Review: Sam Adams Spring Lager

Before Sam Adams' beers came to Canada two years ago, I would regularly visit the States and bring back mix packs of their beer. Now that their beer is available, I try other beers instead.

Sam Adams' Spring Lager is a beer by them that I haven't tried before. One of the friendly employees at the local liquormart had been on a trip to the States and had this beer at a bar, said it was delicious. Generally he knows good beer, so I believed him. So now it's my turn to try it. In the States, it's known as "Alpine Lager", so I don't know why they have a different name for it for their Canadian market? Edit: The reason behind why it's called Spring Lager in Canada, while it is Alpine Lager in the United States - Their Canadian distributor, Moosehead actually has the rights to the name Alpine Lager in Canada as they actually have a beer called Alpine Lager already.

Appearance: Pours a really sweet looking light orange with lots of haziness. It's something I could swear that could easily be a hefeweizen or witbier, just looking by it. Certainly unfiltered. Nice amount of snow white foam

Aroma: Bit of a citrusy medley, containing a bit of lemon, a bit of orange and bit of hops.

Taste: Nice citrusy taste balanced by a good amount of hops. This is incredibly un-lagerlike. Sweet thanks to the orange citrusiness, as well as a bit of lemon. Not quite a witbier or hefeweizen and not quite a lager.

Overall Thoughts: Was pretty straightforward as it had a good amount of hops, absolutely unfiltered. Some orange, some lemon. It's not quite a witbier but also I wouldn't really call this a lager. What is this? A perfect patio companion. This is something I will be buying many more of over the next several weeks. If you like a nice sweet beer like Blanche de Chambly (or moreso Rickards White), but like a bit of bitterness as well, this is a great beer. It's slightly cheaper than most other Sam Adams beers in Manitoba as it's $2.06 instead of $2.12. Has 5.5% ABV and the label states that this unfiltered lager is perfect for spring. Noble Tettnang hops, grown in the foothills of the Alps, give the brew a bright citrus and floral aroma and flavor. These are balanced by the slight sweet crisp notes of two row pale and honey malts.

Usually this time of year they have Noble Pils come out, which is incredibly solid by Sam Adams as well, but I prefer this! Cheers!