12x12 Review: Samuel Adams Beers of Summer Variety Pack

Beer Included: Summer Ale, Porch Rocker, American Light, Blueberry Lager

Purchased: 31 May 2025

Price: $17.99 minus $5 rebate

Initial Impressions

I didn’t want to review two Samuel Adams 12-packs in a row but I won’t lie, scanning a QR code to receive a $5 rebate swayed me. I was probably going to pick this one up at some point; the rebate nudged me to do it now.

Summer Ale was one of my gateway craft beers. I was so disappointed when Boston Beer Co changed the recipe, I brewed an OG Sam Summer Clone which was one of the best beers I have brewed to date. Over time I softened on the new recipe. A couple years back at a Malteurop Happy Hour at the Craft Brewers Conference, I put away quite a few Sam Summer. On Opening Day at Fenway this year, I didn’t care for this year’s version. Then a couple weeks later Summer Ale won a medal at the World Beer Cup. What do I know?

Porch Rocker has never been my favorite shandy. I find it to be quite sweet. On the other hand I know a lot of people who like it and many of them are casual beer drinkers. That’s a compliment, especially the way the craft beer market is today.

That Samuel Adams American Light exists speaks to the state of the craft beer market. As sales of Boston Lager have slipped, Boston Beer has tried to launch more drinkable, yet still flavorful beers like Sam ‘76 and Wicked Easy that never quite caught on.  Not to be confused with the old Samuel Adams Light which was similar to Boston Lager, American Light is a fizzy, yellow American Light Lager. This feels like Sam waiving the white flag, and giving into consumer tastes instead of driving them. I first tasted American Light at Sam’s Downtown Boston taproom. It was fine. I’ll be interested to see how the mass-produced version compares. 

Blueberry Lager is the one new beer in the sampler. Blueberry beer was a gateway to craft for lots of people. The former BeerWorks brewpub chain popularized the style in Massachusetts. Wachusett Blueberry is probably the most available in the area, but that brand has changed hands a couple times in recent years. Maybe there’s an opening for a new blueberry beer  

Beer Reviews

Summer Ale

Best By Date: July 2025

Aroma: Quite lemony with a bit of pepper 

Appearance: Thick, rocky white head with good retention and lacing. Fairly hazy gold, unfiltered appearance. 

Flavor: More complex than the aroma with some spice. 

Mouthfeel: A little tinge of pepper on the palate. Body is medium light, slightly creamy, but the carbonation and spice make the finish crisp. 

Overall: The first can I drank was very lemony and one-note in the aroma, a couple weeks later I found Summer Ale to be much more balanced, without the “lemon pledge” character. I can see myself drinking more of these this summer, but I still prefer my recipe.

Porch Rocker: 

Best By Date: August 2025

Aroma: Lemon

Appearance: Gold with brilliant clarity. Thick rocky head that does fade. 

Flavor: I like the blend of beer and lemon more than I recall. Sufficient hop bitterness and citrus so as not to make this overly sweet.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and carb. Finish is dried out by tart lemon flavor.  

Overall: Reviewing this side-by-side, this can feels less sweet than I remember Porch Rocker tasting. There is just enough hop bitterness, carbonation and lemon flavor. I may have to do a side-by-side of this and Leinienkugel’s Summer Shandy. 

American Light

Best By Date: August 2025

Aroma: Mostly hay and straw, very clean overall.

Appearance: Pours straw with brilliant clarity. Thick, foamy white head with good retention for a light beer. Impressive, actually.

Flavor: Malt flavor is low and grainy, with a low spicy hop flavor. Considering most light beers have no hop flavor, having any is a nice surprise. No DMS or acetaldehyde like some domestic macro lagers, but the fermentation isn’t quite as clean and crisp as a German Pils. 

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body that feels more substantial than a macro light beer. 

Overall: Is this the most premium light beers like Sam claims? Maybe it is. 

Blueberry Lager

Best By Date: August 2025

Aroma: Big blueberry aroma as the beer pours, a little bit like boxed blueberry muffin mix. 

Appearance: The beer pours gold with good clarity, thick white head with good retention. 

Flavor: The blueberry flavor is almost jammy in a good way. Base beer is light and doughy - like a Summer Ale grist that lets the fruit carry most of the flavor.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and creamy, medium carb and clean finish  

Overall: Years of making Truly seltzers probably gave Boston Beer plenty of experience with using different flavorings. Make no mistake, the only way to get a noticeable blueberry flavor in a beer is to use at least some flavor extract. I learned that firsthand. This beer still has some real blueberry flavor to it. All I’m missing is some blueberries to garnish. 

Overall impressions of 12-pack

In full disclosure I had to go back and taste these a second time. My initial notes were a little lacking, and the beers were probably slightly warm.

If you want a four summer crushers in a summer sample pack, this 12-pack is for you. If Sam still included Boston Lager in every sampler, that would be nice to have around a fire on a summer evening. If I we’re camping, I could see myself buying this and maybe a six pack of something a little more substantial.