Cambridge Brewing Company is one of the most under-rated breweries in Massachusetts. I can think of a few reasons that might have contributed to this. One is the styles of beers they brew. I am a huge fan of their barrel aged and wild ales, but beer geek buzz seems to only surround breweries that make 10 different types of IPA. Until recently they also had limited number of beers that made it to distribution, too many of their most creative beers were brewery only. It hasn’t stopped the accolades from flowing in, Cambridge Brewing Company brewmaster Will Meyers recently won the Russell Schehrer award for innovation in craft brewing. While I don’t make it to the brewery nearly as much as I would like, it has been nice to see the variety of CBC cans and bottles that now populate the shelves at bottle shops. Now that we are into spring and summer one of my go-to styles are saisons, so I was excited to try Working Class Hero an American saison brewed with citrus peel and a generous dose of hops. Cambridge Brewing Company Working Class Hero is available on draft and in 12 oz. cans.
Cambridge Brewing Co. Working Class Hero pours a hazy bright yellow with a solid white head. The scent is mostly fruity and spicy Belgian yeast along with a touch of citrusy hops. The yeast leads the flavor, notes of pear, clove and apricot. The citrus peel and hop flavors complement this well, adding touches of orange, lemon, and grass along with a crisp bitterness. The malts round out the flavor with touches of wheat bread and cereal. Working Class Hero is light and crushable, a session beer at 4.5% ABV. The finish is crisp and dry with some lingering yeast and citrus flavors. This is a delicious saison, after we tried it my wife exclaimed “I think I’ve found my summer beer for the year”! I agree and highly recommend grabbing some. Hoppy Boston score: 4.75/5.
Previous Cambridge Brewing Co. Reviews:
Cambridge Brewing Co. Arquebus, Cambridge Brewing Co. Pearls of Wisdom, Cambridge Brewing Co. Le Saisonniere, Cambridge Brewing Co. Hay is for Horses, Cambridge Brewing Co. Sgt. Pepper, Cambridge Brewing Company You Enjoy My Stout, Cambridge Brewing Company Remain in Light, Cambridge Brewing Company The Audacity of Hops
Cambridge Brewing Co. Arquebus pours deep orange with solid white head. The scent is a mixture of white wine and rich malt. Arquebus is a very complex barleywine, many are just malt and booze, but there is a lot more going on here. Of course there is still plenty of malt flavor, notes of caramel and bread dough along with a mild sweetness. The wine grapes add significant flavor, notes of pear, apple and stone fruit. You also get some vanilla from the oak barrels and the faintest hint of hops. Arquebus is full bodied but drinks very easy for a beer with 12% ABV. The finish is rich with a little lingering fruit flavor and malt sweetness. This is an exceptional barleywine, it has the rich flavor you expect from the style with added complexity from the grapes and barrels, but everything works in harmony. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.
Cambridge Brewing Co. Pearls of Wisdom pours a hazy copper-orange with a solid white head. The scent is a mixture of funky Brett and floral hops. The flavor is complex, but everything works in harmony. There is plenty of hops, notes of mango, white grape, grapefruit and passion fruit. The yeast is also well represented, touches of sour apple, barnyard, peppercorn and apricot. The malts round out the flavor with hints of bread crust and honey. The beer is medium bodied and very easy to drink, not too boozy at 6.3% ABV. The finish is crisp and dry with a combination of hop and yeast flavors lingering on the tongue. I was really excited when Cambridge Brewing Company and Mystic announced their collaboration, and Pearls of Wisdom is the kind of beer I was looking forward to. This beer is really good, I am not sure if it’s still around or if they will be brewing it again, but I highly recommend trying it if you get a chance. Hoppy Boston score: 4.75/5.
Brewing Company Le Saisonniere pours a hazy golden yellow with a moderate white head. The scent is a mixture of spicy saison yeast and some botanicals from the gin. The taste is pretty complex, you get multiple layers of flavor here. The Belgian style yeast is well represented, notes of apple, clove and pepper. The gin is pretty mild, just a touch of juniper and herbs, but the oak is pretty strong. There are some earthy and floral noble hops along with white bread and biscuits from the malts. That is quite a few different flavors, but they work well together overall. The beer is medium bodied but drinks very easy and is sessionable at only 4.0% ABV. The finish is dry with a complex mixture of fruity yeast, hops, gin and oak in the aftertaste. This is a really interesting beer, I like seeing more diversity of beer and spirit styles in barrel aging programs and I think the combination of a saison with gin is a great idea. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
