Tonight I am savoring an old favorite..Samuel Adams Summer Ale. One of the first things you'll notice about this beer is the friggin' cloudiness!! Then I got to thinking what makes this any different from a Hefeweizen. Summer Ale is very fresh and has some sort of "zing" in the aftertaste. It's an American wheat, that uses malted wheat much like the Hefe Sam makes. It also contains lemon "zest" and "grains of paradise" aka Malaguita Pepper from Africa. Apparently these aren't considered true peppers in the Americanized sense of the term, but in certain regions of the world some people chew Grains of Paradise in order to "warm" up. In other words there seems to be some sort of possible aphrodisiac effect. (Hope my aphro doesn't start growing, I need a haircut already). I'll have to admit this is a staple in the garage fridge during the summer for me because I can kill 6 in no time on a hot summer day.
Some characteristics: 160cal/12oz, Tettnang tettnanger Noble hops and 5.3%abv. Available April-August
