Profiled by Ken Carman forprofessorgoodales.net
The Vixen
Samuel Adams
If you have a beer for the New Year this is one I would recommend: chocolate dominates, slightly in the taste. Slight Bock lager sense but very much in the background. Deep malt complexity evident without a lot of very roast-y, or astringent sense, like over use of Black Patent. Munich seems evident in the malt mix but blends well. Very well balanced.
Mouthfeel is full with slight sweet malt sense. Nose is sweet too with some Bock-lager yeast sense. No hops. Some chocolate in the nose too. The sweet is a light, sweet, pepper sense in the background. Hey! Tis a pepper beer too, which is very much in the background and probabky responsible, in part, for sweet. Very smooth; almost soft and cushion-y.
This beer doesn’t have a lot of nose, but it makes up for it with everything else with a deep malt in all of the other parameters: mouthfeel, taste and appearance. Appearance: black as midnight, pours thick with nice tan head, a mix between rock and mostly pillow. A sweet chocolate Bock in a glass, kind of a mix between dark and milk chocolate.
The complexity here is fascinating and I think with take a while to uncover, I shall “suffer” through it… with great joy. I am no lager fan, but this is a damn good beer.