New Brew Thursday - International Stout Day

I'm not sure how to feel about Samuel Adams . . . the brewery not the man . . . anymore.  They started out as the little guy forging there way into a market dominated by huge mega beers.  The cleared the way and inspired other little guys . . . craft brewers . . . to give beer making a go.  Now . . . I'm not so sure about them.  They're not so little any more.  Is it possible to still pour your heart and soul into your product when you manufacture such volume and such variety?  Can you really still brew craft beer when you've gotten so big?  I don't know.






But today is International Stout Day and I just happen to have purchased a bottle of Thirteenth Hour brewed by Samuel Adams.  So, that is what we will be raising our glasses with to celebrate this special beer day.

Thirteenth Hour is from their Barrel Room collection.  It's name is inspired by the witching hour . . . somewhere between midnight and 3 AM . . . a time when dark and magical things occur.  Thirteenth hour is brewed with 13 ingredients, seven of which are malts, and aged in oak barrels.  Not all the ingredients are listed, but it's these mysterious ingredients make for a bewitching brew.

It pours as black as a witching hour on a moonless night.  It's aroma has an almost red wine quality to it.  

The first sip my tastebuds were bombarded with the flavors of dark fruit and bitter chocolate.   The second sip, again, had an almost red wine-ish quality to it . . . very interesting and complex.  A little boozy but that's not unexpected in beer with 9% ABV.  Aside from the previously mentioned, there are certainly a lot of flavors in this beer melding together.  Overall, a very enjoyable sipping beer.  Despite my misgivings about Samuel Adams it surely tastes like a hand crafted beer . . . someone put some thought and feeling into the creation of this amazing brew.  Very yummy . . . classy. 

A worthy beer to toast International Stout Day with!  And I got special badge from Untappd, too!  Cheers!!