Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Samuel Adams Boston LagerSamuel Adams Boston Lager
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From:
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Vienna Lager
Ranked #52
ABV:
5%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,537
Avg:
3.73 | pDev: 14.21%
Reviews:
2,911
Ratings:
9,962
Status:
Active
Rated:
Thursday at 11:26 PM
Added:
Apr 27, 2001
Wants:
  246
Gots:
  2,930
Four Ingredients. Painstakingly Chosen. Every year, we travel to Bavaria to hand-select Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops, and the high American plains for the finest two-row summer barley. We cultivate our own lager yeast and I personally sample every batch. All our hard work goes into brewing this distinctly flavorful and complex beer for you. Cheers!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JohnnyI:
Photo of JohnnyI
Reviewed by JohnnyI from South Carolina

4.02/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
From time to time I love to revisit classics like this one. I still recall my first Sam Adams. It was 1993 and I was all of 14 years old, thinking I was cool to snag such a refined beer for my house party (sorry Mom!). That first one ended up as a drain pour. I was so shocked and appalled at the (gasp) flavor that the beer imparted that it just confounded me. Mind you, this was over half a lifetime ago, and I was still under the impression that fire-brewed Strohs and MillerLite cans were the pinnacle of brewing. I'd like to believe that despite the drain pour, that beer planted the seed in my mind that has grown in to my obsession for craft beer. Well enough nostalgia. Here we go...

The beer pours a bright tangerine color with lively carbonation that sends bubbles streaming to the surface. This one could grace a beer commercial. Perfect, thick white head that falls gradually with lacing all the way to the rim. Impressive. Fruity esters and a buttery malt aroma in the nose. A little bit of citrus and spice from the hops. The flavor is malty, complex and delicious. I think we beer advocates forget just how good this beer truly is. There's just a touch of caramel sweetness, with cereal grain and a well-balanced bitterness in the finish. Hints of orange peel spice and some toffee on the tongue. The body is remarkably fuller than one might expect. I attribute this to a little sleight of hand with the aggressive carbonation. The prickly suds convey a creamy mouthfeel and feign fullness with masterful precision. Nice clean finish that begs for another gulp. At under 5% ABV, this is a powerhouse of flavor and texture. I cannot think of a single small lager that packs as much moxie as the flagship beer from Boston. Still world class in today's glut of aspiring craft kings.
Dec 30, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of DumbRunner26
Reviewed by DumbRunner26 from North Carolina

3.48/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This beer is good at what it’s suppose to be. An available easy drinker that tops the watered down macro swill. Decent head, yeast aroma, bread flavor with a crisp refreshing mouthfeel. Drink it when ya just want a beer and don’t want to have to think about the beer you are drinking
Mar 06, 2024
Photo of Tolianych_Pivomnabuhanych
Rated by Tolianych_Pivomnabuhanych from Vermont

3.12/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
It's a decent beer, but it's not all that. Definitely an overhyped brew. It'll do.
Feb 26, 2024
Photo of Dominic2011
Rated by Dominic2011 from Illinois

4.94/5  rDev +32.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
great beer
Feb 18, 2024
Photo of MetalHead7734
Reviewed by MetalHead7734 from South Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This review is for the "Remastered" Boston Lager. Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass.

Look: Thick off-white head and light caramel colored. Actually good head retention.

Smell: Malty with a moderate hop accent in the background. A light caramel note.

Taste: Starts with a strong caramel, malty note. The hops are nothing more than a light accent here. The finish starts malty but eventually some hop flavor creeps in which provides a pleasant zing at the tail end.

Feel: Just light enough to not be completely boring. Carbonation feels about right.

Overall: A perfectly fine brew, but a little boring. Fairly well balanced, if maybe a little under-hopped.The overall caramel character is nice. They've really dialed the hops down a couple points with this one. I can see this pairing well with some pizza or something. I cant say that I can really see there being a huge market for this in the current beer climate. This beer seems like more of a background player.
Feb 01, 2024
Photo of Mvr6507
Reviewed by Mvr6507

3.12/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I've been a huge fan of Boston Lager for over 20 years. The last time I had it was before the Remaster and I have no idea why they needed to change it. It does not hit like it used to in terms of overall flavor. The bouquet of hops that used to hit the nose are no longer there. The former bite it had is now gone. It used to be the hallertau hop aroma was present but it's just not there. Such a strange transition from beer that was great.
Jan 28, 2024
 
Rated: 3.57 by SeanP99 from North Carolina

Jan 11, 2024
Photo of LanceBiggums
Reviewed by LanceBiggums from Canada (AB)

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Clear copper amber with a white head. Toffee, biscuit, and a hint of pepper on the nose. More hoppy on the flavour, with citrus and pepper notes, and a bit of caramel malt sweetness. Drinks a lot like an English ale, though the amber lager influence is apparent too. Overall surprisingly good for a beer brewed on this scale.
Jan 03, 2024
 
Rated: 3.27 by sewerchewer from New York

Dec 31, 2023
Photo of dano213
Reviewed by dano213 from Pennsylvania

3.56/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle received as a gift. APR 2024 on the neck of the bottle; not sure what that means in terms of when this was bottled but I would guess that it's dated six months ahead. If so, that would mean that this was bottled in October, and this would be approximately two months old. It also says P 319 3 1952 22W which may mean that it was bottled on the 319th day of 2023; if so, that corresponds to November 15, which would make this beer 31 days old.

Look: It's a light amber color with light copper tones. The beer has lively carbonation and an off-white head that is sticking around for a while.

Smell: On the nose, I get notes of cola, bread crust, and caramel. There are some subtle dried fruit notes along with some grassy/herbal hop character. There is something that smells a little weird about the aroma, but I can't place it.

Taste: My initial reaction is that this beer is very drinkable. But after a few sips, I am getting the impression that it has too much sweetness and something is not right in terms of the beer's balance. Up front, the beer has notes of caramel and toffee and some chocolate as well. There is mild bitterness on the finish but I am still left with a cloying maltiness on my palate and the beer seems out of balance to me.

Feel: It's on the lighter side of medium bodied. It has a bit of creaminess and chewiness. The carbonation seems to be right.

Overall: I am curious to learn how this beer has been "remastered." For me, the beer lacks balance. This beer lacks the crisp, clean, snappiness that a Vienna Lager should have, which also allows it to be the sessionable beer that it should be.
Dec 17, 2023
Photo of blkgeorge
Rated by blkgeorge

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Remastered version is cleaner and brighter tasting with the same flavor profile but without the prior heavy syrupy sweetness. It's better.
Dec 09, 2023
Photo of MetalRugMan
Rated by MetalRugMan from Kansas

4.4/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
Great beer, the taste is perfect. this is a beer that I don't like sharing.
Dec 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.16 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 02, 2023
Photo of LeinenkugelDrinker
Reviewed by LeinenkugelDrinker from Nevada

3.25/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Everything about this beer is just a little better than average. It certainly is unique, but not overly great. Very drinkable. Smell is citrusy with hop notes, while taste is hoppy with citrus notes. Solid 3 and a quarter.
Dec 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.09 by BLVBBERGIXLL from Arizona

Nov 30, 2023
Photo of Cholla
Reviewed by Cholla from New Jersey

5/5  rDev +34%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This is Boston Lager Remastered. I think I like the older version better. It’s not a bad beer. It’s easy to drink and very quaffable. So give it a try. You might like it. Cheers!
Nov 29, 2023
Photo of Sluggo1987
Reviewed by Sluggo1987 from Michigan

2.83/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This is the new Remastered version

At first glance, it's obviously much lighter in color. It also has much less on the nose. The taste is aggresively hop-forward, almost as much as a Pale Ale, and has almost no maltiness to it. This gives way to bitterness from the hops and finishes slightly sour. This is not the Boston Lager I've enjoyed for almost 20 years. If I wanted hops and a lack of malt character, I would have bought a pale ale. Nothing gold can stay.
Nov 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.69 by Mickeyharris from Alabama

Nov 09, 2023
Samuel Adams Boston Lager from Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 9962 ratings