Friday begat my jaunt to the Morris Beer Store for a review specimen, and it turned into a lucky day, indeed. Gail, the Beer Store Maven was stirring about behind the register. I sauntered over to the primo beer shelves and eyed the transient residents all nicely lined up for my inspection. I slowly proceeded in baby steps to the end of the aisle and then checked out the cooler. Hmm. All very interesting, but wait! I had a brain zot and suddenly my older thoughts about getting anything from Sam Adams would be most opportune. Back to the shelves and there he was. On the top shelf sitting next to a beer probably made in Fredonia or Bulgaria. There were about four different versions of Sam. I didn’t want to have Sam ruin me for life by choosing some completely unknown, so I chose a sixpack of Samuel Adams Boston Lager for review on Saturday night.

I went to the counter to pay $7.29 for some Sam, and Gail asked if this was the beer I was going to review. I just had to smile. We chatted briefly about beers and websites and window signs. I walked away with a nice feeling and a nice sixpack. I’ll talk about the Morris Beer Store in future episodes of this seemingly endless saga.

When I pulled into my driveway, I noticed that there was a package at the front door. Ah. The “Acrobots” have arrived. I bought three of these posable mini-figures from ThinkGeek.com for decoration on my computer desk. In a moment of impish devilry, I decided to pose these guys with Sam and see how how it goes with the readers. Sound off in the comments, Readers.

The time had arrived and Sam was calling.

I popped the first cap on the first bottle using my special Bob Vila Craftsman 50th Anniversary, zinc plated, combination decapper, nail puller and paint can opener, and took a whiff of the contents. A light tinge of beer, meaning no surprises, no skunks and no disappointments. But it’s early.

Into the mug went Sam and the foam came up to say hi, all thick and rich. The brew below showed as a brownish red and had an ample amount of micro-bubbles rising up inside. Not too many clingons on the side of the mug, but we’ll check in on them later (could be my mug at fault.)

The first swig yielded a nice smooth taste with an overall malty twang to it. Not too malty as to be overwhelming though. This beer is a nice change of pace in the taste department. In spite of (or because of) the malt flavor, the beer is surprisingly smooth, sip after sip. It kind of reminded me of a European beer. The thick, creamy head on it hung around like that neighbor that drops by just to say hello for a couple of hours while you’re in the middle of a garage project. One swig into the second bottle and my taste buds have made up a nice room for this special guest. Still smooth, still a tad bit malty, but a nice combination of flavor.

Buy this beer for a pleasant change of pace. If you have older relatives who have roots back in a European country, offer them up some Boston Lager. They’ll feel right at home and will grant you favorite relative status forthwith. Count the number of favorable comments you will get about this beer. You’ll lose count after the first bottle.

The SixPackTech ratings for Samuel Adams Boston Lager are:

Taste: 8.4 – a new coat of varnish for your tongue.
Smoothness: 8.9 – beer on ball bearings.
Drinkability: 8.6 – Hangs in till the final bell.
Bang for the buck: 8.3 – change back to buy pretzels.
Wife’s all-encompassing opinion: “It’s not bad… but it’s dry. Doesn’t seem to perk up the saliva glands.” (Note: Wha??!!?? Pfft!)