Review: Samuel Adams homebrew contest winner at Gillette Stadium
A few weeks ago I let you know about Matthew Welz of Vermont, winner of the fifth annual Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest. Welz's winning brew, a robust smoked porter, will be poured at Gillette Stadium during Patriots games this season.
The Patriots have their first home game Sunday at 1 p.m., and I wanted to tell you about the beer, which I was able to sample in the comfort of my own home. The beer pours pitch black with one finger of beautiful, off-white head. Welz's smoked porter is brewed with five varieties of malt. It's balanced by the espresso character of carafe malt, which is evident in the nose. It smells of espresso and cocoa beans, and there are nice, smoky notes.
The beer tastes of smoke and chocolate. Caramel notes come through from the malt, and you're left with a pleasant sweetness in the aftertaste. It's a thick beer, one that will get you through a 37-6 trouncing of the Colts on a cold November afternoon. If I were going to a Patriots game, I'd drink this beer and turn my nose up on the folks drinking Coors Light. Then I'd run like heck to avoid getting beat up on my way to the parking lot.
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About 99 BottlesGary Dzen writes about craft beer here and in the Globe when he's not covering the Celtics for Boston.com. He can be reached at gdzen@boston.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeGaryDzen.
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