NEW BEER: Sam Adams pays homage to Cincy with debut of ‘513’

The Samuel Adams brewery — which, despite its Boston-centric reputation, has multiple ties to Cincinnati — is poised to introduce its newest regional draft, the first-ever Cincinnati-inspired "Samuel Adams 513."

The new beer will be available on draft year-round, exclusively in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, according to a Samuel Adams release. Sam Adams 513 has already made its debut in at least three locations in downtown Cincinnati, according to the Samuel Adams "Find-a-Sam" web site. A spokesman for the brewery said it will likely show up in the Dayton area this weekend.

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Cincinnati is the hometown of Samuel Adams’ iconic founder and brewer, Jim Koch. In 1997, Koch returned to his hometown and purchased the former Hudepohl-Schoenling where his own father apprenticed in the 1940s. That brewery, on Central Parkway near downtown Cincinnati, now brews many of Sam Adams’ beers.

The final recipe for Samuel Adams 513 was decided upon by Cincinnati-area attendees of last year’s Zinzinnati Oktoberfest, brewery officials said. The new beer’s tap handle includes a tribute to flying pigs, paying homage to the Union Terminal and city’s nickname “Porkopolis” coined in the 1800s. And the name of the beer, of course, celebrates the city’s telephone area code.

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The brewery chose the tribute to Cincinnati beer “to celebrate Cincinnati’s importance to Samuel Adams and the men and women who live and work in the Tri-State area,” according to a Sam Adams release.

Here’s how the brewery describes the lager-style beer, which clocks in at 25 IBUs and 5.5 percent ABV:

“Brewed with four malt and hop varieties, Samuel Adams 513 is a classically dry-hopped American lager that blends a complex, malty backbone with bright hop notes for a refreshingly balanced beer. The beer’s toasty, biscuity aroma and rich malt forward flavor finishes with a citrusy note and spicy bitterness.”

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