Does anyone else think Sam Adam's beer sucks

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I don't know that I'd go that far. Whatever you think of their beers, Jim Koch and SA have done a tremendous amount of good in advancing craft beer and homebrewing in the US. Wasn't the GABF Pro-Am his idea? I know SA sponsors it.

I agree with you in that respect wholeheartedly. I was mainly saying that if their beer disappeared I wouldn't miss it. Not the case with some breweries, Id probably shed tears if 3floyds closed their doors(no homo). :D
 
I have to admit that my first Samuel Adams is the reason why I didn't even try anything but Bud Light until I started working in the kitchen of a bar and had my beers chosen for me (on account of asking for Bud Light the first time I was asked what I wanted to drink). They made a quick convert out of me, but...

I still won't buy it. I might try one if someone put it down in front of me because my tastes have changed over time, but I certainly won't be the one to pay for it.
 
The Boston Lager is what got me to try other beer styles and eventually micro-brews. It had actual flavor. Now it tastes a little watered down to me, but I blame that on a constant diet of IPAs. That'll pretty much ruin your tastebuds for anything else.

I still enjoy the Octoberfest and the Winter Lager on occasion. They had a Cranberry Lambic that almost stopped me from trying new things though. Yikes!!!

Overall, I'll drink their beer anytime.
 
IT IS TRUE.....

The cranberry Lambic is bloody pig vomit, but virtually EVERY SINGLE OF THEIR OTHER BEERS range from at least merely drinkable, to freaking fantastic.
 
IT IS TRUE.....

The cranberry Lambic is bloody pig vomit, but virtually EVERY SINGLE OF THEIR OTHER BEERS range from at least merely drinkable, to freaking fantastic.

cherry wheat = bloody pig vomit
noble pils = bloody pig vomit
winter lager = bloody pig vomit
fezziwig = bloody pig vomit
winter ale = bloody pig vomit
infinnium = one of the worst beers I've ever had

having said that, the double white was good, imperial stout was good, the lite beer is respectable, boston lager is good enough to occasionally drink. I like what they DO as the largest "craft brewery" in america, but the products are more misses than hits to my palette.
 
Boston Lager is what got me started into try other beers besides BMC and is my favorite Lager. Tried Whitewater yesterday and thought it was an outstanding beer. So far the only one that I have tried that I didn’t like was there Cream Stout.
 
cherry wheat = bloody pig vomit OK
noble pils = bloody pig vomit WHAT? Not the best IPA ever...but???
winter lager = bloody pig vomit WRONGO. The Dark Wheat? Freaking awesome
fezziwig = bloody pig vomit WRONG
winter ale = bloody pig vomit WRONG
infinnium = one of the worst beers I've ever had .....haven't tried it

having said that, the double white was good, imperial stout was good, the lite beer is respectable, boston lager is good enough to occasionally drink. I like what they DO as the largest "craft brewery" in america, but the products are more misses than hits to my palette.

I respect your opinion, but I would submit that your palate is limited. that is OK, but when you get tired of pale ales and stouts, a nice dark roasted wheat lager is not only original but welcome!

Here here

It is Hear Hear you uncouth lover of pig vomit....;)

THAT SAID....Good on you for using it properly! I am trying to bring it back too, but people usually look at me funny.
 
Im all about a british parliamentary feel. Haha. I just have never enjoyed sam adams. Must be becuase of my Northwest hop tea brutal alcohol we cherish.
 
having said that, the double white was good

I respectfully disagree. Of all the beers you called "bloody pig vomit" in your post, this should have been first on the list. I don't even know why they bother calling it a white ale. It has no resemblance whatsoever to one. It is much too dark, has none of the typical white ale yeast character or spicing, and is intensely malty to the point of being syrupy, where a proper white ale ought to be dry and refreshing, with a light citrusy tang.
 
I like what they're doing. They make beers that appeal to the masses so they can afford to make their not-so-mass-friendly-beer. I do often find them a little light on flavor, but they're not bad. They're also a good gateway beer to get the BMC crowd into microbrews
 
Im all about a british parliamentary feel. Haha. I just have never enjoyed sam adams. Must be becuase of my Northwest hop tea brutal alcohol we cherish.

:mug:

Hear hear!!!;)

you only drink IPA's?

I was there once, but overdid it.

when you drink a ruination and barely flinch, you have overdone it.
 
cheezydemon3 said:
:mug:

Hear hear!!!;)

you only drink IPA's?

I was there once, but overdid it.

when you drink a ruination and barely flinch, you have overdone it.

No i love all types i was reffering to Old Worlds assault on the Northwest way. But i do prefer my beers on the hoppy side. Iono Sam has never made anything that i want to get again. But there are also an abundant amount of microbrews i can partake in here.
 
I would submit that your palate is limited.


Aww, c'mon. I love me a wide swath of world beers: pilsners to sours, saisons to IIPAs, oktoberfest to RIS, not to mention all the style-defying greatness out there. I'm sure you're being silly, but for the record: many of us out there with sophisticated/diverse tastes in beer have learned to pass on most of the Boston Beer Company's offerings.


I respectfully disagree. Of all the beers you called "bloody pig vomit" in your post, this should have been first on the list. I don't even know why they bother calling it a white ale. It has no resemblance whatsoever to one. It is much too dark, has none of the typical white ale yeast character or spicing, and is intensely malty to the point of being syrupy, where a proper white ale ought to be dry and refreshing, with a light citrusy tang.


Are you really shooting down an "imperial white ale" because it isn't to style? That's kind of a given -- since it's not a real style of beer. It's over 10% alcohol. I like it for what it is: a tasty/unusual offering from a super-massive beer company. You might want to save the style sermons for somewhere else -- you won't make many converts on this board. :mug:
 
I respect your opinion, but I would submit that your palate is limited. that is OK, but when you get tired of pale ales and stouts, a nice dark roasted wheat lager is not only original but welcome!



It is Hear Hear you uncouth lover of pig vomit....;)

THAT SAID....Good on you for using it properly! I am trying to bring it back too, but people usually look at me funny.

With the caveat that I agree with the rest of your edits...

If you think that the Cherry Wheat is anything OTHER than pig vomit, I submit that YOUR palate is limited :D
 
Punity said:
No i love all types i was reffering to Old Worlds assault on the Northwest way. But i do prefer my beers on the hoppy side. Iono Sam has never made anything that i want to get again. But there are also an abundant amount of microbrews i can partake in here.

Sounds like all the hatred is coming from your end of things.

Old world? Northwest way? Need a beer for your ridiculous horse?
 
Qhrumphf said:
With the caveat that I agree with the rest of your edits...

If you think that the Cherry Wheat is anything OTHER than pig vomit, I submit that YOUR palate is limited :D

:mug:
 
cheezydemon3 said:
Sounds like all the hatred is coming from your end of things.

Old world? Northwest way? Need a beer for your ridiculous horse?

Sorry not gonna hijack the thread
 
No. Not even close. Sam Adams is one of the best "bigger" breweries in the Country. Don't hate them just because they're big. They consistantly make great beer in large quantities. That's a lot harder to do than it looks.
 
Are you really shooting down an "imperial white ale" because it isn't to style? That's kind of a given -- since it's not a real style of beer. It's over 10% alcohol. I like it for what it is: a tasty/unusual offering from a super-massive beer company. You might want to save the style sermons for somewhere else -- you won't make many converts on this board. :mug:

I am not shooting it down because it's not to style. I am shooting it down because it tastes like crap, and they have no reason to call it any kind of white ale other than they pulled that name out of their ass.

Imperial IPA: tastes like a big IPA
Imperial Stout: tastes like a big stout
Imperial Red: tastes like a big red ale
Imperial Pilsner: tastes like a big Pilsner
Imperial White Ale: tastes like crap, not remotely like a white ale


IMO they would have been better off calling it a wheat wine. It actually resembles that.
 
Boston Lager was my first experience with something that wasn't a BMC, and I haven't looked back. I had myself a Black Lager this evening, and will often buy random styles to add to the fridge. I definitely have expanded to many many other beers since, but it started my journey. They may make a few beers that I don't enjoy (most bigger breweries do), but I definitely consider myself a fan.
 
gotta say......boston beer broke the ice in taking away market share from the big domestics.....without them......who know where would be as homebrewers......i know other brands have contributed but they did a lot of the work.......i can tell ya this.....i doubt that WL or Wyeast would be around and I doubt further that they would be selling on small scales without breweries like the boston beer co that finally said bud sucks.....in a big way.....

ps these beers (sam adams) are everywhere and I think that is what got some of the bud light etc drinkers to try other beers.

i am sure people would still brew........with yeast like muntons:)
 
They make good beer, if they were playing the mass market game they wouldn't be making the huge variety of beers that they do. I wouldn't expect you to like every one of them but I would think that a non-biased educated beer drinker could find quite a few of their beers that they would call good even if you don't buy them on a regular basis.
 
This topic comes up way too often... and I don't get it. Do I like all of their beers? No. Not really. But I also subscribe to what a lot of folks are saying and that is that they've done a ton for the craft beer industry and even homebrewing. They're "local" here in Mass and I know all of the much-smaller craft breweries here love Jim Koch and the company. There are a ton of stories of Sam Adams stepping up and helping the smaller breweries when there are hop shortages, etc. Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co) has actually dipped into their own hop stock during shortages and supplied smaller breweries when the market dried up.... and no.. they didn't up-charge anyone. They simply opened the warehouse and gave people what they needed at cost.

Again, are all of their beers awesome? No. But who's are? Especially a brewery that makes that many varieties. I LOVE some DFH beers but others... not so much. That doesn't mean I'm going to say Dogfish Head sucks.

I think a lot of it, and I am starting to hear this about DFH too, is that they've gotten so big they're a "sell out" or they're just another Bud... that's bull and totally unfair. I'm not saying I am all super connected with pro brewers but I have met a bunch of them and am about to be one myself in a couple of weeks... and while a huge percentage of pros have a real passion for what they do (and anyone who says Jim Koch doesn't is clueless) but at the end of the day... they're trying to build a business... and Jim Koch has simply been really successful at just that. And for that people are going to bash him??

Seems horribly misguided to me.
 
This topic comes up way too often... and I don't get it. Do I like all of their beers? No. Not really. But I also subscribe to what a lot of folks are saying and that is that they've done a ton for the craft beer industry and even homebrewing. They're "local" here in Mass and I know all of the much-smaller craft breweries here love Jim Koch and the company. There are a ton of stories of Sam Adams stepping up and helping the smaller breweries when there are hop shortages, etc. Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co) has actually dipped into their own hop stock during shortages and supplied smaller breweries when the market dried up.... and no.. they didn't up-charge anyone. They simply opened the warehouse and gave people what they needed at cost.

Again, are all of their beers awesome? No. But who's are? Especially a brewery that makes that many varieties. I LOVE some DFH beers but others... not so much. That doesn't mean I'm going to say Dogfish Head sucks.

I think a lot of it, and I am starting to hear this about DFH too, is that they've gotten so big they're a "sell out" or they're just another Bud... that's bull and totally unfair. I'm not saying I am all super connected with pro brewers but I have met a bunch of them and am about to be one myself in a couple of weeks... and while a huge percentage of pros have a real passion for what they do (and anyone who says Jim Koch doesn't is clueless) but at the end of the day... they're trying to build a business... and Jim Koch has simply been really successful at just that. And for that people are going to bash him??

Seems horribly misguided to me.

Well said! When I'm grabbing a 6er nears a buddy's place and all they have is bmc, heiny, micelob, and sam adams... I'm always going for the sam's, they always have something new out it seems. Not always the best, but they make some good beers. Always a go to, in a not so great selection.

Another micro in Mass! I'll be sure to look around for your beers and will definetly try them out to help a local :mug:
 
Cape Brewing said:
This topic comes up way too often... and I don't get it. Do I like all of their beers? No. Not really. But I also subscribe to what a lot of folks are saying and that is that they've done a ton for the craft beer industry and even homebrewing. They're "local" here in Mass and I know all of the much-smaller craft breweries here love Jim Koch and the company. There are a ton of stories of Sam Adams stepping up and helping the smaller breweries when there are hop shortages, etc. Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co) has actually dipped into their own hop stock during shortages and supplied smaller breweries when the market dried up.... and no.. they didn't up-charge anyone. They simply opened the warehouse and gave people what they needed at cost.

Again, are all of their beers awesome? No. But who's are? Especially a brewery that makes that many varieties. I LOVE some DFH beers but others... not so much. That doesn't mean I'm going to say Dogfish Head sucks.

I think a lot of it, and I am starting to hear this about DFH too, is that they've gotten so big they're a "sell out" or they're just another Bud... that's bull and totally unfair. I'm not saying I am all super connected with pro brewers but I have met a bunch of them and am about to be one myself in a couple of weeks... and while a huge percentage of pros have a real passion for what they do (and anyone who says Jim Koch doesn't is clueless) but at the end of the day... they're trying to build a business... and Jim Koch has simply been really successful at just that. And for that people are going to bash him??

Seems horribly misguided to me.

I can see why people could suggest that Sam Adams "sold out" (even if i think it's unfounded). I can't see it about DFH. I could see the claim that DFH has gotten gimmicky, but not selling out. Depending on the beer, I'd usually prefer SA to DFH, but only cause i don't like DFH's crazier creations, where SA does a lot more straightforward stuff even if it's not the best of it's particular style. But even if i don't like them all i still think DFH is a more talented brewery.
 
The boston lager is a Solid beer. Octoberfest is my fav tho. I have been to the brewery in boston and it was a great experience. Ended up talking to the tour guide for 30 min after the tour about home brewing.
 
Cape Brewing said:
This topic comes up way too often... and I don't get it. Do I like all of their beers? No. Not really. But I also subscribe to what a lot of folks are saying and that is that they've done a ton for the craft beer industry and even homebrewing. They're "local" here in Mass and I know all of the much-smaller craft breweries here love Jim Koch and the company. There are a ton of stories of Sam Adams stepping up and helping the smaller breweries when there are hop shortages, etc. Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co) has actually dipped into their own hop stock during shortages and supplied smaller breweries when the market dried up.... and no.. they didn't up-charge anyone. They simply opened the warehouse and gave people what they needed at cost.

Again, are all of their beers awesome? No. But who's are? Especially a brewery that makes that many varieties. I LOVE some DFH beers but others... not so much. That doesn't mean I'm going to say Dogfish Head sucks.

I think a lot of it, and I am starting to hear this about DFH too, is that they've gotten so big they're a "sell out" or they're just another Bud... that's bull and totally unfair. I'm not saying I am all super connected with pro brewers but I have met a bunch of them and am about to be one myself in a couple of weeks... and while a huge percentage of pros have a real passion for what they do (and anyone who says Jim Koch doesn't is clueless) but at the end of the day... they're trying to build a business... and Jim Koch has simply been really successful at just that. And for that people are going to bash him??

Seems horribly misguided to me.

Exactly. I like some of their stuff and some of it I don't. I think their beer is a little expensive down where I'm located so I usually pick something else but I find nothing wring with their beer.

I've never understood the sellout thing, I would hope and expect a company to want to grow and make money.
 
Sam Adams pumps out a lot of different beers so just like Beatles songs...if there is a thousand of them your not gonna like them all. SA is also like anything else...it is totally up to your liquor store as to what they choose to carry so a lot of there lesser known goodies don't reach some markets. Boston Lager is my fav but the Noble Pils and the newest, Whitewater IPA are good as well. You have to keep SA in persepctive. They are no longer a small mom and pop operation so not everything is gonna be a home run for everyone. If nothing else enjoy what you like and remember Koch got started just like the rest of us.
 
Another excellent post cape.

Southpark (an Amazingly intelligent crude cartoon show) had an episode on the Mom and Pop coffee shop, and the evils of starbucks encroaching on their business.

At the very end, they showed how a mom and pop started the bloated coffee monster, and through hard work made it big, begging the question, Why does success make something bad?

Answer: It doesn't, but it is human nature to be jealous.


Now.......GUINESS SUCKS!!!! lol.
 
cheezydemon3 said:
Another excellent post cape.

Southpark (an Amazingly intelligent crude cartoon show) had an episode on the Mom and Pop coffee shop, and the evils of starbucks encroaching on their business.

At the very end, they showed how a mom and pop started the bloated coffee monster, and through hard work made it big, begging the question, Why does success make something bad?

Answer: It doesn't, but it is human nature to be jealous.

Now.......GUINESS SUCKS!!!! lol.

The difference between beer and other consumables is that brewers, outside of BMC, would like to see others succeed. Starbucks and Walmart tend to try and dominate their fields. Sam Adams has a record of promoting craft breweries and helping them out. The more great beers in the world the better.
 
Back
Top