Consistency of Sam Adam Lager...

[GodsStepBrother]

Okay my father drinks Sam Adams Boston Lager religiously. He drank bud forever and I got him hooked on Sam Adams and he is a recovering Budweiser nut.
Everytime i go to his house i drink it with him since the fridge is always stocked, and recently for about a month now i have noticed the quality of it has changed. Before it was a nice brown color, and was malty, with a hint of Hoppes etc.. you guys have tasted this stuff. None the less again for about a month it has been different, it is a light brown color it is a light brownish orange and the taste pales in comparison to how it used to be. Also we can now drink almost a whole 24 pack by ourselves and still be good? We have passed it off, but recently it is just worse and worse.

Then the other day i went to a bar with my friend and ordered a pitcher and it was even worse! It was so sweet, and had absolutely no hoppes in it, we told the bartender and he said that they have been getting kegs like this. He said it was only few that had noticed and gave us another pitcher of whatever beer we wished.

So has anyone else noticed this, or could it just be the batches going to my town?

 

[Joos]

No change that Iv'e noticed.Then again the brewery is about 20 mins away from me.

 

[mc_eric]

Weird, I had a bottle just last night and it was actually great. It surprised me cause haven't had Boston Lager in a couple years, and I remember not liking it.

 

[tdavisii]

I can handle Sam Adams lager on tap but in the bottle i think it has always sucked

 

[jsullivan02130]

I think I win. The brewery is across the tracks from me.

No change that Iv'e noticed.Then again the brewery is about 20 mins away from me.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I don't think the quality has changed. Sam Adams is a consistent brewery. They got to be where they are making that beer and they are good at what they do. That said, maybe your palate is changing, or maybe the distribution company that is handling SA products in your area is f'ing it up. Also, unless the place you were at was a good beer establishment, I wouldn't be surprised if their lines were dirty.

 

[user 30639]

I don't think the quality has changed. Sam Adams is a consistent brewery. They got to be where they are making that beer and they are good at what they do. That said, maybe your palate is changing, or maybe the distribution company that is handling SA products in your area is f'ing it up.

That was my first thought, a changing palate. The first time I had Sam Adams (probably 8 years ago or so) I thought it was way too hoppy. Then I had one at the bar a couple weeks ago and was...I don't want to say underwhelmed; but it wasn't what I remembered it being. It was never a beer I drank a lot, probably a few times a year.

 

[JKoravos]

I think I win. The brewery is across the tracks from me.

Can you smell it from there?

 

[z987k]

Don't they contract out in different regions?

 

[budbo]

Don't they contract out in different regions?

I believe so, that could be a factor. I haven't noticed any change.

Boston Lager isn't really that "hoppy" only around 36ish IBU, and they dry Hop. You are probably getting used to higher IBU beer, so your memory of SA from when you were drinking 11 IBU beer is making it seem less hoppy

As far as how much, many home brewers seem to start out brewing higher alcohol, then settle in at 5-6% SA is 4.9% so that is probably a tolerance issue.

 

[JefeTheVol]

Could be the lines at the bar...I have a bar here in Memphis and they dont clean their lines too well. If you line up draft beers from 10 different bars, I can pick out which one came from this particular bar. Just a thought but it doesnt explain the bottle issue.
-Jefe-

 

[redraider629]

Yeah when I first had a Sam Adams I thought it was very hoppy, but that was before i started drinking Stone, Bear Republic, Dogfish Head, Etc. Now it is not so hoppy. It is probably just your palate changing.

 

[broadbill]

Can you smell it from there?

Probably not...the tracks he is referring to is the orange line of the MBTA....which has its own cacophony of odors!

That being said, I miss being a 10 minute walk from the SA brewery!

 

[GodsStepBrother]

you know i thought about it being my palate changing but is not like was a nub with beers up to a two month ago. I mean i started brewing only a while ago but i drink a lot of different brews and always have. Non the less even my father has noticed the change. However it might be like you guys say the brewery that brews it and ships to my city, just out of curiosity, thanks for the feedback.

 

[mc_eric]

It's kinda funny, they used to have that commercial where they said they used a pound of hops per barrel.

1# of hops = 16oz per 31 gallons

that equates to 2 and 2/3 oz for a 5gal batch, where I generally use 3 oz.

So Sam Adams was basically bragging about using less hops than I do. I'm not talking trash about SA, I'm just sayin'. Their commercials are dumb.

But all commercials are pretty stupid, so it's all relative.