Article about Sam Adams (and craft beer in general) in the news this morning

I used to really like Sam Adams, but Sam Adams is now as close as a craft brewery can get to a Miller or Coors. Every year craft beer conventions have to redefine the number of barrels produced a year to allow Sam Adams to even be considered a craft brewery. Some of their beer is pretty good, but overall they produce WAY too many different beers and it seems as though they aren't as dedicated to their beer as a Stoudt's or Victory. I guess that's what happens to big business, even the one-time underdogs.

Counter Culture turns into trends, and trends turn into business. It's inevitable and happens all the time.

Punk Music is a perfect example of this. Where is the line drawn in someone being a sell out?

I say as long as they are remaining dedicated to putting out the same product that got them popular and are continuing an effort to remain relevant in today's market, more power to them. But that's just my 2 cents.

619Brewer said:

I say as long as they are remaining dedicated to putting out the same product that got them popular and are continuing an effort to remain relevant in today's market, more power to them. But that's just my 2 cents.

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So where does Angry Orchard fall into this?

andhou27 said:

I used to really like Sam Adams, but Sam Adams is now as close as a craft brewery can get to a Miller or Coors. Every year craft beer conventions have to redefine the number of barrels produced a year to allow Sam Adams to even be considered a craft brewery. Some of their beer is pretty good, but overall they produce WAY too many different beers and it seems as though they aren't as dedicated to their beer as a Stoudt's or Victory. I guess that's what happens to big business, even the one-time underdogs.

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I still enjoy several of their beers. Their Ocktoberfest is very decent. I also see they are trying very hard to compete with the craft brewers by introducing new and different beers. Some have been interesting, however more than a few have been downright dreadful (Double Agent IPL). That said. They are still doing a better job than B,M&C.

BBBF said:

So where does Angry Orchard fall into this?

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Diversity.

Cheers!

Yeah they might be turning into a big corporate brewery but they still can be the gateway drug getting people into other breweries and getting people off the corona.

There are a lot of Sam Adams beers i like. Although, the worst would have to be Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout. Top 3 worst beer I have ever had.

andhou27 said:

There are a lot of Sam Adams beers i like. Although, the worst would have to be Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout. Top 3 worst beer I have ever had.

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Glad to know it wasn't me. I drain poured it after 1/4 of a glass.

I don't know what they were thinking.

The only good thing to some from it, is that I have a nice pint bottle for something good.

SA gets such a bad name lately for what they have done and still do. They literally saved over 100 breweries of breweries during the hop crisis. They employ hundreds of people in my state alone, and pay well and take care of their employees.

They are not trying to make a pliny or heady. They make typical beers to grade of several styles, usually not earth shattering. They appeal to the casual beer drinker and not to the hardcore "craft" head. They produce overspiced nonsense, but so does nearly every craft brewery in the fall (big and small). At 1% of the market, they are not a giant by any means. And as they grow, they are cutting into BMC, not craft breweries. No one says "I used to drink Lawsons until I found Sams." They open the eyes to BMC drinkers that there can be light, crisp and drinkable beers in other styles. Many of whom will begin trying other local/regional/national breweries who are truly craft breweries.

I don't really drink SA that much, but I usually try anything new they make, just to see. Sometimes its aweful, sometimes I make fun of them, sometimes I drink Utopias and love them. I'm still happy they are apart of the scene though. The worst part is that some of their more interesting and well done beers have been local only or extremely limited in release, such as Kosmic mother funk.

Their growth shows one amazing fact in America: people want beer that tastes like something. The rest is subjective

Interesting - for some reason I never thought of Sam as a craft brewer - I just thought 'small, regional, New England brewery.' I grew up in a place and at a time when small breweries were more commonplace. They were a good small brewery - unique and diverse. Haven't yet read the article.

Calichusetts said:

SA gets such a bad name lately for what they have done and still do. They literally saved over 100 breweries of breweries during the hop crisis. They employ hundreds of people in my state alone, and pay well and take care of their employees.

They are not trying to make a pliny or heady. They make typical beers to grade of several styles, usually not earth shattering. They appeal to the casual beer drinker and not to the hardcore "craft" head. They produce overspiced nonsense, but so does nearly every craft brewery in the fall (big and small). At 1% of the market, they are not a giant by any means. And as they grow, they are cutting into BMC, not craft breweries. No one says "I used to drink Lawsons until I found Sams." They open the eyes to BMC drinkers that their can be light, crisp and drinkable beers in other styles. Many of whom will begin trying other local/regional/national breweries who are truly craft breweries.

I don't really drink SA that much, but I usually try anything new they make, just to see. Sometimes its aweful, sometimes I make fun of them, sometimes I drink Utopias and love them. I'm still happy they are apart of the scene though. The worst part is that some of their more interesting and well done beers have been local only or extremely limited in release, such as Kosmic mother funk.

Their growth shows one amazing fact in America: people want beer that tastes like something. The rest is subjective

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I must say, while I'm not a huge fan of SA, I agree with what you've said here. They've grown, that's what we should hope for for all of our favorite breweries, no? If they make a good product, why not let as many drinkers experience it as possible. I don't care for many of their beers and SA isnt the first thing I reach for, but I do have a lot of expect for them for what theyve done for craft brewing as a whole.

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andhou27 said:

There are a lot of Sam Adams beers i like. Although, the worst would have to be Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout. Top 3 worst beer I have ever had.

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I liked Merry Maker this year, last year it had a hot taste to me. I guess taste can be pretty subjective

So Yuengling is only distributed in 15 states and has more of the market than Sam Adams.

Sam Adams is still a great brewery IMO. I don't love that they change up their recipes for their seasonal beers, but it is interesting they do it. I'm not sure why so many people dislike that they have gotten big, like a previous post said, isn't that what we sortof hope for all of our favorite companies? That they grow and sell more beer?

Just my 0.02

I think that for a lot of people like me, SA was the gateway drug to drinking good beer. Is Sam the best beer out there? Probably not. Is Sam better than what 95% of the BMC beer population drinks? More than likely. They helped me discover that I actually like beer for flavor, not just because I'm supposed to like beer.

Sam Adams does make great beer
Boston Lager is a great lager, shows what can bee done if you just decide to make a good beer and not back down
I love the release of each of the usual seasonal beers they make each year and applaud them for keeping them all seasonal, mega brewers would have folded to pressure to keep each in production for the full year.

Are they a craft brewer? I think they have grown to big for that, I know of very few craft brewers that can afford to advertise on national TV.

As Sam Adams grows, so will the craft brewery market. They are the biggest entry drug in that market and they now have national attention, Look out big 3. They need to pay some attention. as craft beer takes more of the market each year the big guys will eventually respond. But they will not stop brewing those light lagers that are the mainstream of their market.

And face it, as much as you think a Bud Light drinker has no taste, They think the same as you, As does the Marzin Lager drinker thinks of the IPA drinker. They are all just styles of beer.

When I first got into the home brew hobby I used to slam light lagers. Now I keep one on tap at all times because I started to realize more than half my friends prefer them. I do not insult those guys with my opinion anymore, I just learned to clone Miller MGD and Asahi. And I can say, they are harder to make than a Pale Ale, you have to have your technique down, anything little thing goes wrong and you can taste it.

Yea Sam Adams may be getting huge, but think of it, that is a good thing for us, the cost of a six pack of craft beer goes down as they enter the bigger market.

If you read up on Stone Brewery, they've had nothing less than something like 25% production growth for 13 years straight and are currently number 10 craft brewery in US. They're building a friggin hotel across from their HQ ffs.

If Stone ends up getting as big as SA, and I imagine they can and most likely will, I'll still drink them and enjoy it.

I've never understood the hatred folks start to have for companies that were once small and become successful. I think it's a wonderful thing for everyone. If their product starts to suck, then break out the pitch forks. Until then, I say enjoy what you enjoy and stay away from what you don't.