope that this and some other new Samuel Adams brews will be added soon.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Alpine Spring, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/76571.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

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