Beantown Brews: A Boston Beer Blog

Yes – Cabin Fever Ale is Berkshire Brewing Company’s winter seasonal release. And yes – we are a week solid into spring…

BUT – it frigin’ snowed today, and it is exactly this sort of unpredictable behavior that leads New Englanders to cabin fever.

More cowbell!

Berkshire Brewing Company self describes as Western Massachusetts’ best kept secret. There logo reads “No hype; just good beer.” They are certainly no secret to the Wine Gallery in Brookline, MA, which stocks a fair number of their brews in their cooler. I found myself there, thirsty for a local brew, and wouldn’t be sufficed with anything brewed outside the state line. At $4.99 for a brown bomber, Berkshire won the day.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy, deep reddish copper with a thick off-white head that fades to a thin, lingering lacing.

Smell: Honey-like malt with floral a floral bouquet.

Taste: A malt heavy beer. Sweet, rich,  honey-like malt, with spicy, floral hop bitterness desperately trying to balance out the malt, but just falling short.

Mouthfeel:  Full bodied. Finishes malt heavy, just on the verge of being cloying.

Drinkability: Goes down slow and easy – smooth malt – a slightly warm alcohol strength that hangs in the background, creeping up on you as you drink – This beer is designed to sooth the disgruntled sole. No bells, no whistles. No frills. Just a wonderful mix of malt, and hops trying desperately to keep up. Great as a single, but perhaps a tad too heavy to have more than one.

Grade: B: A great seasonal single. You could learn a lot about winter in Western Mass from the character of this beer. It is rich, warm, sweet and soothing.You strentch it out, curled up on a couch. It comforts – it mellows. Suddenly, you don’t want to eat your housemates – you’re too full of malt! And that snowdrift that ate your car…eh, you’ll get it tomorrow.

I’ve been a negligent blogger. I haven’t written a post in over a month.

Well I’m back baby! It’s the equinox, and I am “springing” in to action.

I’ve got a lot to talk about – my first all grain brew – some great homebrewing successes and horrendous failures.

But first…

Why is there no Sam White Ale!!! @#$%!!!

At the end of every winter, I pace the aisles of my local brew havens  searching for the first batch of Sam White to raise my spirits. When I see it, I know that spring isn’t far behind.

But then I found this crazy Sam’s Noble Pils, not a bad brew mind you, and was told that it was the seasonal beer replacing Sam White.  The room started to spin, which  typically doesn’t start to happen until after I’ve been drinking. I don’t even recall how I got home…

Needless to say, like many people out there, I am not a happy man. There is even a Facebook group devoted to the angry and disheartened fans of White Ale.

I’ll admit it; Noble Pils is a good beer. I’ve had it. I even enjoyed it.  But season worthy…? Why replace White Ale? I can only assume that Boston Beer Company is kowtowing to the lager drinking public in an attempt to gain more market share. It makes good business sense – a good pilsner is going to have wider appeal among light lager drinkers than a white ale ever would, and light lager drinkers account for a pretty big chunk of the market.

Still – if you are a fan of white ales and happen to find yourself bereft, a great local alternative to Sam White is Long Trail Ale’s White Ale. It is a great alternative with a lot of similarity, but its own charm. There are some other great white ales available out there as well but, for the price, availability, shear similarity to Sam White – I highly recommend Long Trail.

Give it a try – it might just help quell the dull ache of abandonment in your heart. And maybe – just maybe – you’ll learn to love again.