Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams
Brewed In: Boston, MA/Cincinnati, OH
ABV: 5.8%
Type: Porter

What they say: Website: Introduced as a member of the Winter Classics Mix Pack in 2004, Samuel Adams Holiday Porter with its rich malt complexity has become a favorite among our winter seasonal brews. In total, five varieties of malted barley are used in the brewing process including a variety of German malt called Carafa. The Carafa gives our Holiday Porter its smooth, roasted malt character. Add generous portions of imported hops to the mix and one has a brew that is both robust and high in drinkability. Carafa is a registered trademark of Weyermann Malt, Bamburg, Germany. Bottle: Samuel Adams Holiday Porter is a full-flavored porter inspired by the famous drink of London’s Victorian era luggage porters. Brewed with generous portions of Caramel, Munich, and Chocolate malt, this hearter porter finishes with traditional English Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. Cheers!

Why I picked it: This is the fifth of six total reviews in the Samuel Adams Winter Classics 2009 sampler pack. Holiday Porter was added to the Winter Classics in 2004 and locked up the fourth slot rather quickly. This only really leaves one rotating slot.

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Presentation (5): Like Old Fezziwig, this beer is exclusively brewed for Winter Classics and, as such, has a unique painting for the label. I rather like the snowy background and the porter (see what they did there?) delivering a barrel of ale to a shopkeeper with children looking on. I like the old-timey feel. The red ribbon on which the beer’s name is displayed is thematically consistent with Old Fezziwig, too. 5

Originality (5): First brewed in 2004, I didn’t have to give it retroactive points. It’s a caramel and chocolate malt porter and, while the Carafa malt is a nice touch, nothing really merits full points. 3

Body (10): This is a pretty rock solid representation of a porter. The dark, ruby color, minimal head, and light lacing leads to a both heavy and refreshing body. Just a touch of carbonation carries the big flavor perfectly. My one single complaint is that it’s a little heavy for the ABV. 7

Taste (10): It tastes, well, like a porter made with chocolate and caramel malts. That’s not to belittle it. It’s tasty, but I can’t place the Carafa malts, which means I can’t really pinpoint what they do to the style. Then again, I like the generic Sam recipe. This is a very tasty, nicely carbonated version of the Sam porter recipe. 9

Efficiency (10): As mentioned above — this beer has a great taste, a high ABV, and a generally nice overall feel. It would be difficult to have more than a couple of these in any one sitting but, again, there’s no way for someone to get more than two at a time. So, its inclusion in a sampler is perfect. 7

Versatility (10): Like the Old Fezziwig, it’s only available two at a time in the Winter Classics sampler. It’s really hard to call it versatile in any way. This was another case in which I considered granting an N/A rating to the versatility but decided it wasn’t fair. The two bottles aren’t really versatile in any way. Of course, they’re not meant to be. 4

The Snob Sez: I’ve been a fan of this beer since they introduced it in 2004. I look forward to it every year and I really wish they’d start putting it in 22 oz bottles for the holiday season.

Final Score: 35 (of 50) – Really good beer

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