10 Samuel Adams Beers, Ranked

Do you think the real Samuel Adams would be shocked to know that his name is now practically synonymous with a cold beer? Sure, he helped brew up a revolution back in the 1700s and probably figured that would be his claim to fame. Meanwhile, his stint in the beer business as a maltster didn't yield anything nearly as fruitful. So how exactly did we get here?

Well, the patriot has another man, Jim Koch, to thank for this newfound boozy legacy. Koch has beer in his veins as a sixth-generation brewer, and in 1984, he whipped up his first batch of Boston Lager right in his own kitchen, using a family recipe. He put something big in motion that day and could have named his beer brand anything, but decided to pay homage to his favorite founding father.

By now, there's a wide range of options in the Samuel Adams arsenal, covering different beer types, seasons, and tastes. They've all stemmed from that first Boston Lager, and they draw influence from other countries, like Germany, Belgium, and yes, even England. Sam Adams would be happy to know we've made amends. It's definitely an assortment worth trying out, so that's what I did. As someone who's not terribly well acquainted with Samuel Adams (the beer, not the man), I picked up 10 different bottles and cans to try. Now, let's see if these recipes are truly revolutionary or if they're just mediocre beers hiding under a famous name.

Someone in the Samuel Adams brigade must have an obsession with fall. The brand takes it a step further than featuring a lone Oktoberfest brew and calling it a day. In 2026, it's actually featuring a variety pack of four autumn cans. One such orange can contains the Jack-O Pumpkin Ale.

As much as I hate to admit it as a summer lover, you can, in fact, pumpkin spice a lot of things, and it works out just fine. Coffee drinks, creamers, donuts, ice cream, and even popcorn are all fair game. But respectfully, this beer doesn't make the list.

It's a 4.4% ABV wheat ale that pours out in an unassuming amber color, but smells like pumpkin puree straight from a can. It has a lighter body, and that strong whiff of pumpkin does dissipate into a milder flavor, somewhat masked by subdued carbonation. That's all fine, but my issue with it revolves around the warm fall baking spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and others (presumably cloves or perhaps allspice) are all funneled into the beer. But nutmeg is by far the strongest flavor. After each sip, I felt like a bit of the powder was left sitting on my tongue. It's also accompanied by a strange sweetness that doesn't quite match the toastiness of the ale. So, does it taste like pumpkin spice? Yes. Just not in a way that made me want to order a second round.

Winter comes in two shades in the Samuel Adams beer fridge. You have the Winter White Ale and this Winter Lager. Two different styles of beer, but infused with a similar wintry mix of flavors, including orange peel, cinnamon, and other spices. Both make big promises on the nose. But the lager was more of a letdown on the palate.

I expected a bit more from a spiced bock (aka a German-style dark lager) sitting at 5.6% ABV. Despite its rich appearance, the mouthfeel is much thinner than I was expecting. It was also a bit difficult to pick out those tasting notes. There are only a few hints of citrus in every swig, and I found the spices to be faint at best. It felt like the recipe called for perhaps one quick sprinkle of cinnamon and not much else. Not nearly enough wintry fairy dust, if you ask me.

That leaves behind mostly just a lightly sweetened malt base and a surprising kick of bitter hoppiness in the finish. It's certainly quaffable, but it's just not giving me those warm, cozy feelings that a winter brew should — those visions of fireside sipping while a Christmas movie plays in the background are missing. Compared to the other seasons of Samuel Adams, it's forgettable and is even overshadowed by the brand's competing Winter White Ale.

I really wanted to like this one. A wheat ale teams up with a handful of Michigan cherries and a small drizzle of honey. It sounds fruity, refreshing, and flavorful — the kind of brewski that would pair perfectly with a red-and-white-checkered picnic spread.

Unfortunately, it's a bit too fake-cherry for my liking. I could tell from the aroma alone that it was going to sway in that direction. Neither the smell nor the flavor is particularly reminiscent of fresh cherries or even maraschino cherries. Instead, they lean more toward cherry candy or even that dreaded cough syrup taste. I would have been okay with a little more tart fruit flavor, resulting in a beer that's something of a cross between a sour and an American wheat ale. After all, Michigan is famously known for its tart cherries. But this brew doesn't really go in that direction, either. Instead, it's mostly those classic cereal-like wheat notes accompanied by a touch of sweetness and a cherry flavor that's more often marketed as black cherry.

Its saving grace is that the cherry flavor gets less aggressive as you keep drinking. Maybe it was just me adjusting to it (or the 5.3% ABV kicking in), but I actually found myself liking it more and more after each gulp. That's more than I can say for the Jack-O Pumpkin Ale or Winter Lager, which never quite managed to win me over.

The Apple Spice Ale is another member of the autumn collection, and it's also one of the newest faces of Samuel Adams. It came out just this year in 2026, in tandem with a non-alcoholic version of the brand's Octoberfest.

Some may say that each sip delivers the crisp, fresh flavor of a just-picked apple. I wouldn't go that far, but this is the first one I could see myself drinking again. It gave me flashbacks to Angry Orchard. It has a similar kind of sweet apple flavor, but instead of spiked cider, it's layered into a medium-bodied ale. There's also meant to be cinnamon and marjoram thrown into the mix, and I've even seen gingersnap mentioned. Those spiced flavors don't pop quite as much, but they do give the beer more of an apple pie feel rather than just straight apple. Beyond that, it's delicately bready with little to no noticeable hoppiness. Its IBU rating of just 13 feels very fitting.

If anything, I actually wanted an even stronger apple taste here. At times, it felt like someone had squeezed just a few droplets of apple juice or cider into an otherwise even-tempered ale. It's pleasant enough for a backyard bonfire or a stroll through the farmer's market, but it could have done even more.

Paying tribute to the real-life Samuel Adams' hometown and the birthplace of the beer company itself, we have the Boston Lager. It's the brand's flagship brew, around since 1984. It's a classic, but it's also anything but boring. Its entire schtick is being distinctly complex yet balanced, and I would mostly agree with that assessment.

It's even more nuanced than I was expecting, probably because I'm used to lighter lagers like Bud Light and Michelob Ultra. This, on the other hand, is a true craft beer with a little more character to it. As a Vienna-style lager, it pours out in a copper color that's a bit more translucent than something like the Winter Lager or Cherry Wheat. Malt, malt, malt is the main flavor profile here, which lends itself to some caramel notes. But I also picked up on some sweeter, almost fruity notes in there as well, making for a nice contrast. With just light carbonation, it's pretty smooth going down, but each sip does end in a bit of a hoppy crescendo.

I'd label this as a nice everyday beer. And at just 5% ABV, you could comfortably enjoy a couple without feeling like you've overdone it. That's not to say I think this is the best beer Samuel Adams has to offer. But even though the brand has since outdone itself with other brews, this lager remains a respected New England tradition.

It's Samuel Adams' take on a traditional German Märzen — meaning it's an Americanized version of the Bavarian lager. And it tastes that way, too.

It certainly looks the part, in a beautiful, burnished-gold shade with a frothy white head that sticks around for quite a while. It even incorporates German hops and Munich malt alongside Samuel Adams' own malt blend, so it has some authentic roots. Flavor-wise, I found it to be just as malty as the classic Boston Lager, though I actually liked this bier a little bit better. It has a nice crispness on its side that makes it go down that much easier. Still, I was expecting something a bit richer. Instead, the flavor feels somewhat washed out, and there's really no defining feature. The subtle hop bitterness doesn't do much to balance out the breadiness, and the caramel notes that were promised never quite take full form.

If I were served this beer in a stein at a local Hofbräuhaus location, I would think it was decent and gulp it down. I might even ask for a second. But I have a feeling it wouldn't make quite the same impression at a true Oktoberfest celebration in Munich. It's a respectable nod to Bavaria, but I doubt it would stand out among the real deals.

As the non-alcoholic trend continues to grow, Samuel Adams is throwing its hat into the ring with its own take on N/A craft brews. I mentioned already that the brand sucked the alcohol out of its Octoberfest beer this year, and it also offers a hazy IPA with an ABV below 0.5%. It looks like this one used to be marketed as "Just the Haze," but it seems to be sticking with a more straightforward (albeit boring) name for now.

In a glass, this looks like any other hazy India Pale Ale. It has that murky look to it and takes on an orangy hue. It also smells like a typical beer. So, you could say it was off to a promising start. What surprised me most, though, was the taste. It's quite juicy, with plenty of citrusy notes and just a touch of sweetness. The hops are definitely present, but they're not overly aggressive or bitter, so you still get the full effect of those tropical fruit flavors.

Clearly, many of those features of an IPA are there. The only thing that's really missing is the punchiness of a full-strength pale ale. For that reason, I couldn't move it all the way to the top of the taste test. But this is still better than many other N/A beers I've had, even other N/A IPAs. It also made me wish I'd been able to track down some of Samuel Adams' regular IPAs to see how they compare.

Call me basic, but I really like the summer ale. Could I hold a little bit of bias since I love the warmer months? It's possible, but I genuinely think this is a tasty beer.

It's a wheat ale that's pumped full of a citrusy trio of lemon peel, lime peel, and orange peel, along with a secret ingredient: West African grains of paradise. That last addition is supposed to bring a bit of aromatic spice to the mix, though I can't say I really picked up on any of that. What I did get was plenty of lemon and a little bit of orange, making it taste almost like a cross between a Blue Moon and a summer shandy or radler. It can lean a little sour when you get a big mouthful, but overall, I think the citrus flavors are nicely balanced. They're bright and refreshing without being too overpowering. The beer is also on the thinner side and certainly isn't what I'd call full-bodied, but I think that's kind of the point.

It's an easygoing, even-keeled brew that seems made for daytime drinking out in the sunshine, preferably with a beach nearby. AT 5.3% ABV, it's not super lightweight, though it drinks that way. Fittingly, it's only available during the months of March through August. But I wouldn't mind sneaking a few into my fridge during the other seasons, either.

Here we do a complete 180 from summer to winter. But we're also revisiting the same flavors that were found in the Samuel Adams Winter Lager. They didn't work well with its lighter body, leaving the whole beer tasting a bit diluted. But that's certainly not the case with this bottle of ale.

This one is more of a Belgian witbier with a lighter, hazier appearance. As a refresher, both beers feature orange peel and cinnamon, but instead of ginger, this one brings nutmeg and cloves into the mix. I think that proves to be a good swap, especially alongside the wheatiness of the ale. The flavors just seem to work better together here, creating something with a little more depth. You can definitely taste the alcohol, though, despite its relatively modest 5.7% ABV.

It's warmly spiced in a way that almost makes you feel like it could warm you up from the inside out. You get a little bit of that orange coming through, giving it a fruity edge, while the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves bring all the holiday cheer. It's almost like a drinkable version of a cold-weather simmer pot. It also feels far more festive than the winter lager, and it ended up being one of my favorite Sam Adams beers overall.

Samuel Adams Harvest Helles was really a come-from-behind victor for me. Sharing a box with a pumpkin ale, an apple spice beer, and the brand's signature Octoberfest brew, it didn't exactly catch my eye at first. In fact, I pretty much wrote it off as a boring addition thrown in just to round out the fall collection. But as soon as I gave it a whiff, I knew this was my kind of beer.

It's a German-style lager, which means it pours a pale straw color — the kind of shade I always compare to the look of apple juice. But it's delightfully more complex and flavorful than the typical light lagers we brew here in the States. It's every bit as crisp and easy to drink as promised. But there's a little more going on beneath the surface. It pairs that clean biscuity flavor with just a splash of hoppiness. Not enough to make it bitter, but just enough to make things a little more interesting and to make it feel more like a cross between a lager and a pale ale.

It's bright, a touch citrusy, and super easy to slug. Obviously, it's meant for autumn, given its Harvest name and the leaf imagery plastered across the can. But I think I could drink this at any time of year, and it wouldn't feel weird. So, cheers to a surprising new favorite.

I set out to find every kind of Samuel Adams beer I could get my hands on. I went searching during the fall, so naturally, I found a stout collection of autumn-inspired choices. But I also managed to track down a few winter brews and even a summer ale, in addition to the brand's year-round picks. I was able to buy a few of the beers as single bottles at my local Giant Eagle, which offers build-your-own six-packs. The rest I purchased as full six-packs or variety packs. Once I got everything home, I took a few hearty slugs of each before arranging them from least to most favorite.

There's a pretty good variety of styles represented here, from classic ales and lagers to flavored beers and even a non-alcoholic IPA. So, more than anything, I was looking for well-made beers that I genuinely enjoyed drinking. I first took note of each one's appearance and aroma. Then, I got into mouthfeel, hoppiness, flavor, and even ABV. I also considered whether each one stood out in its category or wasn't quite what I'd expect for that style.

Ultimately, I was looking for a quality brew that's easy to drink but still shows off a bit of personality. Something clean and crisp yet flavorful, and most importantly, something that does the Samuel Adams name proud.