This is the first Sam Adams I’ve bought in a liquor store. If you’re not familiar with Tennessee law, it is illegal to sell anything but liquor in a liquor store, and liquor is only able to be sold in liquor stores. So that means no wine or whiskey or the like can be found in grocery stores, and beer can’t be found in liquor stores. As with all rules, though, exceptions can be made. If a beer has a high enough alcohol content, it has to be sold in a liquor store. Ridiculous, no? The double bock has an 8.6% alcohol content.The aroma of the beer hits you right out of the bottle. It’s a sweet, syrupy kind of smell that sets you up well for the first taste. It’s just too damn sweet on the front end, and too heavy on the alcohol on the back. It’s a smooth beer with very little carbonation, and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. I like my beer to have a little bubbly to it, but with the pervasive alcohol taste, I’d probably just find it undrinkable. As it is, one glass of this will last me most of the night, and I always end up very sleepy.
Personally, I found this to be a waste of $12. That’s right. Twelve dollars for a 6-pack of this stuff. Not the most expensive beer I’ve bought ($20 for a 4-pack of Samiclaus), but definitely not the cheapest. I’m a big Sam Adams fan, but I’d have to say that this stuff ties their regular Boston Lager as my least favorite beer that they produce.
