Sam Adams 76

[JONNYROTTEN]

This looks like an interesting beer. Mixing ale and lager yeast. I wonder how they managed that. I haven't tried it yet but seems like it could be a game changer. Something heavier than a lager but lighter than an ale sounds pretty good
Any ideas on how they did it?
I was thinking fermenting a lager yeast at ale temps but I know that cant be right.
Has anyone tried it?
Thoughts?

 

[Miraculix]

This looks like an interesting beer. Mixing ale and lager yeast. I wonder how they managed that. I haven't tried it yet but seems like it could be a game changer. Something heavier than a lager but lighter than an ale sounds pretty good
Any ideas on how they did it?
I was thinking fermenting a lager yeast at ale temps but I know that cant be right.
Has anyone tried it?
Thoughts?

Look up the warm fermented lager thread in this forum!

 

[day_trippr]

Sure they don't blend them post-fermentation?
That would let both parts be optimally brewed...

Cheers!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I have. I just cant imagine SA doing something that simple to create SA 76. It has to be more involved than that..or maybe not

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Sure they don't blend them post-fermentation?
That would let both parts be optimally brewed...

Cheers!

That's something I hadn't thought of. Makes sense. Brew 2 beers and mix at certain percentages. I was trying to think of how they could use 2 different yeast mixed and make the same beer exactly the same over and over without one strain taking over at different rates from batch to batch.

 

[WFox93]

I'm pretty certain I read on the can that it was a split fermentation. I could be imagining that though. I absolutely loved the beer though. And its something I wouldn't have even thought about trying if it weren't for my local grocery store handing out samples of it.

 

[MHBT]

Nothing new duvel and other belgians blend beers

 

[V-Fib]

I think New Castle is a mixed beer. If I remember correctly in my infancy of brewing I was looking for a clone of it.

 

[ong]

It says on their site “our brewers developed a unique brewing process that takes two active fermentations and blends them together.”

I’m not really sure what makes that so unique, but ok!

 

[day_trippr]

Probably the "active" part, and if that means what most of us would think it means, that's kinda surprising...

Cheers!

 

[BruceH]

Look up the warm fermented lager thread in this forum!

Boom!!!

I bought some of this 2 days ago. It tastes just like my warm lager pils experiment (pilsner malt with 34/70 yeast fermented at 72 degrees).

The big difference is mine tastes better and that's something I never thought I'd say. I keep waiting for my experiment to taste better. I don't think the SA is ever going to improve taste wise.

It sucks IMO.

 

[Miraculix]

I think New Castle is a mixed beer. If I remember correctly in my infancy of brewing I was looking for a clone of it.

Funny, had one for the first time yesterday. I liked it pretty much and instantly started looking up all info I could get on the recipe. Looks like they are splitting the batch into first runnings with high gravity and second runnings with low gravity. They then ferment each on it's own, while the high gravity one produces far more fruity esthers than the low one. After the fermentation finished on both batches, they are blended and contain now more esthers than they would contain if fermented together initially.

I think I might try copying this approach at one point.

 

[madscientist451]

SA is taking "two active fermentations and blending them" probably means the beers are being blended after MOST if the fermentation is over. The lager portion is fermented cold, the ale part is fermented warmer, then at the end the lager is added to the warmer ale and the yeast fight it out until its cold crashed and filtered.
So what percentage of each? Two different grain bills? Lots of questions, and an interesting concept to try out.

 

[BoB Lever]

I saw yesterday that Sam '76 is rolling out in draft availability. As much as Boston Beer Company is banking on this beer to revive the brand, I wonder if one will see '76 replace Boston Lager in bars/restaurants?

 

[NTexBrewer]

I saw yesterday that Sam '76 is rolling out in draft availability. As much as Boston Beer Company is banking on this beer to revive the brand, I wonder if one will see '76 replace Boston Lager in bars/restaurants?

It will never replace Boston Lager. They’re two completely different beers.

I would describe Sam 76 as a hoppy blonde ale. They use Cascade, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. It is not a bad beer. Perfect beer for the pool, beach etc.

 

[BoB Lever]

It will never replace Boston Lager. They’re two completely different beers.

If it sells in a higher volume than Boston Lager, it will. I don't know if that will happen, but Boston Beer is expecting a lot from '76

 

[grampamark]

Why does the brand need reviving? The stock price seems to be holding up well.

 

[BoB Lever]

Why does the brand need reviving? The stock price seems to be holding up well.

"
While beer trends continue to be sluggish, and will face increasingly tougher comparisons in the coming months, non-beer trends (cider and flavored malt beverages) look surprisingly strong,” they wrote. Cowen cited March sales that rose 19% at Angry Orchard, 27% at Twisted Tea, and 3.4% at Truly Spiked, the fizzy water brand.

In beer, however, challenges continued, with sales falling more than 7%.

“Underpinning those trends were still sluggish results for core Boston Lager, which posted an 11.3% revenue decline, though an improvement from the far bigger declines that we had been seeing,” they wrote. “We view the improvement in core Boston Lager as notable given how challenged the offering had been.” "

This is from an article today on Barrons.com The article is optimistic about Boston Beer Company and it's stock, however Sam Adams specifically has been struggling. I thought this was widely known.

 

[kh54s10]

By experimenting with both lager and ale yeast strains, our brewers developed a unique brewing process that takes two active fermentations and blends them together to create a deliciously harmonious result. This process delivers a distinct flavor that showcases the slight fruitiness of an ale with the balanced drinkability and smoothness of a lager.

So they start an ale and a lager then blend them during fermentation. There are so many variations. Do you start one first? Different ratios? Finish closer to lager temperatures or ale temperatures?

Sounds like fun, I may try brewing one some day.

 

[grampamark]

"
While beer trends continue to be sluggish, and will face increasingly tougher comparisons in the coming months, non-beer trends (cider and flavored malt beverages) look surprisingly strong,” they wrote. Cowen cited March sales that rose 19% at Angry Orchard, 27% at Twisted Tea, and 3.4% at Truly Spiked, the fizzy water brand.

In beer, however, challenges continued, with sales falling more than 7%.

“Underpinning those trends were still sluggish results for core Boston Lager, which posted an 11.3% revenue decline, though an improvement from the far bigger declines that we had been seeing,” they wrote. “We view the improvement in core Boston Lager as notable given how challenged the offering had been.” "

This is from an article today on Barrons.com The article is optimistic about Boston Beer Company and it's stock, however Sam Adams specifically has been struggling. I thought this was widely known.

My point was that, as long as the cash register keeps ringing, it doesn't matter which product line is responsible (except to folks like us, who like beer better than Twisted Tea).

 

[casualbrewer]

It's a decent beer but you can't distinguish noticeable lager qualities. Taste like a pretty good blonde though.

 

[BoB Lever]

My point was that, as long as the cash register keeps ringing, it doesn't matter which product line is responsible (except to folks like us, who like beer better than Twisted Tea).

I'm really not trying to argue (is that anyway to start a post online!?), but I'll disagree with that statement. How many drinks like Twisted Tea have come and gone over the years....beer it'll stay. Sam Adams is the flagship of Boston Beer Company, if it's struggling that is a problem. There have been numerous articles talking about Boston Beer putting a ton of hope in '76 to 'right the ship'.