Ok, this is my second favorite cream stout of all time, after Watney's Cream Stout, which is no longer available here in the states. Cream stouts are less bitter and smoother than dry stouts. They fall in the family of milk stouts, which actually had lactose sugars added to sweeten them (this one doesn't).

Samuel Adams beers have often been criticized in the past because some of them are contract brewed. What does that mean? Simply put, contract brewing means that a smaller brewery or company will contract with a larger brewer with excess capacity to produce their beer for them. It's a common practice throughout the industry, but one that Boston Beer has been criticized for. In point of fact, it has allowed them to bring fresh beer closer to market, and one of the breweries they used in the past (Hudepohl-Schoenling in Cincinnati) they have actually purchased.

Samuel Adams Cream Stout pours to a jet black color with a light creamy head and a rich chocolate nose. Sipping this beer will call forth notes of rich dark chocolate pudding mixed with roasty espresso. The body is smooth and drinkable, with a slight roasty bitterness in the finish. According to the label, "Tradition has it that ale drinkers of Samuel Adams' day considered all other stouts to be merely milk. This was the cream." Though I'm not sure how true that was back in Sam's day, a case could certainly be made for it today.