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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator

Contents:
  Samual Adams Beer (Michael Berry)
  HB DIG #151 (florianb)
  Doppelbocks and Samuel Adams version of it (Ihor W. Slabicky)

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Date: Wed, 17 May 89 09:01:12 mdt
From: Michael Berry <mcb at hpfcls>
Subject: Samual Adams Beer

Someone brought up Sam Adams (sp?) beer in this forum and I finally decided
to take this opportunity to vent some of my frustration about their
advertising techniques that I am subjected to each morning.

They are so proud (and leverage strongly) the fact that they won the GABF
best of show for the last 3 years running.  Let me say a word about that.
They always have these scantilly clad ladies giving away promos that I
feel is a cheap trick to get votes.  I really can't understand how they
can win each year with superior beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale around.
You might be thinking of your favorite brew at the show now and why it
doesn't win.  I don't expect Big Foot Barley Wine to win because it is more
than most folks can handle, so after voting for it for a few years (and
realizing that I was "wasting" my vote as far as getting SA out of 1st place)
I started voting for SNPA.  Are there any of you who actually for for SA 
beer at the GABF?

The next thing that gets to me is the say "Our beer is the only beer brewed
in America that meets the strict German beer purity law (Reinheitsgebot).
I understand this law was recently (within the last 5 years) repealed.
Really burns me each time I hear that.

Now I like SA lager but I don't buy it typically.  I just don't like their
ads and don't want them to win again this year.  There - I said it.

Michael Berry   ARPA:mcb%hpfcls at hplabs.HP.COM   UUCP:hplabs!hpfcla!mcb

PS anyone know the dates for the GABF in Denver this year?

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Date: 17 May 89 08:57:27 PDT (Wed)
From: florianb%tekred.cna.tek.com at RELAY.CS.NET
Subject: HB DIG #151

In HB DIG #151, Peter Soper comments on the difficulty of trucking
water home for homebrew purposes.  I used to buy drinking water in
48# (6 gal) boxes from the local spring water distributor for 
drinking purposes when I lived in Western Oregon.  They would 
deliver two boxes once a month.  Perhaps this is a solution to the
water problem.

Len Reed asks about where to get lactic acid.  One could try a 
pharmacy, or a health food store.  

Cheers!...Florian

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Date: Wed, 17 May 89 10:42:00 EDT
From: uiucdcs!rayssdb.RAY.COM!iws at hplabs.HP.COM (Ihor W. Slabicky)
Subject: Doppelbocks and Samuel Adams version of it

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	Date: Tue, 16 May 89 15:10:38 EDT
	From: hplabs!harvard!ima!wang7!klm
	Subject: Sam Adams Double Bock
	
	This doesn't exactly fit the subject of homebrew but as we are all beer
	afficionados here, I would like to find out if any of you have an
	opinion of the Samuel Adams Double Bock.  An friend of mine tried it
	and his opinion was somewhat neutral.  I tried it and my opinion was
	far from neutral.  I disliked it intensely.
	
	I have had both domestic and German (while I was in Germany) Bocks and
	DoppelBocks, and I have brewed my own Bock according to Papazian's
	guidelines.  Nothing I have had before was anywhere near this new
	Sam Adams brew.  My major complaints are 1)  It's too light, and 2)
	it's far too sweet (almost sickly sweet.)
	
	Now I understand that DoppelBocks should be a bit full-bodied (sweet)
	but I think that this beer goes too far.  I'm almost tempted to write
	the brewery and ask them what they were thinking about when they came up
	with this recipe.

I tried their Double Bock last Friday at Doyle's in the
Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.  My other experiences
with bocks have been:

Genesee Bock - light taste, like their regular beer, with less
hops and more sweetness.  Has a dark color - caramel?

Hope Bock - this has a hoppier taste (it sometimes strikes me
as a bit rough) but is still sweet and not too heavy taste.

Samuel Adams - less of hoppier taste, sweet and not too heavy
taste.  I'd say that Sam Adams is a less hoopier version of
the Hope Bock.

Spaten Doppelspaten - rich taste, a bit sweet, almost no
hoppy taste to it.  Nice head and color.  Strong!

I'd say that the Sam Adams compares very nicely to a good
American Bock (like Hope Bock).  It does not compare at
all to a German bock - like the Doppelspaten.  Sam Adams
probably 'named' the beer a double bock while brewing a bock.
It was not a bad beer, for a bock, in fact very good, but
I didn't think it was a double bock.

My general view of bocks is they should be a dark beer,
sweet, heavy taste, and strong!

Btw, Doyle's is a very nice place to quaff a pint or two.
They have an excellent selection of British brews and US
microbrews on tap - they even had some of the Anchor
Christmas Ale (but were sold out of it when I was there).
Good food and atmosphere, too.  On Washington Street
and some 4 or 5 blocks north of Arbor Way.  Worth the trip!

Ihor

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