Does anyone else think Sam Adam's beer sucks

[sweed]

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

 

[Qhrumphf]

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.

 

[cledro711]

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.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

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.

 

[aaronsseven]

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.

 

[cheezydemon3]

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.

 

[kaconga]

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.

 

[cheezydemon3]

agreed. Starbucks has become something else since the show, and walmart is downright evil.

 

[bchurch]

I was on a white water ipa kick most of this summer.

 

[evrose]

agreed. Starbucks has become something else since the show, and walmart is downright evil.

Oh rubbish...

Hyperbole much?

Evil? Really?

 

[H-ost]

This is surprising...

In the "worst commercial beer" thread Sam Adams was getting dumped on as far as the majority of posters were concerned... I'm pretty sure several people even pointed that out in that thread. I opened this thread expecting it to be a trash pile on SA but it seems to have flip flopped.

I haven't tried SA enough to have any real input but I will say that I would choose their boston lager at a place if they didn't offer any other craft beer.

 

[kaconga]

Oh rubbish...

Hyperbole much?

Evil? Really?

Are you familiar with walmarts business practices? I don't know if it is evil but it comes close if not. Originally Walmart was a stellar company run by Sam Walton. Now his children and the shareholders have put profit above all else. If love of money is the root of all evil then Walmart would rank pretty high on that scale.

I work in a grocery warehouse that is in direct competition in my area with Walmart. My brother works for a local Walmart. Guess who has the better job? The basic business practices of Walmart preclude it towards abuse of its employees. Not trying to bash on Walmart shoppers or the employees. Just my opinion.

As for the original topic, the fact that the local Walmart doesn't carry Sam Adams is just another reason why it doesn't suck

 

[libeerty]

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.

+1, with the caveat that "more talented" is defined as pushing the envelope, willing to experiment, take risks, and having a great degree of success doing so. And acknowledging Sam has among the most wide-ranging portfolios of any brewery in history, whereas DFH has taken a different route. And, I still think Sam Lager is the best American lager I've ever had.

But I've been damn disappointed in some recent offerings from Sam. The Porch Rocker never should have been sold. A terrible, terrible beer. I find their Alpine Spring appalling. And I can't remember a single "special edition" brew from them I enjoyed in the past year or 2 except their chocolate bock.

 

[lunchbox]

Their cream stout is one of my favorite beers.

 

[hoptualBrew]

Personal opinion of Sam Adams;

They have a lot of safe, "classic", to style beers. Some are great, some are mediocre, and some are not good at all. Noble Pils is a beautiful beer imo and their recent rotating series has some really nice offerings such as Tasman Red IPA and their Sahti. I think comparing them to "craft" category brewers like Cigar City Brewing and Three Floyds Brewing isn't fair necessarily, as Boston Beer Company is more traditional in their approach to the market. I'm personally not a fan of their Boston Lager, nore a good amount of their IPA's but what far outweighs that is that they are a pioneer and grandfather of the industry as well as kind to the homebrewer following with their Longshot competitions and their "Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream" campaign that donated $100,000 to startup breweries. Maybe some of their beers get lost among flamboyant offerings from other breweries, but anyone who bashes on the brewery I don't think has respect for the industry in which it paved the way for.

 

[doctorRobert]

The problem I have with Sam Adams is that it appears their beers are designed by the marketing department not by a beer geek. Every beer has a gimmick and 90 percent of the time I think that gimmick detracts from the flavor

 

[Fizzycist]

Gimmicky like the simple and tasty "Summer Ale" I just had at a Red Robin? All the other choices were BMC so I'll take it as a plus.

 

[Dan]

This wasn't at DFW was it? I had the exact same experience at a TGIFridays in DFW a couple of weeks ago.

I don't mind most of SA's beers. Unlike a lot of people on this board, I enjoy the Latitude 48 (though I won't go out of my way to look for it). However, the Chocolate Bock tastes too much like Yoohoo to me. There's no way I could drink more than 1 of those in a row.

It was in Fresno CA. SA's lager is about the only one of his I care for but this one was just bad. I think in all my years of drinking beer that was the only time I didn't finish a beer because it tasted fowl.

An airport bar? My guess would be dirty tap lines. I'd try bottle beer next time.

I think you're right Rico and next time I will try a bottle.

 

[ChessRockwell]

I find their Alpine Spring appalling

You're not the first one I've heard say this, and I just don't understand, what is so awfully appalling about it? I mean to me it was a pretty drinkable, the crisp clean refreshing-ness of a lager with a little citrus, nothing standing out to really piss you off. Why the bad reviews?

 

[BrewKnurd]

You're not the first one I've heard say this, and I just don't understand, what is so awfully appalling about it? I mean to me it was a pretty drinkable, the crisp clean refreshing-ness of a lager with a little citrus, nothing standing out to really piss you off. Why the bad reviews?

Yeah, my thoughts as well. It was drinkable, nothing special, but i personally don't see how it had any characteristic that was strong enough to possibly be appalling.

 

[GioGomez2010]

Their summer ale was good. I actually liked it and found it refreshing. Their Boston Lager gave me a weird after taste that I just couldn't get rid of till I drank some water. Sam Adams is hard to find in Utah do I don't usually have it.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

I forgot about the Noble Pils. I do enjoy that beer from Samuel Adams. Beyond that, nothing I've had of their selection has caused me to want to go buy it. I am not a fan of their Boston Lager either.

 

[kh54s10]

Another NO here. I have not tried a lot of their styles but I have only had one, a seasonal spiced or fruit beer, that I didn't like.

 

[Airborneguy]

Fizzywhig? Not my favorite either.

 

[ghpeel]

Boston Lager is good, Boston Ale ain't bad, their Scotch Ale was OK, some of my friends really love the Summer Ale, the Octoberfest is DAMN GOOD, the White Ale is pretty tasty, the Noble Pils is delicious. Their Smoked Bock is interesting.

However, their Hefe sucked bad, the Pale Ale wasn't great, the Cherry Wheat is like drinking candy (in a bad way), and the Cranberry Lambic is an abomination.

Their line of homebrew recipes sucks too. The Munich this year wasn't bad, but the Alt sucked and the Stout was so-so (I'm not a stout guy). Last years were GOD AWEFUL. It was a ****ty "black" IPA, a Belgian IPA and a honey/lavender beer (shudder). However a few years back, their homebrew line included Mike McDole's DIPA (yum).

 

[amandabab]

Their Boston Lager gave me a weird after taste that I just couldn't get rid of till I drank some water.

I like Boston Lager, but this year was not their finest hour.

 

[Pesi]

I routinely but the mix 12 whenever there is a new one out. I'm still relatively new to craft beers but I find it's an easy, convenient way to learn about the styles. After I try one for the first time and have my own opinion of it I'll look it up on rate beer and beer advocate to see how good or bad it represents the style.

With all the different beers they make they're not all gonna be great but I do think they deserve credit for making different styles available to the masses

Oh and I love their Schwarzbier

 

[Pesi]

Buy*

 

[thisgoestoeleven]

Sam Adams was my "gateway drug" for craft beer. I love Boston Lager, Noble Pils, and Latitude 48. I'm also a sucker for Old Fezziwig in the winter sampler pack.

 

[Willum]

Sam Adams was my "gateway drug" for craft beer. I love Boston Lager, Noble Pils, and Latitude 48. I'm also a sucker for Old Fezziwig in the winter sampler pack.

I have to agree with you all on all of the above. I also like the Whitewater IPA they put out recently. They use to make a great american wheat for the spring season, but they make something else now.