Tonight, it’s time to relax. The hecticities (my own word) of the Christmas holiday are behind us. We are up to our necks in “some assembly required” and “batteries not included.” The next garbage day will be one of hell for the garbage men. As we wade through mounds of wrapping paper and empty boxes trying to find receipts for gifts to be returned, there comes a time when you just gotta say “ENOUGH!” That’s when it’s beer time. Time for that last unopened Christmas present. A treat for you.

Tonight we dig back into the Sam Adams Winter Classics box and pull out some Holiday Porter. Once again, through finagling and coercion, I have six bottles available to be thoroughly reviewed and picked apart.

Having picked up most of the detritus from Great Christmas Opening, I assembled a new desk chair which my wife gave me. Surprisingly no parts were missing and all the pieces fit without any filing, shaving or bending. It fit my hindquarters quite nicely and was quite comfortable. It will receive many gaseous gifts over the next years.’

My most cherished gift, however, is a true once-in-a-lifetime experience now on display in my beer glass cabinet. One that will surely be remembered for the rest of my life. There’s a picture of it at the end of this post.

For right now though, it’s Holiday Porter and pounding computer keys. Let’s see what Sam has to offer.

But first, here’s the story behind this beer:

While Holiday Porter is a relatively new addition to the Samuel Adams Family of Beers, the Porter style itself dates back to the early 18th Century. After (or even during!) a long day of work, lifting and hauling all manner of things, the Porters of London wanted a robust and nourishing beer to reinvigorate their constitutions. The brewers of the day obliged them and the style has carried their name ever since.

The contents of the bottle poured nicely into the glass revealing a nice dark color sort of like black coffee. The head came up a beige color, thick and creamy and stood at about an inch tall. The liquid, when held up to the light, had a deep garnet tint to it. The carbonation consisted of fast-rising large bubbles and the aroma was ever so slight. Nothing really to pick out.

The first sip yielded quite a unique taste. Not so much dark and roasty-toasty as I was expecting, but rather malty and kind of middle of the road where malts are concerned. There seemed to be a bit of a snap in the swallow indicating a higher hop content. We’ll see how the beer really stacks up once the mouth parts get used to the new visitor.

The beer was not as chocolatey and robust as I expected and the roasted malt notes were rather subdued for a porter, but as the flavors became more pronounced, the overall blend with the end hoppiness made for quite a delicious drink. A tad bit of sweet was present at the front, a moderately malted middle was the backbone of this drink and the hops was the distinct slap to the tonsils on the way down.

By the second bottle, the malts came slightly forward. Not so much chocolate and caramel as there was coffee flavor. It really did fill in the middle nicely, however. There was still that hoppy zing at the end.

In one way I’m a little disappointed in this beer. It could be a little more flavorful and distinct with the malts in the middle. The after-swallow hoppiness was a tad on the bitter side. In another way, I’m impressed with this beer. For one, the taste is rather full in the middle and it didn’t fall flat. The hops and their blending with the malts made for a nice surprise at the end. Not outrageous but quite conservative.

Overall, this was a nice tasty brew and made for a quite pleasurable drinking experience. As for a winter seasonal, there were no special spices or other taste surprises in this beer. For me, though, it was a great wind-down beer now that all the hubbub of the Christmas holiday is over. A nice punctuation mark at the end of a very busy sentence.

If you find yourself buying the Sam Adams Winter Classics sampler box, save this particular beer for just before you drink the remaining Boston Lager at the end. Treat yourself to the other greater tastes first, especially the Old Fezziwig and the Winter Lager. The Cranberry Lambic and Coastal Wheat beers may fit somewhere in between, but I’m saving those for another time.

The SixPackTech ratings for Sam Adams Holiday Porter are:

Taste: B- > Good, but somehow needs more.
Smoothness: B- > Rainwater in a downspout without too much noise.
Drinkability: B- > Why, yes. I think I will have another.
Bang for the buck: N/A: part of the sample pack.
ABV: 5.8%
Wife’s all-encompassing opinion: Oh my God that’s dark. Smells bitter. (sip) Oh… (accompanying yuck noises) Heavy coffee. (sip) It’s like 3-day-old coffee. (Maybe the third sip will be better. Hey! Where ya goin’?)

(BA) – (RB)

Holliday

Porter

Most treasured Christmas gift.