I've had it in the past and it was good, but I haven't had a bottle lately. I just had the Summer Ale last night. I think tonight I'm going to have the Boston Lager and Boston Ale side by side.

I swear Sam Summer used to taste better. I think last year they started adding more lemon and now it's a bit too sweet (not as bad if you get it on tap though). I've gone back to harpoon summer and dogfish head 90 minute as my warm weather staples.

I had a lot of guests that I have waited on complain about Sam Winter, said it was too plain. Sam Summer is being much better recieved.

I was at the Cambridge Brewing Co. in Kendall Square a couple of weeks ago and had one of their Triple Threats. I'm usually loathe to beer, but this one was exceptional. Spicy and quite potent in alchohol content.

They have since switched to new seasonal brews, but here is how Triple Threat is described on their site in the beer archives:

Is there anything in the mass-market that is similar to this that I would like?

I'm not sure if I can recommend something similar without tasting it first, I'll add it to the list. It sounds rather unique, I'd recommend Rogue's Dead Guy Ale for the spice and maybe Ommegang Abbey Ale or Three Philosophers for the sweetness. Sounds like it might be somewhere in the middle.

Chimay Blue might be closer to what this actually tastes like as it's Trappist ale which this was modeled after, it appears.

Don't know how "mass market" New Belgium is but they do have a fairly wide distribution. They do make a decent trippel. However, without tasting the one you had I can't quite say how it would compare. Most of their beers include amounts of orange and coriander.

http://www.newbelgium.com/beers_tr.php

You could probably get away with most Belgian style ales and have it be somewhat similar. Look for something local and in the style you like is usually my best advice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripel

Sounds like a mix of Belgian styles - the abbey tripel to start with, along with the orange peel and coriander of the "wit" style (Hoegaarden, Celis). If the spices are what grabbed you, you might consider the Hoegaarden or one of its kin, but if it's the sheer power and concentration of the beer that did it for you, one of the many Belgian tripels (Westmalle, Affligem) might be the ticket.

I've read this thread with great interest, as my beer-snob days have fallen somewhat by the wayside in recent years, but I still love a good quality beer. Speaking of which - anyone seen or heard anything from Rodenbach lately? The seminal Flemish sour red beer, whether in regular or Grand Cru form, but something I haven't come across in years and years. My understanding was that the brewery was bought out some years back, but never heard anything more about it.

not sure what qualifies as "mass market," but there are a number of widely available, authentic belgian tripels out there.

personally, i think the st. bernardus tripel is among the best

if you're looking for something made in the US, the allagash tripel is pretty damn good too

I'm a lesser fan of Hoegaarden simply because I the bars I frequent (NYC) usually have old kegs, giving it a really bad aftertaste. I'm very partial to the Delerium Tremens and Nocturnum where I can get them. I also really enjoy a good Kostritzer.

Being from Germany, I have a special place in my heart for a good Weissbier, although I find that most of the stuff I run into hasn't been kept properly.

Does the Cherry Wheat actually taste like cherries? If so, do you dislike it because you do not like cherries or because it's a bad beer? I was impressed that the winter Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic actually tasted like cranberries.

I've never really felt that Sam Adams did the flavored beers very well. Cherry Wheat is ok, I guess, but it's too sweet to have more than one. The Cranberry Lambic I can't even drink at all. I somehow associate the taste of Summer Ale with the smell of Pledge furniture polish. Go figure.

For something to drink in the summer, I usually go for the Saranac Lager, by Saranac Brewery. Their lager has a nice, crisp finish that makes it refreshing and drinkable when it's annoyingly hot outside. Though, in looking at their website to get the right name, I see they have a "Pomegranate Wheat." This is... odd.

Summer Ale wasn't bad at all, nice easy flavor. Had some 2 Below the other night that I enjoyed a bit too much while wiping in SSC. =o

Yeah, I think we finally concluded that Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is nothing more than a gateway beer. Newbies can learn to like it, then they need to move on to the real stuff.

Ironically speaking about the real stuff, I'm just not a huge fan of Tripel, especially New Belgium's. I like their Abbey (Dubbel) though. But really, if you're going to drink New Belgium, there's no reason to drink anything other than Fat Tire and 1554.

Terrapin is a beer company based out of Athens, Georgia (home of the main campus of the University of Georgia) and I'm drinking their Rye Pale Ale as I type this.

It's the first domestic bottled beer I've ever had that reminds me of an imported Belgian trappist ale. (Chimay Blue, to be exact.) It's a truly outstanding pale ale brewed with a little bit of rye and has incredible complexity of flavor. (Even the hop aftertaste has some complexity.) Don't drink it fridge-cold: let it warm up a bit so you can really taste everything that's going on with it.

For all I know, Terrapin gets fuck-all for distribution outside of the Southeastern US, but it's a great beer if you're fan of the style. Well worth seeking out.

I thought that about all of their seasonal/flavored stuff also, but eventually decided that I just got older and my taste got better. A long time ago I used to like Budweiser because I was 16 and Beer was "cool"...

I just can't get into any of it with the exception of the Winter Ale nowadays.

I actually picked up some Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat the other day, completely by the recommendation of this thread. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed. Completely agree with Kaubel about it being more of a good, gateway beer to bigger and better things.

On the other hand I did pick up a pack of the Dogfish 60 minute IPA and it has been delicious. Nice color, and a good, strong, hoppy flavor. Definitely a good recommendation as others have said, and even a good start for newcomers to beer in general I would say.

As for my contribution to the thread, I would have to say that a good bottle of Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter is very high up there on my list of good beers. There is just something about a beer that I can't see through, yet remains extremely drinkable, with or without a meal. I am sure others have had it, but I didn't see it mentioned, so I figured I would bring it up.

On another note, I browsed through the thread again the other day before I went to the liquor store and happened upon the part about Brooklyn Brewery again. After seeing a great variety of it at the store, I couldn't help but wonder-- any specific beer from them that will just knock my socks off? Or is it just a good pub in general?

It'll probably be hard to match that really close, but as a couple people mentioned you could likely approach the general area by drinking most any tripel Belgian ale. What they describe in that quote of yours is some manner of trappist ale, but what you describe seems to stray from the basics of a trappist a fair bit.

The Grande Réserve Chimay in the blue label that Phalanx mentioned might be a place to start looking. Chimay's actual Tripel is pretty light, so probably not what you're after. (Still, all three of their trappists are pretty nice and worth trying.)

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I feel pretty much the same way about their stuff. 1554 is best appreciated by many of the people I know after they've had at least one or two of something lighter to prime them, but I like it most anytime.

I'll give this a try on the coming weekend. We almost picked up some of that last weekend, but none of us were very familiar with their stuff so we balked and grabbed other things instead.

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Depends heavily on which types of beer you most like. If you're not a dark beer fan, even some of the best darker brews in the world will still taste pretty bad to ya.

Here's my take on Brooklyn Brewery stuff. Almost every brew they make can be good, but for whatever reason, they can also be really damn bad at times. The first time I tried their Lager, I absolutely loved it. When I tried it again a year or two later, it was awful and I have no idea why. I haven't had a bottle anything like my original taste, since; and I stopped trying. I dunno. All of their stuff has been like this, for me; but the majority are only ever bad once in a blue moon. I think they actually changed something about the lager.

My sure favorites:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout -- I think it might be seasonal only, but it is pretty awesome when it's good.

Brooklyn Brown Ale -- Like Newcastle even a tiny bit? A good batch of this beats the pants off of non-local Newcastle.

Monster Ale -- It's a barleywine thing that is sneaky as hell. Not for everybody. It's batch brewed by the year and not always easy to find. I liked it, but it creeps on you something fierce. You can have several and be fine, then out of nowhere you're smashed. I guess most heavy barleywine's do that, though.

I don't like their IPA that much, but tons of people swear by it. If you like IPA's in general, it probably wouldn't be bad to at least try one. Their regular ale is pretty meh. Their pilsner is okay.

There's a couple of great brews they produce that you can't buy bottled at all. One of them is a low-volume Antwerp thing. If you're actually in a pub and they have a Brooklyn Brewery offering on tap that you've never seen in a bottle, it will very likely be pretty damned good.

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I'm currently nursing an Avery White Rascal. It's a spice-brewed Belgian-style wheat ale from that microbrewery in Colorado. Tiny bit of orange in it. Extremely light. Nothing astounding. I wouldn't drink more than a couple in an evening before moving to something better, but I do like the aftertaste quite a lot and it's got a cool label. (Course, I'm a sucker for all wheat beers and most anything with yeast in the bottom of the bottle; so take that as you will.)

Avery has a pretty damn good IPA, which is why I ended up trying the beer I'm currently drinking.

These are pretty much my favorites from Brooklyn as well. Sans the Black Chocolate Stout, can't get into it.

However, I'd thought I'd atleast mention a stout that I really like: Victory Storm King Stout. Had it a the local BBQ joint a week or so ago (where I first had a 2005 Monster Ale, there are cases of the 2006 at my local BotW, one of which I will pick up later today). It was smooth and tasty, no overwhelming smokey flavor which I don't typically like.

Avery has a pretty diverse lineup, I'll put that on the list to try. I'm also going to try and pick up their Thirteen, which is probably at the opposite end of the spectrum.

I really wish I could get New Belgium and Shiner varieties in NY.

I've been rotating between Black Lager and 1554 for dark beer, depending on where I stop to buy the 6-pack. Either one is good though I have a preference for the 1554, just seems better "constructed" (I'll guess that's the wrong word, but it's the best I can come up with).

That 1554 is shockingly good. It's rapidly climbing into my favorites.

I agree completely. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd definitely go with 1554.

ZOMG! BEEER!!!!

And with that I'd like to recommend a personal favourite, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout. It's a stout (if you don't believe me, read the name of the brew again) and it's got a pleasant aftertaste of chocolate.

In addition I find that Hoegaarden is a nice beer for just having something while you chat around in general whereas Leffe is a bit too fruity for my taste.

My favorite beer is called Dragonmead's Final Absolution, a belgian style trippel ale. I'm not sure how much distribution this gets outside of Michigan, but I highly recommend visiting Dragonmead's brewpub in Warren if you get the chance.

Has anyone ever gotten their hands on a Dark Lord Imperial Stout from Three Floyds? Just been reading a bit about the beer, I guess it's offered once a year (at pretty high prices) during their beer festivals/events. Looks like it has a bunch of hype and it's begun to attract the ebayers (not that I mind, I would probably buy one if the price was right). I'm already looking at doing the same for Westvleteren 12°, though I don't think that it normally leaves Belgium, anyways.

Also, picked up two bottles of Rochefort 10 this weekend. Can't wait to try one. Snagged a Sam Adams Double Bock, too. I will probably have this tonight.