SA Boston Lager Bottled vs Tap

So I took a trip to Boston this past week and, of course, had to go to the SA brewery. The thing that stuck out most in my mind is the difference in taste of the Boston Lager they had on tap. It was WAY maltier and much less hoppy. I think was absolutely delicious to be honest, better than the bottled version I am used to drinking. Is it the pasteurisation that causes the change in flavour profile? What would cause the maltiness to go away and the hoppiness to come out in that process though?

The pasteurization can affect it.

Also, where are you drinking the bottles? Often bottles are stored too cold and this casuses those malty flavors to hide and the hop flavors/bitterness come out more the colder the beer is

I'm usually drinking them at parties and such. I like to let me beers warm up, and I've never tasted Boston Lager like I did at the brewery, must be the pasteurisation.

That's funny, I've heard of fresh kegs of Boston Lager being nice and hoppy.

Never had it on tap myself.

Sam Adams Black Lager on tap is my favorite schwarzbier, but I don't even bother to buy it in bottles. I agree with you that SA beers can be notably different out of the keg.

Surprisingly though, I just had a bottle of Boston Lager at a party the other day and it was very malty, like a light festbier. I really enjoyed it. In the past I thought it had more of a caramel note and a lack of maltiness.

I've had the same question for a long time...I spend lots of time in airports (and for some reason every airport bar in the country has it on draft), and while it is always better on draft than from the bottle, this beer seems to be dramatically different between kegs. Sometimes it is very golden and malty, sometimes much less so, depending on the city you are in. Is this because much of the beer is contract brewed?

I would expect it's to do with storage/transportation conditions. I don't think (at least I'm not aware) that SA contract brews their product. They have a facility in PA somewhere that does the majority of their brewing.