Brewer Q & A (Issue 22)

93 Rating – Boston Beer Co. – Samuel Adams Rebel Raw

Responses from Boston Beer brewer Seth Adams.

Who came up with this beer's recipe?
Our brewers work together to develop recipes for our beers. For Rebel Raw, we brainstormed a flavor profile we wanted to create and worked together to develop the perfect recipe. It took a lot of test batches in our nano brewery and we played around with a lot of different dry-hopped beers before we determined the final recipe. One of the best parts of developing a recipe is the sensory process. We taste test a variety of our test batches and have a roundtable discussion after we’ve smelled, tasted and reviewed the test batches on our own. Talking through the recipe process and choosing what we want to ultimately share with drinkers is exciting.

What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
Honestly, I love most everything about this beer. I love the big, piney resinous aroma and the hops that smack you in the face. It’s a delicious 10 percent ABV Double IPA, but despite the strength there’s no alcohol sting. Drinking Rebel Raw fresh from the brewery is the best experience a drinker can have. For this beer, we looked to give drinkers the freshest IPA possible that packed a giant hop aroma and an aggressive hop-forward flavor.

Where does this beer’s name came from? 
The recipe for Rebel Raw is a little “raw,” meaning we were constantly experimenting with hops – what varieties to use, how much to use, when to add them to the kettle, what to use for dry-hopping. So, the Rebel Raw in cans right now, is a recipe based on evolving recipe experimentation.

Is this your "desert island beer?"
Good question. I would love this beer on special occasions, but at 10 percent ABV and 100 IBUs, I'm not sure how long I would last! I think I’d have to go with Boston Lager, which balances hop bitterness and malt sweetness and, I think, is the perfect beer for any situation.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Freakin’ good Double IPA with aggressive hop character.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Brewing Rebel Raw was a lot of fun. This is a beer that came out of our nano brewery in Boston, and I can’t even begin to count how many recipes we developed until we determined this was the one we wanted to share with drinkers. When we had leftover test batch beers for Rebel Raw, we would get together at the end of the day to share it and talk about all things beer.