Samuel Adams Rebel IPA
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer is way more balanced than your typical IPA. The first note was more malt than hops, which was interesting. Bread and toasted malt. Then the hops. Floral, slightly earthy, a bitnof pine. Balance is the big word here. Super drinkable. A go-to beer for sure.

 

A lighter IPA that I think works well as a tasty refresher.

 

Poured a couple of brown 12 oz. bottles into a singular clear glass liter mug for observation. It's a light bright copper color, with emphasis on light. Rather translucent more than colorful, maybe the head and lacing will compensate. No, there's little of either there. The lacing outperforms, but not by much. It's not aromatic, neither. OK, now for the taste, the big category. Unfortunately, nothing to rave about here. It's pretty good; well balanced between a noticeable malt backbone, which is more earthy than sweet (good) and a hoppy finish. The body is a little thin and the hops aren't bitter enough, but they're there. If ever there was an IPA intended to be mass produced to offend the least number of drinkers, this is it. Not at all rebellious, it conforms to the basic norms of a mainstream beer with a hint of a style above the standard American lager. Likely the best choice at national chain restaurants.

12/11/14:
Appearance: clear, bright golden hue, long-lasting, bone white head, looking good.

Aroma: Fresh and lively hop aromatics, screaming with citrus and tropical fruits, bristling with pine and grass. Green as it gets.

Taste: Brisk hop bite at the front, soft and mellow from there on out. Light bodied, but with a long, bitter hop finish. Exquisite drinkability, but for hop-heads only. Bitter hop resins lay long on the palate, providing more than sufficient refreshment for those of us who crave the alpha acids.

A very nice rendition of this popular style, but it's not just not landing on the top tier, I'm afraid. A few steps short.

Wait. I just noticed something. The box reads: "Enjoy before Dec. 2014." No specific date given. This was purchased in early December 2014. I always see a lot of these cases at the store I bought it at, I'm guessing it's not that popular, for whatever reason. Maybe if I'd bought it earlier, it would taste fresher, and I'd see higher up on that tier…maybe...

What's the paper on the bottle say? "Rebel IPA is brewed with 5 varieties of West Coast hops: Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook & Amarillo, It's everything we love about West Coast-style IPAs, Big citrus & grapefruit flavors with subtle pine notes for a flavorful, refreshing brew."

 

 

 

 

 

Pours golden yellow with A 3/4 inch white head. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is grassy, piney, fruity, cedar.

Tastes of pine, grapefruit, earth, resinous.

Medium bodied, light carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

Lower carbonation than I expect from an IPA. Bottled 12/19. May be past its prime. still a good beer.

Wow!
Starting with the look is good with abit of flatness. Smells great! Hoppy and truly aromatic like an IPA should be. Taste is amazing with abit of bitterness kick towards the end. Too say its fruity, it is definitely not, sweetness is very well balanced with bitterness. It will definitely play tricks on your taste buds. Definitely worth a try

 

Picked-up a six pack of bottles at Long Ridge Wine & Spirits for about ten dollars. Have had many brew from these guys before. This is decent, very malty. More of an English IPA.

 

 

 

This beer pours a very pale golden color with a bitchin foamy white head. The smell isn't overly hoppy, but they are there. Small hint of pine notes with maybe a little flower to it. The taste is very clean & this beer goes down easy, decent amount of hoppy bite to it. I would consider it a session IPA. It's more flat than it is carbonated, very light on the palate. This isn't a world class IPA, nor should it be, I think this is a very approachable IPA & one that could definitely be crushed while grillin or chillin. Anyone looking to get into the world of IPA's could start with this brew!

 

 

16oz can, pint glass, best by June 2020.

Crystal clear goldenrod with a whopper of a head! Two plus fingers of cratering new parchment foam rise and linger, dissipating slowly, becoming more craggy as time advances.

Clean, biting grapefruit rind, a trace of pineapple, some caramel peeking through as this nears it's drink by date, and Cascade floral-ness.

I get a dose of biscuity caramel that's quickly doused by a hit of grapefruit and bitterness. Pine and mango develop and pass into a medium bitter finish that's mostly clean, but sports a little soapy pith. It's really quite a hoppy one.

Medium bodied, though with more viscosity than normal for the style. The carbonation is medium-high and stands up to it.

I come away almost embarrassed that I've always discounted this beer, so much so that I hadn't tried it until this monstrous deal of a case of 16oz cans for $12 landed in my lap. I have my vacation pool beer now. I appreciate Sam's homage to the classic American, almost West Coast, IPA. Even when almost six months old the hops are very present.

 

 

 

 

 

Found this one locally at Lucky's Supermarket as they are now having their going out of business sale. Not bad, not great but very drinkable. I wish I could have found this earlier.

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle. It poured a honey color with a 3/4” head and had a subtle hoppy aroma. Taste was very good with typical bitter-hoppy we expect from a mass marketed beer. This beer is very drinkable and would purchase again.