Summer Ale (1996-2018)

Bottle. Good beer. Lemon flavor is so subtle you can’t hardly taste it. Yea, it’s there, but barely. Still, it’s a good beer. Recommended.

clear yellow, with a large white head. Looks like a lager really. MUsty, yeasty nose, with some hops, and that typical wheat ale funk. I"m not sure if its funk, or if it’s the hops, but i get it all the time in wheat ales. Flavour is sweet, and crisp. Good hop notes, and some nice grain. Very clean finish with a tangy orange like aftertaste.

Notes from July 2009 Leftover bottle from the latest Colombian soccer beatdown that I can't believe we payed $30 to endure. September notch, quite fresh. Poured into my Sly Fox tumbler. Milky agitated pour down the center. Settling into a tight inch & a half of whipped froth over a cloudy pale wheat body. Sticky, beaded, lace. Smell is very real with ripe bananas & bready yeast; I don't sense Runts™. More like banana cream the more I drown in it. Faint peary notes, as well as very new grass. The wheat portion is boring & smells like it's been been boxed up. Subtle spices all along the edges, making it quite a nice package regardless. Taste has big ideas of pear & even some apricot. Green bananas more then traditional thoughts. The wheat just comes off as dust. Spices are very mild in clove & glue. White bread, & bitter melon go one point up one point down. Finish has some vanilla(maybe?), but otherwise, just weak pale wheat. Carbonation is moderate, falling off quite rapidly after settling in a glass. The wheat feel is disappointing at best, just giving a murky feel to the beer. Hef or bust IMO. Two in & I'm done here.

Bottle from Food Dog near the lake, finished by me because my wife hated it and called it a bad Radler. Light yellow gold, good head. Lemon peel nose with wheaty goodness. Malty, a bit too sweet, hard to distinguish if the lemony flavor is hop or citrus fruit but I guess it's a blend of the two. Decent wheat notes.

A hazed blonde ale with a thin white head. In aroma, sweet fruity malt with light lime. In mouth, sweet fruity lime mix with light mineral notes, ok if a bit boring. Bottle.
Earlier Rating: 12/6/2005 Total Score: 2.8
Hazy golden ale with a thick collapsing white head. Aroma is sweet lemony, with notes of oranges. In mouth, light fresh wheat beer, with definite orange peels, and lactic sourness. A bit chalky. Lighter bodied summer wheat. Bottle is about 6 months old.

Bottle at Robbie's: pours lightly hazy with white head. Aroma is citrusy notes and wheat. Light and zesty. Easy to drink.
Earlier Rating: 10/29/2006 Total Score: 3.1
This is my favorite of all the Sam Adams beers. It goes down smooth, it isn’t bitter and is a mild enjoyable beer, that is perfect on a summer day, night, or morning. Not a hard beer and certainly not really complex, but definately well made and drinkable. Well recommended.

I did not know there was a recipe change for this beer. Pour is a cloudy yellow with a large white head Aroma is pretty much all lemon peel. Flavor is more lemon with a odd grain which I guess is the grains of paradise. One of those beers that has just enough to keep it interesting and not get tired of.
Earlier Rating: 4/23/2005 Total Score: 3.2
Pour is a cloudy yellow with a white head. Aroma is lemon zest and a bit of malts. Flavor is lemon and spice with a creamy aftertaste. Flavor is a bit weak as you drink more of the brew. An ok brew on a summer day.