Is Sam Adams going downhill?

[naughtyco]

No. If anything, they've improved.

Honestly, I think it might be Costco's problem. I bought a case of Boston Lager from them when I was visiting Florida and it was awful. I returned it and bought some from a gas station and it was the perfect brew I had always known it to be.

I even wrote an email expressing my dissatisfaction with the experience. I asked them if they change their brewing procedures or recipes in regards to region (which was a stretch) but I got a prompt email back stating they don't and that they apologized for the inconsistent distribution.

Then they sent me a free workshirt.

 

[grathan]

Is it possible that they ship the beer too green? I had a lager last night that I sat on a couple months and it seemed much better than I remembered the others from the 12 pack.

I also felt the octoberfest was better years ago. Last year I had two different tasting ones. One had an orange cap and another was blue. This year I didn't bother.

 

[as1084]

I even wrote an email expressing my dissatisfaction with the experience. I asked them if they change their brewing procedures or recipes in regards to region (which was a stretch) but I got a prompt email back stating they don't and that they apologized for the inconsistent distribution.

Then they sent me a free workshirt.

That's awesome. lol. Maybe I should have complained too. Anyways, Sam Adams has been extremely inconsistent the last few years IMO. Whether it Sam Adams' fault or their retailers, I won't be drinking Sam Adams again until they get their act together.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I won't be drinking Sam Adams again until they get their act together.

How will you know unless you are drinking it?

 

[johnnyc]

I agree w/ a couple things here and I think its just ingredients fluctuation. The Octoberfest was too malty out of balance last year but has improved this year whereas the Winter Lager was the opposite, this year it isn't as good.

 

[starrfish]

I agree w/ a couple things here and I think its just ingredients fluctuation. The Octoberfest was too malty out of balance last year but has improved this year whereas the Winter Lager was the opposite, this year it isn't as good.

I agree with that.

 

[Steelers77]

I love that holiday porter that comes in the christmas pack but last year it was really bad so Im hoping it gets better this year.

 

[Skarekrough]

I remember back in 1995 or so stocking up on the Octoberfest....as much as I could get my hands on. It was a different beer back then - maltier is about the best way I can describe it. Up until about 2000 or so the taste was the same and then it started to get less, well, malty ever year after.

Whenever it comes out I get that Pavlovian response and pick up a case. As of late though I've been disappointed with it. This past year I vowed it would be the last year; it's a decent beer but nowhere near what I remember it being.

Being local to where the company started I got to see the company evolve. There used to be six packs of the Double Bock and now they're upping the price and only putting four in. They're doing 18 to a case, all sorts of stuff. It's a different company to some degree. But I do believe that the mainstay products, the Lager and Ale are still quite good and have been consistent for a long time.

Back in 1997 I was in college and had to do a final project for a multimedia class. Seeing as it should be on something I know me and three other friends of mine did it on beer and asked The Boston Beer Co. if we could come down and shoot video and take stills at their HQ in Jamaica Plain. They enthusiastically granted us permission and kept the place open late for us to come in, get what we needed, take pics and even hang out with the brewers after we were done and sample some of the things they were working on.

After the semester was over I wrote them a nice thank you note for their help. They responded with a note from H.R. that when I graduated I should make it a point to send a resume over and let me know who I was.

Classy folks and good people.

 

[JJL]

I'm not a big BBC drinker in general, so I can't really make a comparison from year to year, but I thought their octoberfest this year was pretty good.

 

[Walter.woodliff]

Recipes Change a bit over time. I dont know if you saw the Brew Masters episode where Dog Fish Head had to toss Half a Mill. worth of 120 down the drain because the yeast had changed to the point where the 120 did not taste like the 120 anymore. They had to go back and try to recreate the same 120 from the 2006 version in the end.

On Sam Adams I don't think their quality has gone down hill. They seem to be the same tween-er beer between the quality craft beer and the mega beers that they have always been, but I have never had high thoughts about any of their other beers outside of their Octoberfest myself. Not bad, but not a beer I would grab if I had other options. I believe their flavor profile has changed a bit over the past few years, but there could also be a number of factors causing their beer to be undrinkable. The chief reason I could think of is the possibility that their beer could be mishandled at some point from site to store in your area.

I tried a six pack here in Texas and it was not the same quality and flavor, it was watery. I first started drinking Sam Adams in California, always great. Now, I am not buying it again. Needs work or maybe they changed formula, but it really tasted like the other light soda water beers. Nearly poured it down the sink but cannot do it, but was offensive to drink.