The Name's Adams. Sam Adams.


Brewery and Country of Origin: Sam Adams Brewery of 30 Germania Street, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

Date Reviewed: 3-25-13

If you can read this then you can probably speak English. If you can speak English, you've probably heard of England. And if you've heard of England, you probably know who James Bond is. You know. 007. MI-6. Judy Den... we mean M. Bond is a British Secret Service Agent who basically uncovers and destroys the evil and clandestine plans of his adversaries. Time and time again, he is called to save the world from a vast array of seemingly impossible and massively expensive evil schemes including melting the ice caps with a space bourne sun powered sattelite laser, launching an atomic bomb within Fort Knox, creating super diseases, blowing up California, and of course, making the US and Soviet Russia blame each other for stealing space junk. And while he's on a mission, just playing poker or flirting with a Russian spy, he gains access to the world's (or at least the British's) best cars, weapons, technology, and of course, every conceivably hot girl out there. And though James Bond is as well known to you and the world as "Gangnam Style", he is always as elusive as his foes within SPECTRE. His superiors within the agency, his random exotic hookups & one night stands, and his enemies seem to know him best, but they're always mislead in some profound and fundamental way. They never know really what Bond is actually up to. That whole "man of mystery" thing is part of what makes the entity of Bond so appealing to a wide global audience. And in some completely unrealated, non sequitur fashion, that brings us to the newest addition to the already impressive Sam Adams family. This is a lager. More specifically, this is an India Pale Lager. As you know from any normal IPA, the "India Pale" part of that is what makes the IPA such a popular and historical style. For a bit of history and educational whatnot about the IPA, read our review on a very good one. In general though, pale lagers don't usually offer much in the way of a hoppy experience. Not like a bitter ale. So to add a greater amount of hops into the mix makes this a unique brew which potentially takes the best of both a pale and an IPA, and turns the combination into a rare and hard to find style. As far as Mr. Bond is concerned, the role of a secret agent or some special forces government man is a pretty familiar concept, as is the idea of a suave, millionare, womanizing, world traveling playboy who shamelessly goes after only married women. But the fusion of both of these characters into a single man has created perhaps the greatest crime fighter who hasn't been exposed to radiation or capes.
Date Sampled: 3-21-13 At: Sam Adams Open House, Sam Adams Brewery, 30 Germania Street, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
Beer Style: India Pale Lager
Alcohol by Volume: 5.00%
Serving Type: Brewery Keg, 7 oz Sampler Plastic Tumbler Glass *(3)
Rating: 3.02

Look

Double Agent pours choppy with a medium high level of carbonation action, producing a half inch foam head with a medium density, and a below average retention. This beer has an average amount of lacing. This is a clear beer with no sediment and a bright golden light amber colored shine in the light.

Aroma

This beer has a moderately low strength aroma with a mostly hoppy character. This bitterness is reflective of this beer's higher use of hops compared to most pale lagers. There are also some lighter, non roasted, semi-sweet malty notes present, as well as some grainy and citrusy fruity notes detectable. There is no alcoholic tinge in the aroma.

Feel

This is a medium light bodied beer with an above average level of carbonation, a low viscosity, and a low weight. This combination makes the Double Agent IPL a pretty crisp, airy, light, and refreshing beer which goes great with the break of spring... though that doesn't seem to be possible in the Northeast this year so far. This beer has a crisp, dry finish with a small amount of lingering.

Taste

This beer has an average strength flavor with an overall bitter hoppy profile, which again, is a testament to this lager's unique makeup. This beer also features a citrusy flavor which goes well with a more mellow mild cheese. We were served dark chocolate covered malt barley bits. This beer has a slightly grainy secondary flavor, and a short lasting, bitter and grainy aftertaste.

Our Take

Overall, this is a good brew which offers a combined experience unlike anything we've had before. Makes for an interesting review. But unfortunately, there were some reasonably large faults which were detrimental to this beer's score. a weak presence and a disappointingly weak aroma made this beer a bit less robust than we were hoping for. The flavor is a bit too grainy for our taste as well. But in general, the rest of this beer's flavor was spot on. And there should still be a bit of graininess expected from a lager. The lighter body also helped to remind us that although snow is still on the forecast, spring is officially upon us. This beer's bright golden shine looked great in the brewery's lights, and the crisp and dry finish was exactly what this style calls for. The aroma, albeit weak, did have some real complexity and several different notes were present and distinct. Hey, this beer is daring and experimental. We like that. And we all know that MI-6's best agent isn't without his faults either.