If you don’t already know, Boston Beer Company is the maker of the Samuel Adams line of beers. From humble beginnings twenty years ago, Boston Beer has risen to become a force to be reckoned with on the American craft beer scene. In fact, Boston beer was the eighth largest domestic brewer in 2005, and while their production is still a tiny fraction of that brewed by Anheuser-Busch and Miller, Jim Koch can no longer say the big guys spill more beer in a day than he makes in a year.

Despite its success, Boston Beer hasn’t forgotten its roots, one of the things I admire so much about them. Their regular line of beers, including the flagship Boston Lager, remain as good as they ever were. And they still pop off the occasional surprise. The latest: the Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot collection, featuring four beers inspired by our nation’s brewing history.

Number two in the lineup is George Washington Porter. George Washington loved his beer, porter especially. In fact, he brewed his own, and the recipe seems to have survived to this day. I am not sure how closely Boston Beer has followed it, but they do use molasses and licorice for this porter. We’ll let them talk about the brew for a minute and set some historical context.

George Washington’s favorite brew was porter. In fact, he felt so strongly that there should be an American Porter, he adopted and encouraged a policy of buying only American-brewed beer rather than imported British beer. This policy was part of the Non-Importation Agreement of 1774 drafted by Samuel Adams. Washington signed the agreement at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

George Washington Porter pours to a murky dark brown color with a creamy tan head and a cookie-like nose that hints at spice cake and gingerbread. The soft dark malty nose is a bit more like that of a brown ale than a porter. A thick layer of foam clings to the side of my glass as I sip, and follows the liquid all the way down to the bottom.

As I take my sip, the porter flavor comes through, rich and roasty in this medium bodied beer. It’s even a little smoky, I think, but only a little. The licorice definitely comes through, and nicely permeates the brew from start to finish. And of course the molasses is there too, dark and sweet and rich upfront, it gives notes of Indian pudding, a cornmeal and molasses New England dessert delicacy.

The finish of the beer is surprisingly hoppy, with roasty barley notes and a bitter grassy hop finish from the East Kent Goldings used. I think the roastiness is a given here and is a bit more pronounced than you’ll find in many a porter. That’s because, I’m sure, they’re trying to replicate the smoky, bitter dark malts that George Washington might have kilned himself for his porter.

Full of flavor, malty, spicy and delicious, this is a real winner. Well worth the $9.99 price for the collection just to try this one. The rest can be considered icing on the cake.