I arrived at the Boston City Hall Plaza to enjoy an afternoon of music hosted by Boston Calling. I made my way over to the Sam Adams beer tent where I was greeted by a host of Sam Adams employees who quickly poured me a specialty flight. I took a closer look at what lay before me and carefully selected my first glass. Since I am a stout drinker I decided to start with the Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour Belgian Stout. With its 9% ABV, 17IBUs and 69SRm, this stout is dark and smooth and consists of 13 ingredients. It is complex with roasted chocolate and coffee flavors and the spicy character of a Belgian style ale aged in oak for a dark robust brew. One will not be disappointed at all with this incredible complex stout.
Next for the palate was the Samuel Adams New World which is a Belgian Tripel. With its 10%ABV, 17 IBUs and 9 SRM, this Belgian Tripel was golden pale in color and refreshing in every way. It too was complex and made with the finest Belgian yeast which provided layers of tropical fruit and spice notes. My taste buds were jumping for joy and I could not wait to sample the final brew which was the Samuel Adams Tetravis, a Belgian Quad with 10.2% ABV, 18 IBUs and 35 SRM. This Belgian Quad is bold, rich, and complex with the sweet taste of molasses, dark fruits like raisins and figs and a tart spice brought on by the Belgian yeast. All three Belgians were incredibly good and made me realize how lucky I am to be a beer drinker and enjoy a pint of Sam Adams.
As I left the Sam Adams Beer tent I started to make my way around the venue. I noticed the Boston Calling flags which hung in honor of past and present performances. Like Boston sports teams, Boston Calling is the champion of venues and deserves to be recognized as a title town winning organization. The Red and Blue stages were electric as musicians made their way off and on each stage. The crews worked with speed and accuracy to make sure the show flowed for the enjoyment of the crowd. This set the mood for what was going to be an intense three day music festival. The crowd was mesmerized by the performances of the Avett Brothers, Of Monsters and Men, Chromeo, Ben Howard, Hozier, and with Alabama Shakes rounding out the show, the overall vibe was incredible.
Special thanks to guest contributor Ken Gesualdo
