"Wine is a gift of God, beer is a human tradition."

— Martin Luther, son-in-law of a brewer

Made by: Boston Brewing Co.; Boston, Mass.

Samuel Adams released a series of limited-edition single batch beers. Each one comes in a 22-ounce bottle, and the series also includes Tasman Red IPA, Third Voyage double IPA and The Vixen, a chocolate bock brewed with ancho and chipotle chilies.

Website: samueladams.com

Beer: Dark Depths Baltic IPA

Rating: 4 pints out of 5

Beer review: Dark Depths is very dark, almost black. I've tried a handful of dark IPAs, most notably Stone Brewing Co.'s XI, so I'm always eager to try another. I find it immensely entertaining to smell the floral, and in this case, piny aroma of an IPA in a dark beer.

The hoppiness in the aroma here is pretty crisp. The flavor is an interesting mix of a slightly citrusy hoppiness and roasted qualities. How can you argue with a beer that gives you hoppiness and the wonderfully warm roasted qualities of a porter?

I haven't necessarily been wowed by all of Sam Adams' experiments, but this one strikes a chord. The hoppiness will leave just a lingering bitter note at the back of your throat.

The more of this I drank, and it’s a hefty bottle with a healthy 7.6 percent ABV, the more I liked it. I’m starting to think I’m a hops junkie. Should I seek assistance for this condition?

The IPA characteristics are the predominant presence here with the roasted qualities demurring to kind of round things out.

Beer: Cinder Bock Rauch Bock

Rating: 3½ pints out of 5

Beer review: I was genuinely delighted to receive rauchbier to sample. This style may have become my favorite little beer oddity. Put one in front of me, and I don't know if I can resist its smoky allure.

Cinder Bock offers a copper color with a pretty subtle smokiness. There’s almost as much maltiness in the aroma until the smoke just manages to get in the last word.

And at 9.4 percent ABV, it’s a bit bigger than Dark Depths.

There’s no doubt about Cinder Bock’s smokiness. It’s not, however, oppressive. Either that or I’ve become more accustomed to what can be an off-putting style, but chances are this is simply a case of a subtle application of smoke.

There is an interesting dynamic going on here. With each sip the smokiness will fill the nostrils, then you’ll get the malty backbone on your tongue before you taste the smoky finish in the back of your throat.

The malt does manage to poke through the smoky curtain, but let’s face it, it’s hard for anything to compete against smokiness. This isn't quite like a Schlenkerla, which is as close to liquid smoked meat as you can get. It strikes more as being like Weyerbacher’s Fireside in its more subtle use of smoke.

For the uninitiated, leave no doubt, this is smoky. But it’s all about how close to the campfire you’re sitting.

Beer: Griffin's Bow

Rating: 3½ pints out of 5

Beer review: Griffin's Bow is an oaked blonde barley wine. The Beer Hunter, the late Michael Jackson, classified barley wine as an English term for an extra-strong ale.

He notes that a barley wine is usually more than 6 percent ABV, yet “classically closer to 11.” Griffin’s Bow is the biggest of the trio at 11.5 percent ABV.

It offers a clear coppery hue with a light frothy head and a particularly sweet aroma. Sam Adams describes it as having pineapple and grapefruit with perhaps richer hints of burnt sugar.

Having the benefit of the brewer suggesting pineapple and grapefruit in the aroma, I can say that those are the characteristics you’ll get. In fact I’d lean more toward toffee and grapefruit; no kidding.

And there’s a big flavor. Some of those grapefruit characteristics will carry through to the flavor and you will get a slightly toasted sugary flavor. There’s a pretty strong alcohol aftertaste, too.

Mingled among the big and unusual flavors will be more traditional citrusy characteristics. The grapefruit notes, however, really make an impression.

I'm not entirely sure what to think here. My knee-jerk reaction was to say this is a bit gimmicky. But the more I think about it, it’s actually pretty interesting.

You’re going to get some interesting flavors against a pretty bold backdrop. In fact, I wonder if I’d be less inclined to lean toward liking this beer if it weren’t a higher ABV.

Not that I’m looking for a big alcohol content, but that heady backbone seems to complement and balance what is an otherwise sweet and particularly citrusy make-up.

This is a slow-sipping beer that would be nice to share with friends, maybe in some small 4-ounce glasses in between some other less heady offerings.