Sam Adams Cherry Wheat ?($7.49 at Warming's)
Over the past five weeks, I attempted to do extensive research for this semester's column, sampling dozens of beers and vainly trying to remember what they tasted like the night before. Unfortunately, most of these beers were falsely classified as "Natural," "Best," or "Ice," leaving my palate feeling as awful as my headaches. Luckily, I was turned on to Sam Adams's fruity Cherry Wheat, an ale that packs in enough sweetness to rival a mild Smirnoff Ice or a strong summer lager. The first characteristic that struck me was the smell?a strong whiff of a freshly opened bottle reminded me of a juvenile addiction to Jolly Ranchers I once had, an evil, yet wonderfully-crafted fruit candy. This beer also has a relatively light orange color, but lacks any of the strong red hues I would have expected. I would classify this beer as one to be saved for dessert or après ski, unless of course you dislike fruity beers all together and suddenly realize you should have avoided this brew in the first place. More importantly, the label is rather dull, another weak emulation of the traditional Sam Adams bottle that has Sam wearing a ridiculous looking coat with no reference to cherries, cherry trees, or George Washington. If you enjoy fruity beers this is worth trying, more so than a blueberry or cranberry ale, but less so than an orange or banana. That is, if they made orange or banana flavored beer. My scores: Taste: 4.1 (I like sweeter beer) Label: 2.3 Benefit/Cost: 3.4
Shipyard Chamberlain Pale Ale?($12.99 for the Shipyard sampler at Hannaford)
So far, this is the first beer I have tried named after a Bowdoin alum, and thus I expected a mind-blowing drinking experience that would make me proud of this institution. Unfortunately, Josh failed to deliver the taste I so eagerly pined for. The first strike against the beer came from the smell?I could instantly tell it was one of those beers that is trying to do too much with the flavoring, inevitably creating a cornucopia of taste that is anything but synergistic. I moved on and poured the beer into a tall pilsner glass, happy to see that the beer was a clear, amber color?a terrific look for any pale ale. The first sip revealed a taste that was interestingly similar to the blind judgment I so casually placed on the brew in the first place. Instead, it has an unusually bland body with hints of flavoring that really didn't mix well with the base of the beer. It seemed as though the people down at Shipyard thought they could do J.L. justice with just a few ill-conceived dashes of spice. How wrong they were. The one part of this beer that I did enjoy, however, was the label. Mr. Chamberlain is given a prestigious looking profile and is colored in soft browns and deep reds, as though the label mysteriously came from his days of battle. Also, on the back of the label is a little synopsis of the legend's endeavors, although his Bowdoin exploits were unmentioned. Overall, I was rather disappointed in this beer but am still hopeful that Shipyard will begin producing the eagerly anticipated BlueBarry Mills Ale. My scores: Taste: 1.7 Label: 4.0 Benefit/Cost: 2.2