Samuel Adams Kosmic Sour

Review Date 8/23/2019  By John Staradumsky

Well hello there, strange six-pack of Samuel Adams beer! Where did you come from? I was on vacation in Murphy, North Carolina for a few days and having stopped in the local Wal Mart for some Drakes cakes, I decided to visit the beer aisle. And what did I see there? Why a pair of six-packs of Samuel Adams Kosmic Sour, which they describe on the label as a Tart & Wild Ale.

I’ll confess that at the time I hadn’t heard of this beer, so decided to buy it. Was this a new release, though, or something that had been hanging around for a while. I looked to the label to see the freshness dating. As with most Samuel Adams beers, it said:

FRESHNESS MATTERS. ENJOYED BEFORE MONTH NOTCHED.

These bottles were notched January. But was that the next January, or the once passed six months ago? Boston Beer really pioneered freshness dating, and Jim Koch would advertise this by literally taking a plunge into beer past it’s fresheness date. I Binged the beer and found out it was a new release this year, so January of 2020 it was here. In my shipping cart went my newfound prize of a six-pack.

But what about the beer? The “Kosmik” in the name implied Kosmik Mother Funk, one of Sam Adams’ best and rarest brews. Reading the back label confirmed this.

WHO’S GOT THE FUNK? WE GOT THE FUNK. This beer is blended with a funky Belgian ale called Kosmik Mother Funk (KMF) that is spontaneously fermented and aged for two years in Hungarian oak foeders. Wild yeasts in the barrels contribute a unique fruity and tart character.

Samuel Adams Kosmik Sour has an alcohol content of 4.6% by volume with 11 IBUs. I paid $8.99 for my six-pack at Wal-Mart.

Samuel Adams Kosmik Sour pours to a cloudy amber orange color with a thick fluffy white head and an amazingly tart yeasty nose hinting at wood and almonds. Taking a sip, the beer is tart and yeasty funky, oaky, light and refreshing. Tart dark cherries dart across the palate. The beer is a blend so a bit lighter than it could be, and I wonder at the ratio of young beer to old wild ale. Still, this is delicious and finishes with a refreshing sourness and delicate almondy dryness.

Would I like more funkiness here that KMF is so famous for? I would. Still and all, it's there if subtle, and you can't complain at the price (especially when so many far more expensive craft beer "sours" these days have none at all and are, well, just sour.

Well worth the price of admission, Samuel Adams Kosmik Sour is a beer that may be hard to find, but that will be enjoyed in this warm weather when it is.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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