Samuel Adams Alpine Spring: best new beer

The trouble with Keller Bier is that it's best when fresh. There are a few imports from Germany that aren't bad, but they're best at the source. St. Georgan Keller Bier fresh from the tap is outstanding stuff. That said, the Alpine is a pretty good take on the style.

 

It's good, but not great to me.

 

I thought that Alpine Spring was an OK beer. I had it on tap and I agree with Longstaff’s description: “really biscuity”.

I think there may be some confusion of the ‘style’ of this beer. While it is an unfiltered beer and consequently could be described as a Kellerbier I think this beer is ‘interesting’ in that the Sam Adams brewers were trying for a number of different attributes in making this beer. I appreciate that the brewers were being very innovative in formulating this beer. Below is the description that Sam Adams provides for Alpine Spring .

Cheers!


“Brewed especially for the season, this bright citrusy unfiltered lager is both satisfying and refreshing. It’s the perfect transition from winter’s heavier brews to the lighter beers of summer. Borne of our brewers’ many trips to Germany, Alpine Spring features a unique blend of lager attributes: the balanced maltiness and hoppiness of a Helles, the smoothness and slightly higher alcohol of a traditional spring bock, and the unfiltered appearance of a Kellerbier. The beer is brewed with Tettnang Noble hops to add a unique, bright orange-citrusy aroma and flavor.”

 

Not that I disagree about it being 2 different beers, but I really want to try them side-by-side for the sake of comparison. After all, it's not often you get some good, fresh lagers coming from a well-established craft brewery.

 

I didn't think Alpine Spring was bad...I just thought it could much better. There is still some tacky malt flavors that I've gotten from most of their lagers (save for their Oktoberfest) - Boston, Noble Pils, etc. If I didn't know any better I would say that they are using a decent amount of 6-row. Honestly, I could also do without the lemon zest.

 

That's the exact purpose it has been serving me.

SA doesn't do itself any favors by having packaging which fails to entice,or at the very least draw some distinction between other SA brews. In that regard they seem to come across as a BMC sort,IMO.

 

You're in luck, there's no "lemon zest" in SA Alpine Spring (click on "Profile" after getting through their age check). The promo's for the beer do mention "citrusy" hop notes, etc.

Perhaps you're confusing it with Summer Ale, which includes "lemons" under Special Ingredients.

 

Still haven't tried it. Probably the next 6 pack I buy.

 

I enjoyed Alpine Spring. I'm not rushing out to get a six-pack of it, but it was a good beer.

 

I had it on tap the other night with a big bowl of cajun mac & cheese and I thought it quite good. It went extremely well with spicy food. I will try it again on it's own, but so far I'm a fan.

 

Thanks for the catch. Only 19 IBUs and it looks like they dry hop with Tettnanger. For a future version of it, I can secretly hope that they drop the dry-hopping (but I'm sure I'm in the minority here). It's funny, I notice that not only the Apline Spring uses 2-row Harrington, Metcalfe and Copeland pale malts - but so do Boston Lager and Noble Pils. I guess I can't rule out their lager yeast just yet, but this does make me wonder.

 

Yeah, BA "steveh" and I have been discussing this, I also get an off-putting bitterness with my first taste of the beer, and not what I'd associate with a hop bitterness- a "lemon zest-like" sharpness more than BBC's "citrusy". I've been blaming the yeast, a sort of yeast bite. I quickly get used to it, and enjoy the beer.

And, yeah, it's the same yeast as SABL (which I can take or leave) and Noble Pils (among my favorite US pilsners) but those beers aren't unfiltered.

 

Right -- and I know that BBC yeast character everyone talks about; I always get it from the Boston Lager and the Light, but it just doesn't seem as prominent in the Alpine or Noble Pils to me.

 

The other trouble with it being a kellerbier is that the, generally speaking, kellerbier is kind of a catch all name for unfiltered versions of traditional lager varieties. I, for one, thoroughly enjoy Alpine Spring and it does remind me of some of the various Keller/Zwickel biers I had in Germany and Austria. Incredibly refreshing and it's not dominated by big bold flavors which makes it easy to drink.

 

It tastes more like a Helles to me. Helles is not my personal favorite style.

Below is what I previously posted:

I think there may be some confusion of the ‘style’ of this beer. While it is an unfiltered beer and consequently could be described as a Kellerbier I think this beer is ‘interesting’ in that the Sam Adams brewers were trying for a number of different attributes in making this beer. I appreciate that the brewers were being very innovative in formulating this beer. Below is the description that Sam Adams provides for Alpine Spring .

Cheers!

“Brewed especially for the season, this bright citrusy unfiltered lager is both satisfying and refreshing. It’s the perfect transition from winter’s heavier brews to the lighter beers of summer. Borne of our brewers’ many trips to Germany, Alpine Spring features a unique blend of lager attributes: the balanced maltiness and hoppiness of a Helles, the smoothness and slightly higher alcohol of a traditional spring bock, and the unfiltered appearance of a Kellerbier. The beer is brewed with Tettnang Noble hops to add a unique, bright orange-citrusy aroma and flavor.”

 

I fall on the side of not impressed, I must admit. This beer is kind of like a half-finished Bob Ross painting for me; like when he has just created a delicate Alpine background and then he takes the paint knife and slaps some crazy black tree in the middle of it. Most of the Kellerbiers I've had never had that sharp estery quality that this beer does. Just doesn't do it for me.

 

This just highlights the whole problem with categorizing beers by all these so called "styles". In Germany, Austria, and maybe a few other places, you'll find Kellerbiers and Zwickels that range quite a bit in strength, malt bill, and hopping rate because they traditionally have been unfiltered (with a shorter fermentation) versions of other various lagers. I agree, this one does taste a bit like a Helles, albeit hoppier than most. Fortunately I love a good helles, and am a huge fan of simple, well-crafted, and flavorful lagers even if they aren't dry-hopped upto wazoo or bourbon barrel aged for 12 months.

 

Oh -- completely agreed, and I, like Jack, find this more to the Helles style of a Keller than anything else. But unlike Jack, I happen to like a well-made helles.