Samuel Adams did a good thing when they released their Rebel IPA just about two drunken Christmases ago. Really great stuff. And making it permanent? A marked departure from their malty traditions. Life for a hop head was never hard in Boston, with breweries like Harpoon and Opa-Opa delivering some fantastic beers, but life still got a little easier when the Boston Beer Company joined the party.
Well, now they’re upping their game, adding two more to the family: a session, and a double.
Samuel Adam’s Rebel Rider Session IPA
Session beers are all the rage these days. The exact rules are debated, but basically, what “session” means is less than 5 percent ABV.
Why would you want that, some might ask? Hell, one guy wrote a whole article called “Why The ‘Session’ Beer Trend Makes Zero Sense,” where his point is that “There is no point in drinking less flavorful beer for more hours.”
That’s bullshit.
I’m surprised I have to explain this, but hear me out.
By the time they turn 20, most men can agree that drinking beer isn’t just about getting drunk. It’s one of the only places where women might catch on a little later in life than men, but they catch on too. And drinking isn’t just about grabbing the high-ABV Belgian beer from the top shelf, either. It’s about bonding and relaxing, friendship and culture. (ROUGH DRAUGHT: Today We Celebrate Our Right To Drink In The Morning With Sam Adams And George Dickel)
Session beers come from a time when folks drank beer in the fields or at dinner, a time when it was sometimes safer than water and good for hardy work. But hell, drinking is fun. Sometimes we just need to throw a few back.
Good example: We keep a session beer on at The Daily Caller for when you just feel like having four beers at lunch and then writing an article about beer.
Better example: the ancient art of the barbecue. Last Saturday, we were up at 5:30 in the morning to set up a tent to keep the hail out, and light some fires to get a big old 30-degree piece of metal up to 240 degrees and keep it there. You’re damn right we wanted a beer after breakfast. But here’s a catch: The food wouldn’t be ready for around 12 hours, and when it came off steaming hot and dripping with fat, we were going to have to use sharp knives to serve a couple dozen people. Then, and only then, did we have permission to black out. So until then, it was light beers or session beers.
If we’d had Sams, we could have used it. Light golden, it looks more like a light beer than the Rebel, or most IPAs for that matter. On the nose, it isn’t particularly sharp, but has a light, bready smell with slight notes of lemon. And when you taste it, it’s really a lighter version of the Rebel IPA– it has the build of a light beer, but that bitter, tangy hop taste that we craved. Hell, it’s 45 IBUs (that’s a basic measurement of how bitter a beer is), it’s equal to Rebel. And at 4.5 percent, I could drink these all day. Starting in February, when they come out at $8 to $10 a 6-pack.
Samuel Adams’ Rebel Rouser Double IPA
Now, not every day is a marathon with 23 pounds of smoked meats at the finish line. Some days are just a work lunch where you don’t want anyone to know how drunk you’re getting. Or a night on the town where all-out is a real place, and it’s a place you’re going. For those days, Rebel Rouser Double IPA, weighing in at 8.4 percent, is your pony.
It’s different from the session beer from start to finish. Much different. To the eye, it’s darker, golden, hazier. It’s nearly double the IBUs of Rebel and the session, at 85. Though the head, as with the session, is light.
On the nose, if the session gave us hints of lemon bread, this is like walking into a spicy bakery.
And then we had some. Wow. After the first sip, one thing is clear: This beer isn’t tricking anyone: If you drink it, you will get you drunk.
Heavy but with a soft mouth feel, after the session beer you can taste the alcohol in this puppy. It’s more malty than the rest, but still easily identified as an IPA with pine and citrus, plus spicy hop notes. Try it, starting in February, ranging from $9 to $11 a 6-pack, depending on where you live.
If you read to the bottom of this column, I don’t need to tell you there’s a beer for every time and every place. So there it is.
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