Boston Brewing Company's Samuel Adams Long Shot Old Ben Ale

The only reason I bought this was because of the Long Shot competition. I bet it started as a great beer. but will be greatly reduced after Sam Adams gets hold of it.

Pours a deep coppery amber with a nice small-celled tan head. Nice bready smell to it, with no alcohol, a surprise for a 9% beer.

There's the alcohol. It's the biggest part of the taste, followed by a sickly sweet fruit taste. Not citrus, more dank.

I bet this was alright at the home brew competition, but here it's odd. Too much going on to be an old ale, I think.

Boston Brewing Company's Cream Stout

Well, it's early enough in the day to wash my mouth out thoroughly, so I figured I'd try this one from Sam Adams. This is where my compulsion to try every stout I see bites me in the ass.

Although it's fairly opaque in the glass, it pours kind of watery for a stout. Looks like a bock, almost, especially if any light shines on the glass. Thin tan head just kind of sits there.

Smells as much like a pale as it does a stout. Not roasted enough, and too hoppy. Also too lightly grainy.

Taste is much the same. The usual stout flavors are only in the aftertaste, and the feel is watery. Weak, all around.

If Budweiser made a stout, this is what it would taste like. No, Budweiser actually does a good job at what they do--they unabashedly make wimpy, light beers. Sam Adams pretends to be a craft brewer while making wimpy, light beers. The difference is huge.

Sure, I have a built-in bias against Sam Adams, so I'll be objective here: this beer sucks.