Massachusetts

I've been looking forward to this beer for longer than I care to admit. Infinium is the product of a collaboration between Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner. When I first read that these two breweries were going to collaborate on a beer I was intrigued to say the least. I'm not crazy about many of the Sam Adams beers but they do make solid beer that occasionally tickles my fancy. Weihenstephaner on the other hand, they make what may just be the best Weissbier in the world. Hearing that they were going to brew an entirely new style of beer is what really made it interesting...

I had no idea there was a commercial brewing operation on Nantucket. I've been to Martha's Vineyard a number of times back in the 90s. I remember Pete's Wicked Ale and Sam Adams being a big deal back then. Seeing as the folks back home were barely able to get Boulevard back then, I guess the islanders were a little ahead of their time. Looking back it doesn't seem like that much of a stretch to put at least a brew pub on either island. This bottle of beer says Nantucket at the bottom of the label but on the backside it does say it was contracted out to Ipswitch, MA. Not that it matters either way, the won't taste any different if it's made on the island. The packaging does play up that Nantucket island chic though...

I've been putting off drinking this bottle of Friar's Belgian-Style White Ale from Sherwood Forest Brewers because it all seems a bit... fake. I can't fault these guys for the obvious, making a Belgian Wit outside of Belgium, that's not my quarrel. What turned me off to this beer was all the Robin Hood references. They're kitschy in an annoying sort of way. Unless you're selling this beer to six year olds who think Robin Hood and Friar Tuck are cool, don't hide your beer behind public domain cartoon characters. It feels like you're talking down to me, "I know you like Robin Hood so maybe you'll like our beer because it has a cartoony Friar Tuck on it!" Seriously, let the beer speak for itself...

Sam Adams Cream Stout is one of those beers I've passed by a thousand times and never thought to pick up. I finally grabbed a bottle to give a formal review. For some reason it never occurred to me that this is a Milk Stout... I mean, it doesn't say Milk Stout on the label but I never put much thought into what a Cream Stout really is, but it made sense as soon as I took a sip of this beer. Though Sam Adams' Cream Stout doesn't taste quite as creamy as I like my Milk Stouts to be, it's still a solid beer. Maybe that's why they decided to call this beer a Cream Stout and not a Milk Stout... either way, it's definitely more Stout than cream.

I'm a bit divided in my feelings about the Buzzards Bay... First appearances left me with a sense that this beer was trying to hide something. This beer's label doesn't give any information about what's in the bottle. Nothing at all. The label simply has the brewery name and logo, stylized in a way that isn't particularly easy to ready. Nowhere on this bottle does it indicate the style or name of the beer. If they'd giving this a name like "Old Buzzard" and just left it at that, it'd at least be something to go off of. It took me quite a while to find out what this beer actually is. I should have just poured the beer and taken a drink, but instead I spent a good ten minute perusing their website trying to find the bottle that matches mine... Had I just taken a sip of this beer I would have been able to tell it was an Altbier, a style I really don't care for.