Sam Adam's Season Pack ... ehhh

[edb23]

The other thing to consider here is that Sam Adams never intended to be Sierra Nevada or any of the other real prolific craft breweries that are available now. The big thing they say on their commercials is "No one ever tasted an American beer with that kind of flavor" when Jim Koch introduced boston lager. If they had intended for their company to be one of these artisan super small breweries, they would have kept it that way.

They make mass produced beer for the masses because they want to make lots and lots of money. Good for them and God bless. Given that it's the largest american owned brewery, it's not a craft brewery, Unless every single american owned brewery (yuengling for example) is also a craft brewery. But, for mass produced beer, sam adams sure does make the best, and has the widest range of styles. For that side of the market, they're great.

The beer isn't gonna taste like something that's been bottle conditioned, or heavily dry hopped, or in any way loved and babied the way serious craft beer is. If that's what you were looking for, you bought the wrong beer. You just can't expect that level of specialized care to go into a product made by a company that big. But hey, there's a reason people eat mcdonalds instead of going to their local burger shop too. I don't always need a beer that was brewed with sixteen different types of hops and then bottle conditioned. sometimes i just want to knock a couple back and not spend 13 dollars a six pack but also not feel like i'm drinking cat piss. Sam adam's makes good beer for that.

 

[wedge421]

I actually really like the Noble Pils its one of their better offerings. Had the Rev Rye on tap and it wasnt bad either. Their Irish Red sucks though

 

[BrewThruYou]

The scotch ale is horrid. I can't decide if this is just not my style, or if this is a bad version of it.

I was wondering that too. I bought a fall variety pack with that in it...the pumpkin was okay, dunkeweizen was okay....but I hated the black lager and scotch ale.

And then brewed a scotch ale which was good. It's definitely not my style, but that doesn't mean Sam's is good....it's not.

 

[doctorRobert]

Oh I forgot mention this.

Jim Koch worked for Boston Consulting, has a Harvard MBA and JD - he wasnt a homebrewer aspiring to go pro - he saw an opportunity in the market to make money. Everything was calculated, even the name Sam Adams and Boston Lager - which was odd considering the first few years the beer wasnt made in boston nor was the company based there.

Jim was a business man, who hired the best brewers he could find (the man who 'invented' light lager, helped him), and was able to raise a lot of capital through his contacts. I think its a far stretch and calculated move by Jim Koch to claim he is a homebrewer. I'm sure he did brew at home. But I think that was more of an inspiration. His family had brewed that "boston" lager up until the 1950's. So his family was had a history of commercial brewing.

Here is another question - if you contract out your beer, are you still a craft brewer?

I dont mean to bash sam adams, I think they make a lot of quality beer. I love their blackberry wit and some others. But the 'craft' beer thing is a marketing maneuver. Theyre just like BMC, heineken, guiness, etc in my eyes. Doesnt mean they can't make great beer, I just wouldnt call them a craft brewery ( and I dont care how some association defines it)


America never tasted a beer like Sam Adams, except when it was brewed pre/post prohibition up until the 1940s.

 

[LVBen]

I agree that the Irish red sucks big time.
Their scotch ale is awesome!
Boston Lager is good because it a change from typical BMC products. You can get Boston Lager almost anywhere in Vegas right alongside BMC products.
Revolution Rye Ale is OK.

 

[Pilgarlic]

I'm not sure he claimed he was a home brewer. Has he? I assumed he had been, and I may be wrong about that. I repeat. I may be wrong about that. I repeat. I may be wrong about that. (Had to do that! The times I'm inclined to say that are soooooo rare!)

 

[doctorRobert]

I'm not sure he claimed he was a home brewer. Has he? I assumed he had been, and I may be wrong about that. I repeat. I may be wrong about that. I repeat. I may be wrong about that. (Had to do that! The times I'm inclined to say that are soooooo rare!)

I thought there was a commercial out there where he talks about making the beer on his stove top. I also read a thing by him about how his swmbo got mad at him because he ruined the kitchen.

Edit: and he found the ancient recipe going through the attic or something like that.

 

[Pilgarlic]

I never believed the recipe in that attic thing. Call me a skeptic.

 

[j1laskey]

Sen. John Kerry co-sponsors "Beer Act". Curious, just a few months ago BBC ran an advertising campaign reminding consumers that they make up 1% percent of the industry, John Kerry is from Massachusetts, BBC is out of Boston. One must ask, was this done to help protect BBC from paying higher taxes?

 

[Pilgarlic]

No secret there. "Kerry estimates the legislation would create jobs at many of the 1,600 small breweries across the country, which employ a total of 100,000 people. That includes several microbreweries in Massachusetts, such as Sam Adams, named for one of the Founding Fathers and a former governor of Massachusetts. The bill cuts the tax on the first 60,000 barrels of beer produced from $7 per barrel to $3.50."

 

[curlyfat]

Hey.. their Triple Bock vintage 1995 is Amazing!!

I know this post was a few days back, but... that's sarcasm. Right? I mean, there's a reason you can still buy those vile blue bottles full of salad dressing. This is one of two beers I've every dumped down the drain because I could not drink it. Nasty, nasty, stuff.

I like their doppelbock, and a lot of their seasonal line-up, though. Noble Pils, Latitude 48, I like those!