Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic
Pours a reddish-orange hue, producing two fingers of slightly off-white foam that dissipates fairly quickly to a cap that leaves behind thick sheets of lace on the glass. A mostly sour aroma fills the nose, though in this case it is not a bad thing; fruity-sweet notes and cranberry (the source of sourness) essence are plentiful. Medium-bodied and nicely carbonated. A nice sweet/tanginess of cranberry juice hits up front and crowds around the edges, with a middle that is rather smooth and lightly bready with a faint hint of banana mixed in as well. Goes down with a lingering tangy sweetness. Very refreshing and with a fairly light level of alcohol content, making this one quite drinkable. Would pair excellently with turkey and cranberry sauce, complementing the flavors of the cranberries, and with its nice tart acidity it would cut through the fats and oils of dressing and gravy or even delicious holiday duck. This one gets, in my opinion, an undeservedly bad rap from the majority of reviewers, and while the name is misleading and this is no true lambic, and while every palate is different and no palate is wrong, I believe that a great number of negative reviews are not objective, but are based rather in large part on prior negative reviews. This may not be the best that BBC has to offer, but I most certainly wouldn't call it the worst, either.