Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

This week's (belated) Sunday Night Suds review looks at the Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier.

[Programming Note - This will be IYH the last belated Sunday Night Suds post. I hope to return to the regular format next week].

Over the winter, the proprietor in my favorite beer store, who knows my like for Samuel Adams mentioned to me that he had just gotten in the Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier. I was tempted to purchase it, but was unable to find it on the Star-K list. I then sent the Star-K an email about it, but never heard received a response from them.

This week I was looking to get rid of some bottles from a prior Samuel Adams mix box which I had been holding onto while I waited for an answer from the Star-K as to whether they were kosher. Since the bottles were nearing their expiration date and the Star-K had not responded to multiple e-mails about them, I decided to check the latest LOC. While the two I had been holding were still not on the list (and are now in the trash), I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Blackberry Witbier was now approved. Two days later I was in a gas station on my way up to camp when I saw it sitting in a fridge - a six pack of Blackberry Witbier! I knew that I had to try it.

I drove up to camp and put two in the fridge to have with my daf after supper. By the time I returned they were truly ice cold and ... bitter. I was a little disappointed, but I was not ready to give up. Instead, I put the cup down and continued my learning. I picked it up again about ten minutes later and it was remarkably sweeter. While certainly not room temperature, the lack of an ice chill had drastically improved the flavor.

So what does it taste like when its "a little cold?" Not very much like a witbier. It actually taste like an American Wheat more than a witbier, with a little bit of a berry bite. I tried one again two days later with burgers and I was surprised that the flavors actually worked as the lack of chill mellowed out the fruit notes.

I will continue experimenting with this brew and b'n report back in later posts...

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. However, this is yet another Samuel Adams brew which does not have the certification mark on the label. If you would like to verify that the Blackberry Witbier is on the LOC issued by the Star-K, please click here http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Blackberry Witbier, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/47364 . As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

Finally, if you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!