Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Our popular citrus American wheat ale is a light and refreshing blend of orange, lime and lemon peels, with subtle spice from grains of paradise. Crisp, easy-drinking, Sam Summer Ale is the beer for the season.

2.9

2320 reviews

Boston, United States

Community reviews

3.3 Bottle at Robbie's: pours lightly hazy with white head. Aroma is citrusy notes and wheat. Light and zesty. Easy to drink. Earlier Rating: 10/29/2006 Total Score: 3.1 This is my favorite of all the Sam Adams beers. It goes down smooth, it isn’t bitter and is a mild enjoyable beer, that is perfect on a summer day, night, or morning. Not a hard beer and certainly not really complex, but definately well made and drinkable. Well recommended.

3.3 12 oz bottle. Pours pale yellow with a fluffy white head. Smells of funk and wheaty yeast. Wheat flavors with some citrus tartness balancing. Above average carbonation and fizzy mouthfeel. Some spice notes but not particularly well balanced. Okay. Earlier Rating: 8/5/2017 Total Score: 3.2 12 oz. bottle. Light scents of grass yeast and malt. Pours a dirty golden hazy with a short fast dissipating white head. A lot of lemon flavor but very little wheat. Slight sour finish and a refreshing crisp mouthfeel. Not too challenging very simple but nothing wrong with it.

2.5 Lemony, light, refreshing

2.3 Lime and some wheat. Not really something I'd want to drink a lot of, though I can see the appeal for some people. Tastes like a Corona with lime. Golden pour. Light tangy end. Bottle. Earlier Rating: 4/6/2014 Total Score: 2.3 Had this for free at a baseball game. Tastes light and wheaty. Cloudy pour with ok head and lacing. Free is free, so in that respect it was good. Tap.

3.2 Orange, lemon, lime, biscuit malt, and straw aroma - very nice. Cloudy golden yellow with small white head. Lightly sweet orange, lime, biscuit malt, and very light bitter straw flavor. Light body. A nice light beer. Earlier Rating: 7/9/2005 Total Score: 3.3 Bottle. Orange and pepper aroma. Cloudy orange-yellow color with little head. Sweet orange flavor with hints of cloves and pepper. Smooth with decent body. A nice, easy drinking Am wheat.

3.1 I had it on tap. It pours a hazy golden and orange. The aroma is citrus and wheat. The taste is orange, lemon, wheat, and spice. It's fairly refreshing and easy to drink. It's sweetness is subtle enough. This is always a pretty reliable choice. Earlier Rating: 6/21/2019 Total Score: 2.9 I had it from the bottle. The aroma is lemon, wheat, and spice. The taste of the updated version is heavier on the lemon. You still get a little of the wheat and spice. It's a little lighter and crisper than the old version. I like this one slightly more. Earlier Rating: 5/10/2015 Total Score: 2.7 This is a re-rate. I poured it from the bottle into a pint glass. It pours a cloudy golden color with a decent white head and lacing. The aroma is faint with lemon and grain. The taste is lemon, spice, and wheat. It has a pretty full mouth feel. It is overly sweet and heavy to be a great summer ale in my opinion. It could stand to be crisper and hoppier.

3.2 Earlier Rating: 11/20/2019 Total Score: 3.1

3.3 Bottle from Sips of Summer 2021 variety pack. Pour was unclear golden with a white head. Aroma of citrus, wheat, lemon, spice, pepper. Taste was sweet, fruit zest, spice, orange, wheat. lemon, citrus. Earlier Rating: 5/7/2016 Total Score: 3 Sample at Super Saver grocery store. Bottle poured cloudy, white head. Aroma was lemon juice and lemon. Taste was slightly bitter, soapy, wheat.

3.0 I did not know there was a recipe change for this beer. Pour is a cloudy yellow with a large white head Aroma is pretty much all lemon peel. Flavor is more lemon with a odd grain which I guess is the grains of paradise. One of those beers that has just enough to keep it interesting and not get tired of. Earlier Rating: 4/23/2005 Total Score: 3.2 Pour is a cloudy yellow with a white head. Aroma is lemon zest and a bit of malts. Flavor is lemon and spice with a creamy aftertaste. Flavor is a bit weak as you drink more of the brew. An ok brew on a summer day.

3.2 12oz bottle shared with Largo Gary. Thin white-yellow. A-citrus, some wheat/grain. T-citrus/some spice-coriander. Earlier Rating: 6/16/2005 Total Score: 3.2 on tap-pours a white head, cloudy straw/yellow color that fits with a wheat beer. Nice taste, a little lemon-banana. Enjoyable.

3.2 On Tap. Pours a hazy light golden color with a good head. Aroma of grain and light citrus. Taste of Citrus light fruit and grain. Mild bitterness and fairly clean finish. Light body and quite smooth. Nice backyard beer. Earlier Rating: 7/26/2010 Total Score: 3.4 Bottle- Pours a hazy golden color with good head that slowly fades. Lemon zest & clean aroma. Mild lemon and spice with light bitter touch. Medium body & dry finish. Didn’t have that crisp, refreshing feel I was expecting from a summer ale. Left me wanting, similar to the Coastal Wheat Ale.

2.8 Pours a cloudy gold color with a small white head and very good retention. Small bits of lacing. Light citrus and light wheat aromas. The citrus and wheat flavors are also very light. A little salty. Medium-light body. Slick mouthfeel. Medium carbonation. A decent summer beer. Much better than the original, but still very forgettable.

2.9 Frisch gezapft. Orangefarben mit minimaler Schaumkrone. Spritzig. Leicht hefig und säuerlich. Eher leichter Körper.

2.2 not a wheat beer fan, there is nothing real special or worth drinking about this beer to me. too much wheat a flavor I don't enjoy. Earlier Rating: 10/12/2004 Total Score: 2.8 Everything about this beer was just unassuming...nothing particularly abrasive, but nothing particularly great either...just an average beer, in which the lemon flavoring is tolerable but not exciting.

4.0 Refreshing. And lemon like

2.5 Another summer beer from Sam's that smells great as you lift it to your mouth but ultimately disappoints. Having lived in Boston and toured the brewery many times, I love Sam Adams. So I want to love their summer beers..but I just don't. . They're all below average.

4.7 I wait all summer for this one to come out. It has been a favorite for a long time now. The best of the massmarketed summer ales. This one is almost always best enjoyed after yardwork but in the shade since a touch heavier than the light beers out there or otherwise enjoyed with a bunch of buddies who want to come over this weekend and drink all your beer.

3.1 Decent, bitter bread taste.

4.2 B

3.3 Aroma is wheat and strong citrus zest. The flavor is wheat, citrus/zest and a crisp finish. Earlier Rating: 1/26/2011 Total Score: 3.1 Grainy lemon flavor and not much else. Good summer session beer when you don’t want anything challenging.

3.1 12oz bottle from Vieux Carre Wines & Spirits, New Orleans, LA and drunk on 08/07/2008. A decent enough wheat ale; quite refreshing and very easy drinking on an (insanely) hot day.

2.1 12 oz. bottle. AROMA: Sweet and lemony, like a lemon-head candy. APPEARANCE: Pours a hazy pale gold with a whispy-thin white head that dissipates quickly. TASTE: Lightly sour with a very mild lemon flavor and a hint of lime on the back-end. MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly course texture. Carbonation is average and the finish is mild. OVERALL: Slightly better than the previous version of this beer (i.e pre-2019), but not by much. I would have never tried this newer version if I had not gotten it for free. That is how bad the old version was. While this version has improved, it remains the worst beer that Samuel Adams makes, and one that I still won't buy. Which is a shame, because I like all of their other beers that I've tried. Earlier Rating: 7/29/2017 Total Score: 1.7 12 oz. bottle. AROMA: Mild lemon scent and nothing else. APPEARANCE: Pours a cloudy, deep gold, with a white, frothy head that dissipates slowly. TASTE: Lightly sour with flavors of dish-water (don’t ask me how I know) and lemon. PALATE: Medium bodied with a thin texture. Carbonation is average and there’s not much of a finish. OVERALL: Full disclosure: I had a nice Eisbock prior to trying this beer. So maybe that threw off my palate. But I did try a palate cleansing before trying this beer. Having said that, I find this beer severely lacking. The taste is just short of horrific and the other aspects (aroma, palate, etc.) are below par. Which is a shame, because I tend to like most of the Samuel Adams beers.

3.1 Im American Airlines Flieger aus der Flasche. Klarer gelber Körper, etwas Schaum. Aroma: Zitrone, etwas Mandarine, Hopfen, Getreide. Sehr frisch, wie Zitronenlimonade, etwas Banane, Orange, Pfirsich. Malzsüsse.

3.1 Tap @ Cheers. Golden coloured. Light flowery, dry, light malty, bit grassy.

3.4 Can aboard AA101 somewhere over the North Atlantic, it pours amber-gold with a thick foam, a lightly bready and lemony nose reminiscent of Hefeweizen, then sweet and citrusy, a bit like a Russn Weizen-Radler made with lemon and lime. Touches of spice and something a little herbal, plus a distinct zesty note on the sweet finish. 7 3 7 3 14

5.0 Very very good beer. Probably the most refreshing beer I’ve ever had. Lots of citrus/lemon zest but very good!

3.1 12 oz bottle served in a shaker (from summer 12 pack)- poured a non transparent orange-brown color, white ring about the vessel for a head, no lacing. Aroma of fresh wheat- and that’s about it. Hits the mouth with a light body, malt has some flavor and feel, not a lot of sugar upfront which is always nice, middle has a lemon/citrus feel to it, finish is complete and actually lingers on the tongue a little. Not too shabby. Earlier Rating: 10/15/2007 Total Score: 2.5 12 oz bottle- poured a cloudy slight orange color, good head. Aroma of sourness, no lemon whatsoever. Hit the mouth with a thin body, kind of peppery finish. An odd one.

3.8 On tap at Shingobee on the Lake, Walker, MN. Sitting on a patio overlooking the lake drinking this while I eat my lunch. Nice, refreshing summer brew. I like it better than the original. Earlier Rating: 4/5/2015 Total Score: 3.4 Pretty hazy. Easy to drink, get the lemon and wheat mostly not much pepper but that’s probably a good thing. Easy enough to drink but for a wheat summer type of beer I’ll take a honey Weiss.

3.4 12 ounce bottle at Kentucky Theater. Fairly basic not that great malty ale. Ok. Earlier Rating: 10/3/2007 Total Score: 1.6 Huh? Summer what? Wheat? Where? Another Sam Adams fakery. How do they get away with this?

2.9 On tap. Pours gold. Peach, apple, cereal, honey, some generic fruit stuff. Medium body. Not great.