Samuel Adam's Thirteenth Hour Stout

Good day and good evening wherever you are. Doug the Thug is back. I finally am posting after losing my password so I'll be posting with a new name...D dub. I'll also be posting on another blog as well regarding my upcoming travels. But let's get to the task at hand here, this 100 cask barrel brand Sam Adam's ale which they describe as a...Belgian Strong Dark Ale!?!?!? Sounds bewitching. First I think it's worth noting, for as commercialized as Sam Adam's has become they were very big on developing the American craft brew "movement". I bought this when I was at their brewery right outside of Boston in Jamaica Bay, MA. It was a $2 suggested donation but tons of beer and the money all went to a charity for underprivileged youth in the Boston area. I'm always down with that. So I don't care what people say about them, they're a good company and they make some damn good brews. I wish I could say that about this one but I can't unfortunately.

They tricked me at several points here. 1. This is part of a 100 cask barrel brand that basically you can only get at the brewery or at a few select Jamaica Bay liquor shops. 2. 9.0% ABV 3. Seems like a worthwhile try because it is actually a combination of a rich dark stout and a well balanced and aged Belgian ale. 4. $10 for a 22oz. bottle with a cork. (I know but considering how much some nice 22oz. bottles go for sometimes in Chicago that's a deal)

Here's where I would say they went wrong. An aged Belgian Ale and a rich heavy stout don't mix well, or at least they couldn't find a way to do it. As far as having flavor they didn't miss that. There are some coffee, milk chocolate and dare I say caramel notes but they're not very potent. What's most potent are the spices and dark fruit flavors which are almost citrusy. It has the maltiness of a stout definitely but then it was also aged in oak barrels so there is a very noticeable oak taste. The mouth feel of it is almost watery which is not what you would expect from such a flavorful beer at all and I was supremely unimpressed with that. And you definitely feel the 9.0% overwhelmingly on the finish. I think the main problem is your expecting a rich stout (which I was on a rainy Chicago night on my deck) and you don't get that. It's not exactly an ale either because there are too many stout notes. Plus the watery mouth feel was a big downer. That's what pilsner's and Olympia are for.

Rating: I hate to do it...but I have to. Debating the Meaning of Life with Your Fellow Beermigos Brew. I think I'm pretty clear that I am not a fan of this beer. However, this is a complex one. This is one that promotes a solid discussion with your beermigos. It may have a watery mouth taste but it's no skunk beer. Like it or hate it, you're gonna drink it. It's not horrible, it's 9.0% and you just spent 10 bucks on it. It's going down the gullet. The main thing I would say that makes this beer get this rating is the discussion. You are gonna be talking about all the idiosyncratic details of the weird little tastes you get and trying to figure it out. This will inevitably lead to deep discussions about beer, which leads to deep discussions about life.