Boris’ Beer of the Week (Sponsored)

Before there was a local brewery in nearly every town, craft beer was pretty hard to come by. That was, until our friend Jim Koch started the Boston Brewing Company and Samuel Adams was born.  For someone who's been a part of the craft beer movement from the beginning, it's always funny to hear people refer to Sam Adams as one of the more "commercial" beers.  In fact, Sam Adams still has one of the best craft beer lineups in the country. Period.  What I love most about Sam Adams is that when visiting even the most barren craft beer deserts, you can usually expect at least one tap line dedicated to Boson Lager or one of the Sam seasonal offerings.  Maybe this is why they've gotten a reputation for being more mainstream, but make no mistake, Sam's success hasn't stopped them from always being a solid choice for even the most discerning beer lover.

That's why I'm very excited about the launch of Rebel IPA. It's the Boston Beer Company's take on a West Coast IPA.  And just like everything else they do, this beer is spot-on.  It's got a great kick of fruity bitterness and a little alcohol bite for those times when you're in the mood for a more aggressive beer.  And, because it's from Sam Adams, I'm hoping to see it in more places that wouldn't usually offer an IPA of this quality on tap.

For fun, why not grab a half-priced growler at Half Time in Poughkeepsie this week and have your snobbiest beer drinking friend do a "blind" tasting. It'll be fun to watch them start guessing what trendy West Coast nano-brewery it came from, when you know it's just another top notch offering from our friends at the original craft brewery: Sam Adams.  Cheers!