Sam Adams Light

Style: New Style Light Beer
Brewer: The Boston Beer Company
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Web: www.samadamslight.com
Alcohol: ?

I remember, and not too long ago, the days when heading northbound into Boston, drivers where greeted with a billboard that proudly claimed, "Never a Sam Adams light". At the time it was not only a witty musing, but also a heartfelt battle cry.

Well, as times and trends have changed so, undoubtedly has the Boston Beer Company's policy towards production. With the inflexion wave of new, lower carb brews flooding the market, I suppose it was only a matter of time before Sam Adams went on a diet. But that's where the bad news ends, for the most part, anyway.

Sam Adams Light is not just a lower calorie version of the popular Boston Lager, it is, in fact, a whole separate beer, as noted above by its style. It is brewed closer to a traditional lager than most other light beers. (For that matter, it is closer to a traditional lager than most non-light beers.)

So is it any good? Well, yes and no. When compared to the other beers that bare the Sam Adams monniker, it's average to below average at best. It's a little on the sweet side, but doesn't have the girth of flavor that is usually synonymous with the Brewer Patriot. However, when compared to most light beers on the market, SAL is pretty damn impressive. (Think Amstel, not Bud.)

Rating: 7.2