Samuel Adams - Rebel Grapefruit IPA

Blech, I love Sam Adams but Summer Ale is one of their worst to me. It's not on the level of Cherry Wheat in terms of being bad, but I think what gets me is that I can taste a good beer until that weird wheat flavor takes over at the end that tastes like soggy cardboard.

 

Wow the BBC hate is too much. BBC and SN effectively kick-started the craft beer revolution back in the late 1980s, possibly along with Anchor Steam and Pete's Wicked. However, BBC's Boston Lager, and way back SN Pale Ale, were the truly popular brews that took off nationally and started people down the road we now enjoy. Should the Robert Mondavi winery only be permitted to bottle Fume Blanc, simply because that was their original hit? Every winery that's quality-oriented tries their hand at the several varietals, with greater or lesser success. BBC does an excellent lager - their original Boston Lager - but that's not all they can do. They do a good Marzen for Oktoberfest sympathizers. They do a good Holiday ale in Christmastime. Their Cherry Wheat is very popular and has its moments. Sure, some Sam Adams beers seem like beery-malt, dated anti-Buds - too many. BBC continues to work and try to improve and that's a good thing. I don't drink Rebel often, but Rebel's not terrible. Rebel's okay. It's just usually not as good to my tastes as some competitors - including at the price point Lagunitas and SN Torpedo on sale. If Rebel grapefruit comes in at the same price point and is awesome - great! I'll try it and may enjoy it often if it's good.

 

I think its called survival. Noticing that a lot of the "original craft beers" in America are suffering from quality, innovation, creativity etc. Look at Pete's Wicked (gone) and I recently noticed that Stoudts etc are sucking it lately. They are trying to stay competitive which means its cheaper to copy than to be innovative IMHO.

 

What, pray tell, would they have to do to be labeled as 'innovative'?

 

Not much different than any highly sought after brewery where you have to wait in line on the day of bottling and their beer must be consumed within 5 days for maximum appeal?

 

duh, release super-limited barrel aged stouts, brah

 

I will definitely try this one!

 

Drank a sample bottle last night. Nothing special and to bitter in a bad way.

 

So I had it, it's......alright. I feel like the base IPA in here should be what Rebel actually is.

Grapefruit Sculpin is way more shandy like than this, this is beer with hints of grapefruit and then a bitter grapefruit finish. It's not bad and I'll certainly drink some when it gets warmer, but they probably should have made it even more grapefruit.

 

I always thought the original Rebel IPA's were grapefruity enough, without the actual grapefruit.

 

Had this on tap at Barrett's Ale House in N Attleboro, MA. Very good less sweet and more bitter than expected in a good way. Very well done beer. I'd buy this over Grapefruit Sculpin. Since you can probably get 12 for a couple for bucks.

 

I had this Friday night on draught, and thought it resembled grapefruit sculpin, although the grapefruit was less prominent. i actually preferred this to grapefruit sculpin and if SA can get the price point down to 9.00 a sixer of this, it will become a staple in my fridge. As long as they are producing good tasting beer, I dont mind the new experimental beers they make. some are flops and some are great. there are few breweries that every beer they make i enjoy. hoping this one start popping up in packages, not just on draught. well done Sam Adams!

 

I thought this was tasty. If you like grapefruit and IPAs it's tough not to like. Definitely a better warmer weather drinker.

 

Just had this the other day, really enjoyable. Stacks up with Grapefruit Sculpin and will undoubtedly be markedly cheaper.

 

Are all these new IPAs a result of ex Blue Jacket ex Wormtown brewery Parisi?

 

Having yet to try this, I might be okay with a brewery making this enjoyable and NOT selling it for 15-16 bucks for a sixer like Ballast Point does.

 

Really? You must be outside of California, then. I (occasionally) pay about $14.99/6-pack of Sculpin and that seems a bit steep to me.

 

It's extremely pricey -- and since Ballast Point has gotten so big and was recently acquired by a large beverage conglomerate, they really don't have the "we're too small to sell it cheaper" excuse anymore. They've realized people are willing to pay that much, so there you go. Let's hope Sam Adams gives them some much-needed competition in this area.

 

All smoked session gruits, all the time

 

I believe this will out in bottles by sometime next month.