Samuel Adams – Ruby Mild & Fat Jack 2013 – First Taste

I was excited to find two great samples from Samuel Adams had arrived at Mybeerbuzz headquarters.  Thank you to everyone at Samuel Adams for sending a sample of 2013 Fat Jack Double Pumpkin as well as their new Ruby Mild.  We brought you a peek at Fat Jack and Ruby Mild so it was exciting to get to sample them both.

We started the fun with Ruby Mild.  This beer is reminiscent of early 1800’s mile ale recipes, however it carries a bit more body as well as ABV.  The color of this beer is gorgeous, with a hint of Ruby as the name would imply.  The nose is decidedly malty with the sweet scent of toffee and some bready and yeasty nose as well.  I’d describe the feel as medium bodied and the flavor is loaded with malt like the nose.  This beer uses seven different malts including Maris Otter so it has a slightly toasted character, but it’s very subtle for me.  Ruby Mild has East Kent Goldings hops on board so there is a traditional English bittering flavor at the back end that fits nicely with the caramel malt flavors.  There were some floral flavors in the background as well as a quiet raisin-tone near the end.  All in all a very nice beer for the style, and at 5.6%, this will be a great fall beer.

Up next we sampled the 2013 version of Fat Jack Double Pumpkin.  I recall this beer from last year so I was curious to see if it has changed at all.  The color of the beer remains the same which is good because it’s a pretty beer.  The aroma still speaks of smokiness and spices and it’s no surprise that the aroma of pumpkin pervades given the 28 pounds of real pumpkins per barrel in this brew.  When sampling you are greeted with some traditional nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon flavors, however if finishes differently.  Fat Jack has a smoky character to it from the smoked malts as well as some traditional pumpkin and sweet caramel and dark molasses flavors that balance the smoke nicely.  The beer also finishes with a slightly boozy and warm ending which will serve to remind you of it’s hidden 8.9% ABV.  Fat Jack finishes clean with some spice and ABV warmth remaining.  At Mrs. BeerBuzz suggestion, we also sampled this beer with a cheesecake desert and it worked very nicely.

Be sure to try both of these beers before they’re gone.  Fat Jack is available now in 22oz bottles and on draft, and Ruby Mild is also available now but in 12oz bottles as part of the Samuel Adams Harvest Collection Variety 12-Pack.
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