East of the Mississippi and parts near it's probably pretty good by comparison. I only say this because of so many Left Coasters I deal with in my job who find BMC to be the end all and have never heard of IPA. For the West Coast I find it pretty boring and nothing to write home about. Met a few of their reps though and they were great people who were very knowledgeable about their beer and processes(rare), and like others I like their brand as an alternative to BMC. The work they've done to try and turn people on to craft beer I wont fault for an instant. I've also got a handful of their bell glasses from an event last year which are great.
Does anyone else think Sam Adam's beer sucks
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makomachine
Well-Known Member
Never had a bad one myself. Can't say the same for Stone, Sierra Nevada, Rogue, Russian River, and many other "premium" craft beers. They make easy drinking brews that appeal to a broader audience - and do it damn well. They also introduced the "craft" in beer for many people and they get big props for that. Their Latitude 48 deconstructed was a hop lesson in a case - which is just one of many other examples of why they should be more respected. Beer snobbery sucks.
estricklin
Well-Known Member
I love Sam Adam's as a company. The Octoberfest is my favorite beer, ever...ever!!! I try to buy several hundred bucks worth when it hits the shelf.
On the flip side I tried the Latitude 48 IPA once, I drank one and poured the other 5 out. Horrible, undrinkable! That was the only Sam Adams I ever had that was bad though.
On the flip side I tried the Latitude 48 IPA once, I drank one and poured the other 5 out. Horrible, undrinkable! That was the only Sam Adams I ever had that was bad though.
OP
OP
BeerLoverHere
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I know some of their beers are okay, but on some they really miss the mark. I feel that the local breweries here in central Indy do a far better job hitting the marks than Sam Adams and some have only been in the business for a year or two. If I were SA I'd feel ashamed of this. I know mass producing to a national audience has its challenges, but with the money they got they aren't getting it done in my opinion.
djt17
Well-Known Member
I have never had a Sam I didn't like; but I have never had any of their fruit beers. Are there better craft brewers? Of course, but a Sam is better than anything that comes out of a BMC brewery.
There are many SA beers I have had that I have not liked - but I think some of that is because they brew so many different styles, and some of the styles I just don't like. I also hate that cherry beer. Remember a black ale of some sort that was terrible as well.
Several I do like - Sam Adams ALE - I love. Actually one of my favorite beers.
Sam adams lager, Pils, Oktoberfest, brown ale are also ones I would not hesitate to buy. Like other beers too, transportation and storage take their toll. I am always "surprised" when I happen to be in boston area and have the lager on tap, blows me away how much better it is than from the bottle in the midwest.
Several I do like - Sam Adams ALE - I love. Actually one of my favorite beers.
Sam adams lager, Pils, Oktoberfest, brown ale are also ones I would not hesitate to buy. Like other beers too, transportation and storage take their toll. I am always "surprised" when I happen to be in boston area and have the lager on tap, blows me away how much better it is than from the bottle in the midwest.
There a few I don't care for (cherry wheat, which I call the "cough syrup beer"), but overall I think SA is a solid brewery with good offerings. When I'm in a place that doesn't have much of a selection besides BMC, I have no problem having a Sam Adams. I like the Boston Ale, the Boston Lager, and the Latitude IPA.
Woodyswoodchuck
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Never had a Sam's I didn't like. Not as big of a fan of their flagship lager as I am some of their others, but over all they make quality beer. Like some other people on here have said, they don't make the best beer in the world, but for being a big brewing company they make good stuff.
I love that they try things. For example, they just released a Gose. I have a feeling a lot of people might try it and think "WTF is this crap?!", merely because they have no clue what Gose is. The same way a lot of the "BMC crossover" market they have will think of a cranberry lambic or a saison.
SA isn't one of my favorite breweries overall, but they have a lot of beers that would be hard to find other examples of that I like to pick up when I see them -- i.e. the black lager. Schwarzbier isn't exactly something that is easy to find... Oh, and I went to a Sam Adams beer pairing dinner one year, and that black lager is AWESOME paired with a chocolate dessert!
SA isn't one of my favorite breweries overall, but they have a lot of beers that would be hard to find other examples of that I like to pick up when I see them -- i.e. the black lager. Schwarzbier isn't exactly something that is easy to find... Oh, and I went to a Sam Adams beer pairing dinner one year, and that black lager is AWESOME paired with a chocolate dessert!
There's a lot of hate for the Cherry Wheat in here. I'm not a huge fan of it myself but I wouldn't pour it down the sink.
For some reason I seem to recall that they had a home brewing contest among their employees, and the prize was a national distribution of that beer. It was won by some chick in accounting or something with her Cherry Wheat.
For some reason I seem to recall that they had a home brewing contest among their employees, and the prize was a national distribution of that beer. It was won by some chick in accounting or something with her Cherry Wheat.
The term I would use for Sam Adams is "homogenized." They craft their beers to appeal to a wide audience, and most of their beers I've tried seem somehow bland, like they didn't want to go all the way and risk alienating some of their customers. I do realize that they have branched out and are releasing some more "extreme" styles for lack of a better word, but again most of those I try end up being decent examples, but nothing spectacular. I would never use language suggesting their beers "suck" but they rank toward the bottom on a list of my favorite craft breweries. I picked up their IPA Hop-ology box and found the Grumpy Monk and White Water to be excellent beers (in fact, the best examples I've ever had of blending Belgian styles with IPA), but everything else in the box was lackluster at best. Those two beers I would gladly buy, but neither are offered standalone outside the box. Nothing else by Boston Beer Co. has ever made me want to go out and buy more.
EDIT: I take it back, Whitewater IPA is offered standalone and my Bevmo carries it in 6-packs. I will be picking one of those up today.
EDIT: I take it back, Whitewater IPA is offered standalone and my Bevmo carries it in 6-packs. I will be picking one of those up today.
Klickmania
Well-Known Member
My only issues with Sam Adams is having to buy the twelve pack sampler to get two of the beers that I actually want, and their fruit beers. Why they don't offer more plain old six packs of their stuff I'll never know. I can't stand the Cherry Wheat, the Blackberry Wit, and I thought that Mighty Oak was pretty god awful as well. With that being said I absolutely LOVE Noble Pils and their Octoberfest, as well as the Black Lager. I don't understand the hate for the Latitude 48 on here. The deconstructed 12 pack was a pretty cool idea that they executed pretty well IMO.
I've also run into a problem with stock sitting too long on the shelves at some of the local grocery stores. Where I'm located is basically in the dark ages when it comes to beer, so that's not their fault by any means. People around here just don't buy it. And I gotta tell ya, the one's I've had after the freshness date didn't taste so hot. So I'd check that next time any of you have one that doesn't taste good.
I've also run into a problem with stock sitting too long on the shelves at some of the local grocery stores. Where I'm located is basically in the dark ages when it comes to beer, so that's not their fault by any means. People around here just don't buy it. And I gotta tell ya, the one's I've had after the freshness date didn't taste so hot. So I'd check that next time any of you have one that doesn't taste good.
amandabab
Well-Known Member
I would, and I have.
BrewDocND
Well-Known Member
I love when people declare that they hate everything a particular brewery makes, especially when that brewery makes a crap load of different styles.
Good for a brewery their size continuing to branch out. Are there misses? Hell yes. Cranberry lambic is IMHO undrinkable. Cherry wheat is bad. Summer ale and alpine spring are blah. But lager, boston ale, Oktoberfest, winter lager, latitude 48 are all good beers.
And the long shot contest is really cool. 2 homebrewers and one Sam
Employee get their brews done on a large scale and sold in a mix pack.
Good for a brewery their size continuing to branch out. Are there misses? Hell yes. Cranberry lambic is IMHO undrinkable. Cherry wheat is bad. Summer ale and alpine spring are blah. But lager, boston ale, Oktoberfest, winter lager, latitude 48 are all good beers.
And the long shot contest is really cool. 2 homebrewers and one Sam
Employee get their brews done on a large scale and sold in a mix pack.
Their flagship beers taste like poops mcgee. Americans will buy and like anything if you market it correctly. This is especially true due to the fact that 99% of american beer drinkers dont know what a decent beer is. 4 out of the 5 top beers sold in america are light american pils (the S is silent) lagers.
Top 10 for 2012
Bud Light: 19.2% market share
Budweiser: 12%
Miller Light: 8.6%
Coors Light: 7.8%
Natural Light: 4.2%
Corona: 4%
Busch: 2.8%
Busch Light: 2.8%
Heineken: 2.4%<--------------Brewed in Canada, not Holland. A lot of imports are pulling this trick.
Miller High Life: 2.3%
Top 10 for 2012
Bud Light: 19.2% market share
Budweiser: 12%
Miller Light: 8.6%
Coors Light: 7.8%
Natural Light: 4.2%
Corona: 4%
Busch: 2.8%
Busch Light: 2.8%
Heineken: 2.4%<--------------Brewed in Canada, not Holland. A lot of imports are pulling this trick.
Miller High Life: 2.3%
estricklin
Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried the porch rocker? I seen it in the store today but didn't get it because I'm not a huge fan of lemon.
Some i kinda like,some i dont. I think alot of their beer has a general appeal to a gateway craft drinker. I mean,man i just had a budweiser the other day and i really enjoyed it,ive always liked it on the righ ocassion when i was a regular miller lite(drink to get drunk drinker) but its a pretty good premium lager. I still want to do a BMC blind taste test,because miller use to be my go to light beer.Being its easy cleanist drinkability.
I kinda like the small batch series and some seasonals. Ive had a hankering for picking up a sixer of the noble pils,which when i remebered it the first time i ever tried it i thougt it was so bitter. I can barely even remember what a Sam adams lager or light even tastes like.Guess thats on my goto list now. Im shure their beers will only get better.I think.
I kinda like the small batch series and some seasonals. Ive had a hankering for picking up a sixer of the noble pils,which when i remebered it the first time i ever tried it i thougt it was so bitter. I can barely even remember what a Sam adams lager or light even tastes like.Guess thats on my goto list now. Im shure their beers will only get better.I think.
swackattack
Well-Known Member
Bought there summer seasonal case. Enjoyed everyone. East west kolsch was my favorite.
Ramitt
Well-Known Member
Not my favorite beers, but I have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for the Brewery. They have been and continue to be very supportive of and important to craft brewing and also home brewers. To dismiss them as if they are on the same plane as BMC is unfair and complete beer snobbery.
Sam Adams light. This is as close to "BMC" ? right? Well alot of craft brewers dont even make this style. soo.......... Will we hate any craft light lager? Per calorie,has there been a better craft light lager or much of any others to hate.
anengineer
Well-Known Member
Do I think their beer sucks...no I don't. They have
several styles of beer which to me are quiet good.
several styles of beer which to me are quiet good.
doctorRobert
Well-Known Member
All their beers taste dull to me. Which is their market. Their market is the person who wants to buy "good beer" but doesnt know what beer is. Just that they shouldnt serve bmc at a party because it isn't cool. They throw a crap load of spices into everything for marketing and everything just blends together.
I think a combination of their yeast, pasteurization, and recipe formulation that leaves everything just a bit too ordinary. Except for a few of their new ipas - which were decent, but missing that "wow" factor. Ive had all their beers, and have been to the brewery many many times.
I think a combination of their yeast, pasteurization, and recipe formulation that leaves everything just a bit too ordinary. Except for a few of their new ipas - which were decent, but missing that "wow" factor. Ive had all their beers, and have been to the brewery many many times.
doctorRobert
Well-Known Member
Do they ever win anything at gabf? Do they even try? Not to say that defines what good beer is but I'd be shocked if they ever even place
andysim
Well-Known Member
+1 on the cherry wheat. I enjoy most of their other beers.
They've always been hit or miss for me. For the most part I think most of their beers are alright, not spectacular, not terrible. Some are really good (Noble Pils, Boston Lager, Irish Red are some that come to mind), and some I thought were terrible (Cherry Wheat, Black and Brew, Cranberry Lambic, Summer Ale).
Pilgarlic
Well-Known Member
Four medals in 2011.
JaimeTheLimey
Well-Known Member
I tend to think of SA as more of a control; their beers are never far out of style guidelines. i.e. If someone asks you what an American Lager should taste like, you give them a Boston Lager, etc.
That's the only reason I don't really like them, but I wouldn't say that their beer is terrible by any means.
Now their small batch project is putting out some really tasty beers which i do like.
That's the only reason I don't really like them, but I wouldn't say that their beer is terrible by any means.
Now their small batch project is putting out some really tasty beers which i do like.
Tim_Kreitz
Well-Known Member
The impetus for this thread is likely motivated by nothing more than simple contrarianism. The Boston Beer Company has become a large, successful operation, so now it's fashionable to hate them. Laughable.
I'll proudly go on record as HBT's biggest Sam Adams apologist. I think Boston Lager is a very good beer, and I buy their Oktoberfest and Latitude 48 by the case. In fact, I'll put their Oktoberfest up against damn-near anyone's. There's a reason Sam Adams still continue to win so many medals in competition.
Now, does my glowing defense of them mean I like and buy every single style they make? Of course not. I've picked what I want from their catalog and enjoy those purchases, instead of ragging on them like a lunatic for daring to brew beers outside my personal preferences and tastes. The humanity! Geez.
To anyone who thinks the Boston Beer Company summarily "sucks", I encourage you to start a brewing company of your own and go head to head with them in good ole' American competition. Until then, quit yer bitchin' and have a beer.
I'll proudly go on record as HBT's biggest Sam Adams apologist. I think Boston Lager is a very good beer, and I buy their Oktoberfest and Latitude 48 by the case. In fact, I'll put their Oktoberfest up against damn-near anyone's. There's a reason Sam Adams still continue to win so many medals in competition.
Now, does my glowing defense of them mean I like and buy every single style they make? Of course not. I've picked what I want from their catalog and enjoy those purchases, instead of ragging on them like a lunatic for daring to brew beers outside my personal preferences and tastes. The humanity! Geez.
To anyone who thinks the Boston Beer Company summarily "sucks", I encourage you to start a brewing company of your own and go head to head with them in good ole' American competition. Until then, quit yer bitchin' and have a beer.
hepcat
Well-Known Member
"The term I would use for Sam Adams is "homogenized." They craft their beers to appeal to a wide audience, and most of their beers I've tried seem somehow bland, like they didn't want to go all the way and risk alienating some of their customers." KTblunden
Well said, exactly what turns me off about SA, they put out mass produced, mediocre beers but market them like a specialty, micro-craft brewed, something-they-are-not beers.
Well said, exactly what turns me off about SA, they put out mass produced, mediocre beers but market them like a specialty, micro-craft brewed, something-they-are-not beers.
You're going to have to fight me for that title! I like pretty much everything that make, and as I said earlier, their chocolate dopplebock is one of my favorite beers ever!
Tim_Kreitz
Well-Known Member
Right on.
SA Chocolate Doppel is officially on my to-buy list. I'll be on the lookout for it.
Look in the late fall. Last year I managed to find it in 6's, but that seems to be rare. Hopefully they do that again this year.
Just to clarify, are we not allowed to criticize any brewery ever unless we have a multi-million dollar operation or are you just going after the people who reduce it down to the word "sucks"? It's entirely possible to not like a product and say as much without having to actually produce a competing product.
I don't like BMC and I say as much, but I don't happen to own a corporation that makes billions of dollars producing light lagers. Am I entitled to my opinion?
Tmooka
Member
Love the noble pils. It screams summer. My favorite post grass cutting beer and one of the few things I look forward to during the summer here in Louisiana.
Tim_Kreitz
Well-Known Member
You are entitled to it, indeed. Anything to the contrary was not my implication. The greater point being, if someone truly believes that not a single thing of value comes from SA, then brewing for a living must be pretty easy. After all, if all you need is 20 different utterly swill beers and a good marketing team to be wildly successful, then anybody can do it, right?
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