Don't Go and Pick Blackberry Witbier by Sam Adams
Written: Jun 16 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Should have had good potential.
Cons: The offering falls short in so many regards.
The Bottom Line: The lack of any real genius to this beer would likely ward off even those who might find the offering genre appealing
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| Bounty628's Full Review: Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier |
The folks at Sam Adams almost always seem to craft an exceptional quality beer. However, just as we all have an off day from time to time, breweries too can have bad offerings from time to time. Though there is certainly a push on to create more fruit beers in the market right now, for me Sam Adams would have proven to have been more true to their roots should they have simply shied away from the fad.
With their Blackberry Witbier offering, Sam Adams has delved into the fruit beer market with what proves to be a less than impressive beer that to me leaves a tad of a black eye on our friends at one of Boston's top breweries. This offering seems to not necessarily fit into the entire Sam Adams line but I likely could have looked past this issue if the Blackberry Witbier gave me a reason to. But with what is no more than a bland and non-remarkable offering I am left not with a pleasing taste in my mouth but rather a sour taste left on my mind.
The Blackberry Witbier has an ABV of 5.50%, therefore, if you find this offering appealing you could utilize the brew as a nice session beer ideal for a summer cookout or something of the like.
The beer pours a very faint golden color that seems to show more translucence than it does haze. Sort of surprising for a wheat beer in that regard, this offering pours thinly and gives a visual impression that the beer is going to be really light in nature. There is basically now head upon the pour but there is a lot of bubbly carbonation working up and down inside the glass.
The smell leaves one with the idea of fakeness as there is more of a florally bouquet present in the nose than there is anything that jumps off the page as being of a blackberry nature. With a beer that is going to emphasize the blackberry characteristics, it would have been far better to accentuate this a bit more in the smell but instead what is left is something of a soapy nature reminiscent of the beauty aisle at the local pharmacy.
Surprisingly, the taste of this beer is just about as faint as the nose in terms of any high quality blackberry presence working its way into the offering. Though I am self-admittedly not a major fruit beer fan, I do feel as though if a brewery is going to create a fruit beer it must do justice to the fruit that it is calling its own. The taste of the beer screams of a very week wheat complexity with a subtle tossing in of something that tastes somewhat fruity, but does not immediately bring to mind the qualities or taste of blackberries. There is a very blasé appeal to the taste of Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier and it is unfortunate that the taste could not help to salvage this offering.
The mouthfeel follows the same critique of the other aspects of this beer as it is quite light and has an almost watery consistency to it. There is very little complexity to the beer with just about all aspects of the offering and indeed the mouthfeel is no different.
It could be argued that there is a moderately good drinkability factor to the Blackberry Witbier if you are in fact looking for a beer that might be a good lawn mower beer and are not looking for something that is going to overly impress the palate.
And perhaps I am being a bit more critical than normal with this review simply because we have all come to expect high quality from Sam Adams, however, we cannot just grant Sam Adams a pass when they create a beer that falls short of their own rigorous standards and quality, as well.
Blackberry Witbier by Sam Adams could have been a beer that could have been enjoyed by some even if you were to put aside those, like myself, who do not necessarily flock to fruit beers. However, the lack of any real genius to this beer would likely ward off even those who might find the offering appealing. And if you can't win over even your own fans, who can you win over?
Recommended:
No
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