Sam Adams
 

I wanted to respond to some of the derision I've read from people concerning Samuel Adams beer. As one who has enjoyed their Boston Lager for over a decade, I cannot see how anyone with even a decent palate can call this a lousy brew. Yes, Boston Beer Company is a macro brewery now, but in the mid eighties Jim Koch literally went door to door in the Boston area to convince tavern owners to carry his beer. The Boston Beer Company was instrumental in leading the microbrew revolution that has given us the wealth of choices we enjoy today. What I mean by this is that they were one of the first and most successful micros to hit the big time in the US, and make quality brewed beer acceptable in the mainstream. When you go to your local pub and have 15 beers on tap to choose from, you can thank Jim Koch, among others, for this.

I drink a lot of different styles of beer, and I make an effort to refine my palate and understand what I'm tasting. And what I taste when I drink Boston Lager is a unique, spicy, medium bodied, smooth session beer that tastes good no matter the season. Yes, it does have a sort of, shall we say, *mainstream* drinkability, but there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Add to this the fact that, according to their website, Samuel Adams is all natural with no adjuncts or preservatives.

I agree that we as beer lovers should support local breweries, and I do (there's lots to choose from here in Colorado). But bear in mind that the most important thing is to support QUALITY brewers; both Sierra Nevada and Anchor both enjoy a wide distribution, and I think most beer lovers agree that their beer is still excellent. So what if you can find Sams in the airport? Their airport pubs are always clean, well run, and the beer is fresh; when I was in Belgium I drank in pubs in the train station. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I maintain that we should save our ire for the chemical fizz out there (and if you think Sam is in that category, let me also suggest that you work on your tasting skills!). An everyday beer should be judged primarily its taste, ingredients, and overall drinkability, regardless of the number of barrels produced. You can't call yourself a true beer aficionado if you're judging on anything other than what's in the beer.

I'm not trying to flame anyone - I just wanted to give a perspective.
Also, I don't work for Boston Beer Co or anything, but I am from Boston and I still consider it my hometown brew.

Cheers!

I have to agree. If SAm is the worst thing you have to choose from, life is not bad.

Tom C

I really like the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. It is unlike many fruit beers in that it is not sweet. I would like to find a good clone of that one.

Re: Sam Adams
 

I agree Sam is always the fall-back beer that you can depend on.

In DC Dulles airport has Old Dominion beer (Hop pocket etc). I was always the first to volunteer to meet people off their flights!

Since 9/11 you can't go back there without a ticket though:(

Thanks, Sam!
 

Nothing wrong with Sam Adams. I'd never pass one up but I rarely seek out BBC beers anymore - aside from the Double Bock and any new styles they create (like the Vienna Lager). Their Boston Ale is their best beer IMO but rarely is seen on tap because the Boston Lager gets all the pub. I'm disappointed in their decision to drop styles like Scotch, Honey Porter, etc. and their introduction of Sam Light - but it's a business and I'm not a shareholder so I'll just take my money elsewhere. Their success has had some influence in other brewery's acceptance in the mainstream.

Harpoon pared their lineup down as well - dropping gems like Spring Maibock in the past. But it was a great decision on their part to introduce the 100 Barrel Series (Oatmeal Stout, Wit, Dubbel, Barleywine). I wish Sam would do something similar to showcase their brewing talent and make rare(er) styles more accessible (sorry, Utopias is not accessible for most people).

Sorry, I can't call Sam Adams a "hometown" beer as they do very little commercial brewing in their Jamaica Plain facility. And Tremont is just a name now. Harpoon is the closest "hometown" beer Boston has and they brew lots of stuff at their VT facility.

Cheers!

I loved Samuel Adams "back in the day", and still find they have a usually fine product. THe only issue I have with them is the direction they've decided to take with their growth and marketing. It seems to me (and I'm no expert) that they have jumped on the marketing schema of the mega-brewers. Loud, rowdy, young people partying and the name of the product itself has gone from "Samuel", to "Sam" and now "Sammy". Seems like they are dumbing down to me, or stooping to the megabrewers level, as it were.

Where does this idea come from that you cannot be loud and rowdy and party with good beer? Is it written somewhere that to enjoy good beer it has to be done from my rocking chair? I love good beer. I love to get rowdy and party. I have drank good beer since college, when we partied like rock stars. Hell I discovered good beer on the Grateful Dead tour!!! There is no bigger party than that. I say party your ass off and do it with good beer. If I am gonna get piss drunk, I would just as soon enjoy the process. Being a beer snob doesn't mean you have to be dull.

I agree with BrownBeard here...beer is fun and I still like to party down myself.

Also, I wouldn't care if Samuel Adams started using circus freaks to advertise their beer as long as they don't change the recipe.

The worst that could happen is their new advertising style is successful and they increase their market share and eventually replace AB as the dominant macro(wishful thinking, I know) - I can certainly imagine far worse eventuallities.

I've always thought Sam Adams was unfairly butchered in this forum by some, and believe that the quality of their beers, while uneven at times, is still better than most. I totally agree that the Boston Lager is STILL a quality brew, and I can STILL detect a pleasant, buttery spiciness in the beer. As for the "regular" beers, the Boston Ale is also very good, and the Cream Stout is tasty. I also like a handful of their seasonals, like the Cranberry Lambic, Double Bock, and even their Summer Ale on a sweltering July afternoon. I also miss the Scotch Ale - one of the best in the country, when it was available.

There are plenty of Sam beers I don't care for, either: I think the Pale misses the mark, the Light is a mistake, and the Spring Ale is bland. Furthermore, the Oktoberfest and Winter Lager have become very inconsistent in recent years. But, the family of Sam Adams beers, rated as a whole, are slightly above average IMO.

Like Brownbeard, I too am disappointed with the advertising backlash against Sam. Look, I'm 33, married with 3 kids, and I might make it out for a night of "partying" once or twice a year with some old college buddies. That doesn't mean that I look down on those who do have fun more often, or that I think a brewery "sells out" just because they run some fun commercials. And I think it's asinine to believe that good beer should only be enjoyed in the solititude of your basement, or your friend's garage.

We all seem to poke around the subject of getting the good beer message out, and I believe we all are doing our fair share of missionary work spreading the word. The more craft beer advertising that makes it into the mainstream, the better. Let's do what we can, without sacrificing quality, to get craft beers under the fingernails of the big three; mainstream bars, sports stadiums, concert venues, airports, etc. Why the hell do we bash a craft brewer for selling their beer(s) in a public place? So, we don't want craft brewers to succeed?

OK, local craft brewer, eliminate your advertising budget for the year - yep, pull the tv, radio, and newspaper spots touting your quality products! Why? Because the moment you start succeeding as a BUSINESS, you've sold out! Eh, I'm aimlessly ranting now, but I hope I've made sense. It all just irritates the heck out of me...

Well put, hops99. I think some people tend to forget that, while brewing is a craft, outside of homebrew it is a BUSINESS, and when you're running a publicly traded company, profits are not a luxury. Like it or not, most of the time you have to advertise to succeed. I don't dislike A-B and Miller because they are big, I dislike them because their beer sucks.

I agree with davesarman's point about Sam's marketing direction, though. Personally I miss the days of radio ads with Jim Koch entreating, very plainly, to "Try my Samuel Adams Lager". But Sam's is the 5th largest US brewer now, and I think there's some kind of rule in the brewing industry that says the bigger your market share, the more insipid your marketing has to be.
Sam Light is a mistake though, and they take a credibility hit in my book for that one (I think it tastes like watery Boston Lager with a nasty aftertaste).

An interesting comment on marketing can be found on the Rogue website. Basically, they maintain that craft brewers are not actually competing directly with A-B, Miller, etc..., because essentially the makers of chemical fizz are targeting a lot of people who don't even like beer, whereas brewers like Rogue target people who do like beer and know what they want to drink. Sam Adams bridges the gap -- they're big and they market to the masses, but they still make a quality product that a beer snob can still enjoy (and get rowdy with).

I view Sam Adams as a stepping stone beer that leads to better beers. I always recommend it to novice beer drinkers or swill drinkers as a starting point for them to discover the world of fine beer. And you all are right, it is often the best beer an establishment may have available. (Including some of the bigger casinos in Vegas.) I have to say, it is about as low as I would go when having beer. I consider it far better than the macros but only one step up from them. I simply refuse to drink any macro beer for any reason even if it is all that is available. I have never faulted SA for making business decisions except I too regret that they feel it necessary to make a lite. (And I dont like their cherry).

I'm with hopp99 on the Summer Ale in July, especially after coming in from cutting the grass in the Sandhills of NC. I live in an area where there isn't a Micro within 45 minute drive. So besides making your own you are limited to what you can buy in the grocery store, and if you can find it in the grocery store around here it isn't from a micro. So you have to make beer decisions.... For the price Sam Adams compares well with the megamacros and has a lot more taste than those. Now I can get the medicino's, sierra's, saranac's and all that and can even get some of the english and irish beers, but sometimes they are just not practical when you are having friends over who don't always understand that there miller lite is mildly flavored water in a can. As for the sam adam's light, If I had to drink light beer I would pick it over the others, but what else are you going to do in a beer market shaped by the latest diet craze. Light beer is the beer market now, A-B sells more BudLight than any other beer, Miller sells more MLite. Those commericials with the twins pushing horse piss is the light . When you have stock holders you have to make profits, and right now you have to have a light beer to get there. But the most important thing to remember about all of this, is that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what anybody tells you, it is just there opinion, tongues are like fingerprints, none of them taste alike. What taste good and refreshing to me may taste like mud to the next guy or so-so to the next. It really doesn't matter who makes it as long as YOU enjoy it!

Whereas I have never really cared for the SA line of beers, I am not one to put it down either. That was why, as I stated in another thread here, that I was really surprised when I tried their Summer Ale this year. I have subsequently bought several 12 packs.

Its all a matter of taste.

As a fellow micro lover i find it hard to believe that there is a single brewery out there that is trying to remain a small home town brewery! samuel adams obviously became mainstream and so large for a reason. Enjoy good beer no matter where it is served!

Not always true
 

Check out New Glarus' decision to pull back their distribution from surrounding states (including a big market in Chicago) to focus on their core market of Wisconsin. They faced a decision to either expand the brewery to meet demand and possibly sacrifice quality or scale things back and take care of the "hometown" customers. They chose the latter and I think that's great. Not the norm, but nice to see.

Cheers!

Re: Not always true
 

You swiped the words right out of my mouth! I'm looking forward to sampling some of their fresh beer at the Quivey's Grove Beer Fest the first weekend in October.

S.

This is an old thread I know but ran across it when I thought I might find a Sam Adams Boston Lager clone... more or less curious about what's in it as I really have no way to properly lager.

I just had one for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was impressed. This is an excellent beer and I wished I hadn't avoided it for so long. I avoided it because I always thought it would be like Corona (expensive version of macroswil) because of what I would here other supposed beer lovers saying about it.

A couple of weeks ago, at a restaurant I ordered a beer (not Sam's) and he brought back a Sam Adams Boston Lager (on tap) say they were out of what I ordered... well since all the other things they had were macroswil I said that fine. I was in for a nice surprise. I had a few more... and a few more since then trying to figure out what I liked about it. I think that it's got that clean lager like taste but I would definitely say that it's hopped more like I'd expect from a pale ale. Definetly unique and definetly interesting, and definetly good.

I think those that put down this beer as if it were as evil as macroswil should stop drinking beer. It's just not the same thing. I don't care how much they sell or how much they advertise.

My opinion is that it is a cut above the macroswill. A beer that I have used to introduce macro drinkers to a little flavor. I think of it as a stepping stone brew. And I think it is very drinkable unlike BMC.

I don't think it's just a cut above... I think it's a really solid beer. I'm not saying it's as good as my favorites and given it's availability (I see it everywhere) I'm sure to get bored with it and it will be relegated to backup when nothing else good is available. But comming from someone who is not bored with it yet since I've just had it recently, it's really good. Sam Adam's deserves more credit than being just a "cross over beer" IMHO even if it is good for that purpose.

I have to second the thought made about Boston Ale. It is a very underrated beer IMHO, being a goalie makes me quite humble too.

I don't recall Sam Adams getting that much bad press here. I always took from this community that it was considered more a stepping stone beer, being the highest step of that group, and worth enjoying from time to time.

A goalie has spoken.

And therein lies the route most of us have travelled. I agree that it's not a bad beer - certainly not macro-swill, but there are just so many other good beers out there that Sam gets relegated to "back-up." On top of that, being in Goose Island country, I have my own (slightly larger than) micro to choose from, so Sam gets passed by all the more.

On the other hand, I always enjoy many of the seasonal beers Sam Adams produces.

S.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Many of the chain and sports bar establishments around here usually have the BL and the current Seasonal on tap as the "micro" selection, and that's when I usually drink
Sam, now. It was one of the first beers that got me into better beers (I know, different thread!), and I don't have a problem drinking it. I prefer the seasonals to the lager.

I wouldn't buy it for home, though, with so many beers out there that I haven't even tried yet!

I love it when those places have "Domestic Specials" on certain nights - $2.00 a bottle. I'll have a Sam. "Well, that's not on special." It's a "domestic." "Well, uh - it's more of an import around here." Riiight, see ya.

S.

I agree that Sam Adams is a fine beer. I just love the way that beer smells. I enjoy the Ale more than the lager, and I have called it "sammy" for a long time. SA is one of the only seasonals I can get here, and I enjoy seasonal brews. My old roommate was a BudLight man (in his defense, he olny had about 5% of his smell left after a bad sinus infection as a child - so he could smell and things tasted much different to him). SamAdams was the only "real" beer I could get him to drink.

Let's not forget, that SA is the only American beer available in Germany. It sticks to the Reinheisgebot.

I know what you mean. I once successfully argued my way to the domestic special price for Yuengling when they told me it wasn't included. They amended the signage after that...:mad:

Huh? Anheuser-Busch is the beer sponsor of the 2006 World Cup in Germany - one of only two beers to be sold and advertised inside the stadiums. A-B seemed to make a deal with Bitburger over a "Bud/Bit" lawsuit that was pending.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/forum/re...?thread=402567

Cheers!

The Rheinheitsgebot was ruled illegal with the European Constitution a couple of years ago. So beers not sticking to it can not be banned anymore, and I believe beers can not advertise that they dostick to it either (but the last I'm not really sure).

I think the point here is that SA BL was the first only American beer to mee the Rheinheitsgebot AND be sold in Germany. They say it on their website. Bud may be allowed in Germany now but it certainly would never pass the Rheinheitsgebot and I think SA BL passed the Rheinheitsgebot while it was still being used.

Sorry - I read the story about AB at the World Cup. I know it used to be the only American beer there and is definately the first.

Anyone know (or could guess) what kind of hops they use in the BL or ale.

Look up their website... they have a lot more about their beers and what's in them than I would ever have expected. I've never had the Ale so I didn't even look at it when I was there. The BL is hopped with Haulertau Mittlefrew (sorry have no idea how to spell it) and Tettenanger Tettenang (same here). I think I also remember they dry hopped with Mittlfrew. I don't have the link for yah but it was an easy search the other day.

Anyone wanting to learn a little about some hop characteristics, take a big whiff of the Boston Lager - that sort of soapy aroma is Hallertauer hops.

Sam the first American beer to follow the Reinheitsgebot? Maybe the first micro with a large marketing budget, but I don't believe it was the first. Anchor, in its current incarnation under Maytag's ownership, has been brewing and bottling their Steam Beer - a lager - since 1971, and I'm pretty sure it follows the proper ingredient bill - for one.

The Boston Beer Co. (Sam) was founded 13 years later in 1984.

S.

There was an "AND" there.

Yep... and that "and" was, and it was also sold in Germany. So, for a time, it was the first and only beer exported from America to Germany. That's got to count for something, doesn't it?

Sam Adams isn't a first choice, but their beers are certainly decent for the most part. Boston Ale is wonderful, and I even remember having their Double Bock many years ago and enjoying it immensely.

Aparently this is an old thread, but I'm new to the game here and have to add my two cents.

There's nothing wrong with Sam Adams. There's nothing wrong with Budwieser or Pabst Blue Ribbon either. They just don't taste very good. That is surely an unfair comparison, but you have to admit SA is a large corporate brewery just like the others. This isn't a socialist, anti-establishment statement, it's a fact. When production reaches a certain level, and share holder profits become a priority beer quality becomes a lower priority. For example, a brewery with a small production may stay with whole cone hops instead of hop extract despite the higher cost. When your production is tens of thousands of liters a day, that cost adds up. ratman03 defends this saying Anchor and Sierra Nevada are also widely available, but in the case of SN at least, the brewery stays pivatley owned, and has more quality control workers than brewers.

Another argument ratman03 gave was that SA adheres to the Rheinheitsgebot. Limiting yourself to water, malted grain, hops, and yeast doesn't nessecarily make a good beer. Here in Belguim, in fact, you'll have a hard time finding a beer that doesn't add sugar, unmalted grains, orange peel, cloves, or any number of other addatives and that only make the beer taste better.

That's what it's all about at the end of the day. How does the beer taste. For me give me an SA before a Coors, but if there is a choice, I'll take a craft brew. Defending SA with it's mirco brew history or it's adherence to an arbitrary list of ingredients misses the whole point. The only defence a beer has is it's taste, and for me SA doesn't cut it.

b.t.w. Adhereing Rheinheitsgebot was not ruled illeagal, it was just ruled that you could not outlaw beers that don't limit themselves to these ingredients.

While Boston Beer Co. is far from a "microbrewery" in terms of production #s, it's beer lineup still qualifies with me to keep it in mind as a "craft brewery". Yes, they have a light beer - hated that fact when it first came out, but have learned to accept (ignore?) it. And yes, their Boston Lager isn't my favorite lager in the world, but so what - it's still a tasty beer.

I wonder how many here who condemn, or simply relegate Samuel Adams to a back up choice have explored outside the Lager, Boston Ale, etc. Grab some DBock (I prefer it after a year in the cellar), Holiday Porter (new in the winter 12pks this year), Schwarzbier (new winter beer) or Cream Stout. Or get to a beerfest (BA Extreme Beer Fest?) and get a taste of some of their more experimental stuff - 3 Weiss Men Weizenbock, Rauchbier, Double IPA, Utopias or whatever else they might be whipping up in Jamaica Plain.

I've re-evaluated my feelings about BBC over the past year or so. Maybe it's time for some others to take another look, too?

Cheers!

Fairly well put Eppie. I think everyone here thinks SA is a worthy beer to drink or at least is acceptable. Just not to all of our subjective standards. Not the first choice, but not a bad choice.

Just tried to go to the Sam Adams site, and mistyped my birthyear in the opening page, and now they won't let me in at all! Even when I clear out my windows and reopen my browser, it won't even load up the page for me. This is really irritating! It's like being accused of trying to buy beer underage - at MY age! :mad:

That's interesting fret - did you try deleting your temp files and cookies and all that other windows junk?

I used to know a guy in high school who made fake ID's, maybe I can get him in touch with you. :D

Fret, I did the same thing. It drove me crazy trying to get in there.
I cleared the cookie file and the temp. file and I don't remember what else. I think I finally closed the internet connection and then signed back on and the site let me in. What a pain in the you know what. Back on subject, I don't have a problem with SA products. Some I like and some I don't. I did try a Boston Lager on tap not too long ago and found it to be quite tasty. Well balanced and a great hop finish. Definetly take SA over bmc.

For any site like that, forget trying to type/scroll to your actual birthday. Just use the first things available...like Jan 1, 1950. Sometimes it's just easier to lie.

BTW, I like the revamp to the Sam site - much easier to move around, more pleasing to the eye and still very informative.

Cheers!