Samuel Adams Holiday Porter
12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a generic hefeweissbier glass in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are moderately high; this is me favourite style. A: Pours a five finger head of nice pleasant appealing cream, good thickness, and good retention - though the ABV is only average. Colour is a nontransparent dark brown. It's littered with bubbles, indicating potential overcarbonation. Sm: Heavy nuts, cream, light caramel, and vanilla. Moderate in strength. Generally appealing. T: Heavier caramel than expected, which is a bad thing. Some nice cream is put to the side by the strangely out of place chocolate. The problem is the foundation, which I assert is munich malted barley. Munich aids the drinkability, but this is a porter, not a festbier. They need to pick a more suitable foundation; this the beer's main flaw. It's fairly complex but a touch over-hopped for a porter. Overall, it's badly balanced and strangely built; it lacks a clear focus or direction in terms of style - which doesn't work for this beer. Mf: Smooth and wet. Not creamy enough. Too thick for the flavour. It doesn't really complement the beer, but it does suit the style. Dr: It's drinkable, but forgettable. Munich malt was a flat out bad choice. It doesn't feel like a proper porter, but it drinks like one. I won't be getting it again, but I'd happily try it on draught. Normally I find their seasonals to be better than the Boston lager, but this is an exception.