Review: Verloren, Norse Legend

The Boston Beer Co. is getting more and more daring with these Samuel Adams Single Batch beers. The latest two, which come out this month, are styles less familiar to most beer drinkers, but they're interesting, well-crafted brews.

Samuel Adams Verloren is a gose, a German ale brewed with both malted barley and wheat. In the case of Verloren (the German word for "lost," since gose is considered a lost style), the brewers used Munich and two-row pale malts, and both malted and unmalted barley, as well as Saaz hops, coriander, and salt. (Sam Adams' marathon-themed beer, 26.2, is also a gose, but a tamer one.)

Cloudy orange wth a creamy head, Verloren has an aroma that recalls a hefeweizen but incorporates delicate perfumey esters as well. It tastes a bit like a wheat ale too, but it's more complex -- lemony with hints of apple and pear; a bit peppery and spicy; and mildly tart at the end. I'm not quite sure how this style got lost, but it should find its way back. Verloren is 6 percent alcohol. A 22-ounce bottle costs $6.

Norse Legend is a sahti, a Finnish beer traditionally brewed by women, often incorporating juniper berries. Indeed, Sam Adams's sahti was a project of the company's head brewer, Jennifer Glanville. The beer was brewed with juniper berries and then aged on them as well.

Murky brown with a tan head, Norse Legend gives off an earthy, floral, spicy aroma. It tastes woody and slightly smoky, and finishes sweet and floral. Norse Legend is 7 percent alcohol. A 22-ounce bottle costs $6.

I enjoyed both immensely. Despite their moderate alcohol contents, they're both good sipping beers, so spend some time with them.

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