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12x12 Samuel Adams Winter Break Variety Pack
Beers Included: Cold Brew Coffee Stout, Winter White Ale, Winter Lager, Old Fezzewig Purchase Date: 6 December 2025 Initial Impressions I broke my rules and bought this pack in early November when I was up in New Hampshire for a weekend. It was cold enough that it felt like winter. Not taking tasting notes at that time, I had to go back and buy this one again. For some reason I was intrigued by the Cold Brew Coffee Stout. I love dark beers, but generally prefer what I call "stout-flavored-stout". I guess I was excited to see any kind of stout in this sampler. Winter Lager has always been a stalwart; even if the recipe has been changed like other Sam Seasonals. Interestingly, the marketing company I work for doing brand ambassador work posted Sam Adams tastings with instructions to tell drinkers that Winter White was replacing Winter Lager as Sam's winter seasonal. Beer, cigar, fresh air and lake views Old Fezzewig is a beer I look for every year. Beer reviews Cold Bre
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Market Basket More for Your Dollar Lager
Beers included: Market Basket More for Your Dollar Lager, or is it just Market Basket Lager? Purchase date: 6 December 2025 Purchase price: $12.99 Initial impressions As much as I respect the business Market Basket runs, we don't shop there for one simple reason. As Yogi Berra once said, "Nobody goes there, it's too crowded". This skid was in a store five days after packaging. If you do not live in New England, it is hard to explain the kind of following the grocery chain Market Basket has. With it's slogan "More for Your Dollar", Market Basket is known for it's low prices, how well the company takes care of its employees, and the terminally squabbling DeMoulas family that owns it all. The first two items lead to the store having as loyal of a following as any store I can think of. That loyalty extends to Market Basket's house brands as well. When More for Your Dollar Lager launched it was a bit of a sensation. I kind of wish I got my hands on some sooner. With stores in New Hampshire
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Woodstock Inn Variety Pack
Beers included: Pig's Ear Brown Ale, Lost River, Peachy Wheat Ale and 4000 Footer IPA Purchase date: 6 September 2025 Purchase price: $16.99 Brewers choice is always fun. Initial Impressions Woodstock Inn is the first one of my former accounts to be reviewed in this series. When I worked for Muntons, Woodstock Inn was a steady, if not particularly huge customer. They'd buy a pallet of torrefied wheat per month, and specialty malts including 40L Crystal and Chocolate Malt a little less frequently. I was excited to find this sampler when I was up in New Hampshire for Jamboree . Having the flagship Pig's Ear Brown Ale included also gave me a great commercial beer for my side-by-side with my Long Leash Brown Ale Beer Reviews Lost River: Package date: 19 June 2025 Aroma: Sweet malt and some toffee. Appearance: Gold with good clarity. Thick, foamy white head with good retention. Flavor: Non-descript malt flavor, light and grainy Low hop bitterness and citrusy hop flavor. Di
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen
Beers Included: Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen Purchase Date: 10 October 2025 Purchase Price: $16.99 Only way to drink a Marzen Initial Impressions Like many Americans, my first exposure to the Oktoberfest, or more accurately the Marzen style of beer was domestic craft-brewed examples such as Samuel Adams. It wasn't until the early 2010s when a store I frequented brought in imported examples that I was able to try the beers that are actually servied at Octoberfest. Paulaner was my first favorite. I remembered Paulaner being lighter than the marzens I was used to drinking, and having a very slight twang similar to Heineken. Over time Ayinger became my favorite German marzen, but when at 12-pack of Paulaner showed up on our porch one day a smile emerged instantly. Bought for a recipe, I chilled the bottles down, cracked four bottles to fill a maß krug, and grilled up some brats from our local butcher. Perfect fall day. Best by date: February 2026 Arom
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Tuckerman Pale Ale
Beers included: Tuckerman Pale Ale Purchase date: 6 September 2025 Purchase price: $16.99 Initial Impressions When I resolved to start this 12x12 series , and earlier deemed the 12-pack the workhorse of the beer fridge , I wasn't sure if I specified 12-pack cans or not. Even if I had, I still would write the post. Either way I am glad that Tuckerman Pale Ale is the first 12-pack of bottles to be featured. Tuckerman Brewing, based in Conway, New Hampshire is located not too far from the New Hampshire Lakes Region where Jamboree is held. Tuckerman Pale Ale is a beer I usually pick up that weekend. Now distributed in Massachusetts by Berkshire Distributing, I have seen 4-packs of Tuckereman beer in Mass, but I have not seen the 12-packs of Pale Ale in bottles. Like many craft stalwarts like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Allagash White, Tuckerman Pale Ale is bottle-conditioned which is why the brewery hasn't abandoned the format entirely. Aroma: Bread crust and light toast.
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
Harpoon Summer Sampler 12x12
Beers included: Summer Style, Day Drifter IPA, Harpoon IPA, Camp Wannamango Purchase Date 3 August 2024 Purchase Price $18.99 Initial Impressions I didn't set out to buy seasonal sample packs all summer, but summer has always been my favorite beer season, and I found a few I was excited to see. The last summer 12x12 of the season, Harpoon is a brewery I thought I had talked more about in this space. I did brew a batch of Summer Somewhere inspired by the original UFO Hefewiezen . Some of my favorite Harpoon beers are classic styles like UFO Hef, Celtic Ale and Octoberfest. The old Harpoon Summer Beer was also a favorite, but I am fairly certain the new "Summer Style" is the same beer or close. Summer Beer was replaced by Camp Wannamango, which has since been demoted to the sampler. Day Drifter "nitro dosed" IPA is a new release; I have no idea what a nitro dosed IPA is supposed to be. The flagship IPA is always a great beer to go back to. This was my first gateway to hop-forward b
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Review: Wachusett Summer Mix Pack
Beers Included: Summer Ale, Pilsner, Blueberry Ale, Blood Orange Ale Purchase Date: 21 June 2025 Purchase Price: $15.99 Initial Impressions Wachusett is always a brewery I've had a soft spot for. In an era before Untappd, one of my early craft beer memories was the inside flap of one of their sample packs was a post card. I cut off the flap, reviewed the beers in the 12-pack, stuck a stamp on the piece of cardboard and mailed it to the brewery in exchange for a prize. The keychain bottle opener I received in the mail was on my keyring for several years. The brand has evolved quite a bit since it's 1994 founding. They started producing classic styles like the severely underappreciated flagship Country Pale Ale. Blueberry Ale, which is in this 12-pack, has probably been their best-selling beer since the early 2000s if not earlier. Wachusett was one of the first New England breweries to make a range of IPAs. Their original IPAs were old-school east coast , but with more of a M
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Review: Sierra Nevada Summerfest
Beers Included: Sierra Nevada Summerfest Purchased: 6 June 2025 Price: $19.99 Initial Impressions Craft beer drinkers love to lament discontinued beers. Especially beers that have maybe been declining in sales, or aren’t as widely distributed as it used to be. With Summerfest we have a rare example of a brewing bringing back a beloved beer. This is one I would pick up every year. Then there were one or two summers where I didn’t see Summerfest. Eventually it was replaced by a forgettable IPA. Since Summerfest came back, I’m happy to report that it’s easy for me to find in Massachusetts again. Beer Review Summerfest Packaged Date: 4 April 2025 Aroma: Beautiful blend or rich, doughy malt and floral, spicy hops Appearance: Yellow, brilliantly clear. Moderate foamy head that’s a little fizzy and fades. Flavor: A very hop-forward lager. Medium-high floral and spicy hop flavor with a punch of hop bitterness. Both are accentuated by the light body. Malt flavor is low, flavor
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Review: Samuel Adams Beers of Summer Variety Pack
Beer Included: Summer Ale, Porch Rocker, American Light, Blueberry Lager Purchased: 31 May 2025 Price: $17.99 minus $5 rebate Initial Impressions I didn’t want to review two Samuel Adams 12-packs in a row but I won’t lie, scanning a QR code to receive a $5 rebate swayed me. I was probably going to pick this one up at some point; the rebate nudged me to do it now. Summer Ale was one of my gateway craft beers. I was so disappointed when Boston Beer Co changed the recipe, I brewed an OG Sam Summer Clone which was one of the best beers I have brewed to date. Over time I softened on the new recipe. A couple years back at a Malteurop Happy Hour at the Craft Brewers Conference, I put away quite a few Sam Summer. On Opening Day at Fenway this year, I didn’t care for this year’s version. Then a couple weeks later Summer Ale won a medal at the World Beer Cup. What do I know? Porch Rocker has never been my favorite shandy. I find it to be quite sweet. On the other hand I know a lot of people who
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Review Samuel Adams Juicy IPA
Beer Included: Samuel Adams Juicy IPA Purchased: 2 May 2025 Price: $17.99 Initial Impression I first tasted Samuel Adams New England IPA Jamaica Plain taproom in Boston back in 2017. This was before the beer was packaged for national distribution. At the time I thought the beer was excellent and if Sam could make an IPA that good at a lower price point than smaller taproom-type breweries, they would be onto something. Would people still buy a $20 4-pack if they could buy something just as good for less in a 12-pack? My comment at the time was "If I can find this fresh in stores its a game changer". I first saw the new Juicy IPA at Fenway Park That beer was eventually released in four packs, and I remember liking it if not quite as much as that trial batch. Then Wicked Hazy was released and now Juicy IPA is here. Is this the same beer that has undergone a second rebrand? The ABV and IBU of all three beers are the same. That doesn’t mean the beers aren’t all different in some way.
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12ne-ipa - news
12x12 Review: Allagash Variety Pack
Beers included: Allagash Lager, White, Hazy IPA, Tripel Purchased: 24 April 2025 Purchase Price: $20.99 Initial Impressions When I saw a couple months ago that Allagash was releasing a new pack I decided I would need to review it in this space as soon as I could find it. Allagash is a brewery that has always embodied everything that is right about craft beer. Allagash White is a beer that still transcends craft in that it attracts drinkers who aren’t beer geeks. That doesn’t mean the Belgian-focused brewery hasn’t had to adapt. After COVID, the once draft-heavy brewery made a big push in off-premise by packaging core beers into cans and brewing more non-Belgian styles. This sampler has two such beers: Allagash Lager and Hazy IPA. For years as IPA-focused brewers sprouted literally on Allagash’s block they resisted making a hazy IPA, only to finally relent in 2024 . White as the flagship had to be included. Tripel as the fourth beer is an interesting choice. At 9
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)4 views12x12 - news
12x12 Review: Great Lakes Eliot Ness
Beers included: Eliot Ness Purchased: 15 March 2025 Purchase Price: $17.99 Initial Impression: When I first started really getting into craft beer one of the things people would get excited about was when a brewery started distributing in their state. This was before there was a taproom on every street corner and almost all packaged craft beer was bought at a store. Then by the late 2010s as the growth in craft beer began to slow, a regional brewery entering a new state became a red flag. Dumping liquid in a new market could provide a sugar high for a brand struggling for growth. Two large out-of-state breweries I worked with sent beer to Massachusetts; both have since been sold or merged. In that context, it was interesting to me to see Great Lakes Brewing on store shelves late last year. I almost pulled the trigger on Great Lakes Christmas Ale when I saw it late last year. For March I picked up Eliot Ness Amber Lager. Founded in 1988, Great Lakes is a Mi
by noreply@blogger.com (Jason Chalifour)5 views12x12international-amber-lagertasting-notes