Sam Adams Harvest Collection 12 Pack

[spiderwrangler]

Sounds like it may be in the Scottish family... with the smoked malt that Jamil bitches about not being part of the style...

[Field]

I don't like the 'throw in some smoked malt' trend, but luckily they didn't say Peat Smoked Malt, just 'Smoked Malt'


It sounds like a larger version of their Boston Ale, with Special B and Smoked Malt added, probably with reduced late hopping to let the spices show

Boston Ale
Color: Red to amber
Original Gravity: 13.2° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 5.1%ABV – 4%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 177
Malt Variety: Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale malts, and Caramel 60
Hop Variety: Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops, East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles

Same yeast as well

[Field]

hmm, the Irish Red has about the same gravity

Color: Deep red
Original Gravity: 14.2° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 5.8%ABV – 4.5% ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 191
Malt Variety: Two-row Harrington, Metcalf, and Copeland pale malts, and Caramel 60
Hop Variety: East Kent Goldings, English Fuggles, and Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast


the Harvest Pumpkin OG is 15 Plato (1.061), and it finishes at 5.7% ABV
Irish Red starts at 14.2 Plato (1.057), finishes with 5.8% ABV

so the attenuation on the Pumpkin is intentionally low, Irish Red is 76% AA or so, Pumpkin must be around 72%AA ?

White Labs lists WLP 008 as Attenuation: 70-75%

Take the Irish Red, sub a portion of the Cara 60 with Special B and Rauch malt, raise the mash temp 4 degrees or so, drop the finishing hops, and add pumpkin spices


I like looking at Pro recipes this way, it looks like they had the Boston Ale nailed down, when it was time to make an Irish Red they took what they learned from the Boston Ale, when it was time for the Harvest Pumpkin they took what they learned from the Irish Red.

A lot of times there is this 'family resemblance' through a brewers portfolio (Brewing Classic styles works a lot like this as well, intentional or not), it's something we tend to overlook at homebrewers, trying to create each recipe from scratch

[Field]

drinking one of these right now

it's good, between the spices and the body of it, it's reminding me of a baked spiced apple, or some sort of fall dessert like apple crisp or an apple cider donut

yeah, it's got no apple in it, but the esters, the sweetness and the spices say apples to me

[alanzo]

I downed the collection 12 pack a few weeks ago. Lately I've been noticing this "Sam Adam's Flavor" that is really just disgusting to me. It's most prevelent in the Irish Ale but is also in the Oktoberfest and maybe Boston Lager. I relate it to all the Michelob "craft" beers. They all have a common and disgusting flavor, as well. Even Michelob ultra has it.

The standouts of the collection, for me, were the Swarzbier, the Pumpkin Ale, and the Dunkelweizen. They didn't have that flavor I talked about above. All were nice drinkable beers, nothing amazing. The dunkelweizen reminded me a lot of Franziskaner except with less carbonation.