Samuel Adams Super Bowl Commerical will Kick Off Widespread Launch of 'Remastered' Recipe

*rotation, not reparation. Nice going Rhettroactive, lol.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your side-by-side tasting. That is very useful input.

Cheers!

 

I did the side by side comparison last night and have to say the new version is better. Less astringent on the finish and slightly lighter body. I think SA did an excellent job changing this beer for the better without hardly changing it! Their little tweaks hit a home run! Take care!

 

Jim, I think this beer is a great example of the importance of brewing process (improvements/changes) vs. just the aspect of ingredients. It seems to me that many (most?) BAs just ‘focus’ on the list of ingredients aspect. I suppose because a list of ingredients is easier to understand.

Cheers!

 

Have you tried one? I was really surprised at the diacetyl in the one I had -- very much as @Domingo has mentioned.

The herbal hop character balances it a little for me, and there's some mild fruitiness in the middle, but this diacetyl note seems to have taken the place of that BBC "house" yeast character.

 

Not yet, but I'll be sure to have a few this weekend. I'll just keep a few bottles reserved for whenever I can get the remastered version if that doesn't happen tomorrow.

 

Round 2:

Had my girlfriend pour a full bottle of each back to back (I washed out the glass with water for the second beer). I didn’t guess which was which until I was done with each one.

This time I guessed wrong! The remastered was first. It tasted very much like my fresh brewery pint of the original. Hoppy to start, which immediately begs another sip. Caramel malt is balanced well by the hops. Not cloying or overbearing at all. Medium dry mouthfeel, just a superbly drinkable beer.

The second beer (the original) was fairly hoppy, but it was an odd off putting hoppy flavor. The sweetness was tending towards that cloying, overbearing character I get sometimes in older Boston Lager. Mouthfeel was slightly slick and not as dry.

The head was great on the remastered, and non-existent with the original. Granted this could have been how she poured it.

Picture below is from this past weekends side-by-side.

Four more bottles of each…I guess this rules out the remastered coming from a warm shelf subduing the hops…

 

That is 100% consistent with my bottle of Remastered Boston Lager I posted about in the past. And I had a second bottle last evening and exactly the same.

I have four more bottles of the remastered left too! Maybe I will drink my third bottle as I watch the Eagles win the Super Bowl this Sunday!

Cheers!

 

So I did not know this but I saw it in the store and picked it up, but apparently Cold Snap was also reformulated for the seasonal mixed pack - and I like it. I'm not normally a witbier guy and if memory serves I never really liked Cold Snap but this was pretty enjoyable to me. Like, it may be the highlight of the mixed pack for me and it's not a style that I particularly enjoy. Could be a palate shift but also could be a better recipe. Would be interested in some more thoughts.

 

Bingo. This is my biggest takeaway from the remastered BL. The supreme drinkabilty. It’s an evolutionary sip. From the reasonably bitter hopping up front to that classic BL caramel malt backbone on the finish. It’s inviting from start to finish.

 

You know after several nights of having both, the best way I can describe the Remastered version is that it’s mouthfeel is better. It’s almost like how I look at Zero Coke compared to Coca Cola. Taste/flavor is very similar but the newer version drinks “cleaner” than the old. The newer versions almost feel “cleaner” on your teeth, less coating. It’s a weird comparison but I feel it works in this instance. I’ve always enjoyed BL, but it think I may like this remastered version more.

 

Ran across thus last night and I will concur with many that the Remastered BL isnt as heavy and is really really clean....its early but...I think I like this version better

 

Tried a blind side by side yet?

I had both again last night. It’s tough to have them back to back on an unclean palate, they just come off as very similar.

I have three left of each. I’m going to take the neck labels off and tape them to the bottom. This way I won’t know which one I’m grabbing.

 

This is very telling.

I bought that Gameday Beers 12-pack mentioned above an have had the same impression of the lagers as @Domingo had -- full of diacetyl.

That said, I also notice that the diacetyl has a cross-over flavor to that house yeast character I remember from most BBC beers in the past -- maybe it's time to scrub that house yeast?

Keeping 2 of the original BLs in reserve for when I find the remastered stuff.

 

I'm having one now, May 2023 notch on the label. Diacetyl is there but extremely slight for me, it only shows itself on a retronasal exhale. Hop character is also very slight, but herbal. Any fruitiness is mild and reminds me of paw paw. Bitterness is at a really nice level, surprising even. I like it overall.

Unfortunately I struck out on getting the remastered today, so a direct comparison is on hold for now.

 

Mine might be April of 23 -- can't recall -- with a "P" brewery mark.

I tried the Pilsner first and got diacetyl in a first whiff and the initial mouthful.

Same with the Alpine and BL. Just surprising because I really liked the Alpine when it was introduced.

 

Round 3.5:

Pulled a bottle blind out of the fridge last night. I took the neck labels off so I couldn’t tell which one I was grabbing. The back label still says remastered though.

Poured it and then as I was throwing it away I glanced at the back label. I was maybe 75% sure it was the original.

Didn’t really dig what I was drinking. Tasted similar to “round 2” in which I didn’t like the original.

It was the original. Two remastered left and one original….

 

Decided to grab a 12er of SA’s Gameday mixed pack cans. It’s got three of the newly remastered BL inside, so I decided to do a side-by-side with a new BL remastered bottle.

Poured in matching glasses one after another, shuffled them up and drank them blind. Both coded best by June.

I should preface that I opened a single can last night. I found it hoppier and slightly less crisp. I mean it’s 99% the same, but packaging does make an impact. This particular can was a bit hoppier up front and had a shorter evolution on the sip.

Side by side today, I was positive that the slightly hoppier, less bright glass was the can. I liked this one a bit less. But I was wrong. This one was the bottle.

Therefore, I’d happily drink both, but I preferred the can.