Sam Adams Rebel Raw Double IPA

thats fuckin butt.
I hope it holds up til late december when Im in town.

 

If this one-time release is true, it's just another fail in my opinion, which is just the trend for SA the last decade.

 

Looks like they changed the wording on their blog: http://blog.samueladams.com/looking-rebelraw/

No more "one-time" mention. I was going to say it would be pretty disappointing if they hyped it up to only release it once, but wouldn't make sense since there has been one batch sent out for promotional use and then another batch for sale. I'm hoping that the distro for MA spreads pretty far to avoid actually going to Boston, as by that point I could have just gotten a growler of it. I'm guessing if this is successful, they'll definitely expand distribution, but who knows by how much.

 

Still, no NH? F*ck off SA.

 

6 lbs. of hop per barrel seems rather respectable.

 

Had this last night. I thought it was very solid. No where close to heady but a very respectable IPA with a different hop profile. Now I need to drink the other 3 and write a thorough review

 

It's a marketing tactic to see if the new branding is relevant or not with beer aficionados. Marketing people are paying close attention to this thread, obviously.

If it receives positive feedback, they would most likely do seasonal or regional runs, but the formula would be tuned down from the sample presser run.

SAMB knows there is presently a large market share for higher ABV% hazy New England IPA's in 16 ounce cans bundled in 4-packs. This is the most sought after beer style and packaging format in the US at the moment.

They obviously have the craftsmanship and resources to produce a product as good as Heady Topper, but, can they do so in a profitable fashion, and with national distribution?

Rebel Raw DIPA seems like a tester for this marketing paradigm.

 

Where is the information on the sam adams website? I couldn't find anything.

 

hear, hear!

 

IMO, 1 run doesn't seem like a true-tested period of time. I feel like if they really wanna get a handle on the market for it, etc., something like a 3-month period, of three brewings of it would make more sense. There's plenty of beers that get hyped and seem up my alley that I don't end up biting for right away. I let the thrill settle, see how people respond, then go for it. I feel like one sample brewing would inevitably be unprofitable. You don't let the craft nerds get a chance to get it in BIFs or trades or at festivals or whatever, and you don't leave enough time for the retailers to push it on day 28 for the not-so-informed beer consumer to buy it blindly. The latter accounts for a lot of beer purchases in my mind.

 

So a verdict?

 

Really hoping this sees better distribution.

 

Solid DIPA. The ABV lends some syrupy sweetness to it that I'd rather not have in a DIPA, but overall, I was impressed. Hop profile was nice (more citrusy than tropical), beer was well balanced, and the 10% got me a nice little buzz after two of them. It was better than expected, but still not on the level of a Second Fiddle or an Afterimage or a Heady. I'd pick it up again though.

 

Picked one up today and cracked it just now. As the above user stated has that syrupy sweetness going on but does taste like they just shoved as much hops in here as they could. Just that sweetness gets in the way and a little all over the place when trying to nail the flavors down. Im not the best at writing reviews but the beer isnt bad, just the beer comes together messy for my taste

 

I wish they would take the "west coast style" off the label, they taste nothing like our Hop bombs here in Cali.

 

They should just can Rouser.

 

I guess I'm in the minority because all I got was an overpowering malt profile. There was a slight lingering bitterness no doubt from all the hops, and I thought the beer was actually pretty decent...but if Heady was what they were going for, they missed completely

 

Is SA only doing limited distribution so they can get the "notes of rarity" to come through the flavor profile?

 

Brilliant satire vis a vis the state of the industry right now. Rare beer is extra delicious!

 

i was able to last night... heady won IMO by far... RRD was way too sweet, a bit cloying. mouthfeel and taste throughout were a bit inconsistent.