Sam Adams

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oguss0311

oguss0311

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What do people think of sam adams? I think that they make good beer- but I sort of dislike thier angle. I mean- they subcontract all if not most of thier work (I read- I can't say I did the homework- I know that they have at least One brewery in Boston...I think) But then they advertise like they are a bunch of modest, righteous and superdedicated people who just hapen to work for this huge company.
I am certainly being picky and uptight- but I don't believe that they are being true to the angle that they pitch. I still buy the stuff- most often on draft- and I dont have anything but compliments for most of thier actual beers. But I also will pick most any micro brew over Sam Adams when given the chance. Not that they are a micro- at this point- I believe that they must be a craft brewery.
 
I've had around 5 SA brews, and the only one that I actually kind of liked was their cherry wheat (well I loved Utopia too, if you want to count that, but I don't think it really counts). I think they are over hyped, and their beer is highly over rated. Of course that's just my opinion.
 
I like the Boston Lager, not the rest. I won't bring it home but it seems to be what I most often drink at a bar.
 
I like the Boston Lager, too. If I am at a restaurant, like Red Lobster, I will order Sam Adam's instead of a BMC. I thought the SA Cherry Wheat was disgusting. I bought the SA Summer Sampler last spring (when I was trying to acquire bottles) and it had two of those in it. I thought they tasted like carbed cough syrup.

I have been brewing alot and have not bought any beer since July, except for at a bar or restaurant. I just drink my own stuff.
 
I admire Sam Adams and the BBC. Sure, there are many better beers out there, but they have effectively introduced good beer to a very wide audience. The Boston Lager in particular is approachable enough for a BMC drinker-but tasty enough for me to order. This helps bridge the gap and in the long run, it introduces more and more people to craft beers.

In terms of subbing out the brewing-sure this is true, but this happens all over the place-even with much smaller breweries. Moerlein is a Cincinnati based brand-but it is brewed in PA. The Barrelhouse-a local 2-man brewery brews other beers besides their own as well. It comes down to what pays the bills and gets the beer brewed. The former Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery now brews Sam Adams..I love the fact that what was once an dormant regional brewery (a casualty of BMC domination), is now filling the whole neighborhood with the sweet smell of beer.

So while I wouldn't call SA the best out there-it is solid beer-and their success shows that more people are becoming more discerning. Plus-their bottles are great.
 
There's a guy in Portland, Ore., named Sam Adams who is running for mayor. Recently he made headlines when he got served a cease-and-desist order for operating his campaign Web site, which was something like "samadams.org." The Sam Adams Brewing Co. legal department was being fairly obnoxious about it, wanting money and signatures on scary sounding legal documents and prattling about "our brand value," until Sam slipped a copy of the letter to the newspaper. I thought this was a monumentally cheesy move, and I heartily hope that whatever legal uebermensch sent that letter out is now flipping burgers down the street.

Having said that, I approve of Sam Adams -- you can buy one of their beers anywhere in the country and know that it won't suck. You're right, their marketing department is a bit over the top, but hey, that's marketing, a field I'm really grateful to not be in ... also rather grateful to my uncle, an attorney who urged me not to get into that business as well.
 
I absolutley love there boston Lager, it is my fav beer and I feel that is the most perfect lager to drink, That said The Cherry wheat made me gag I thought someone slipped me the red liquid nyquil. As far as the company itself I feel that they do alot and have done a lot for this hobby and they all look like they love and have fun doing what there doing and I really have not found anything about there advertising I have disliked and I have really never seen any signs of beer snobery, I love what there doing over there! Also I think they have a brewery in Cinci OH
 
I'm really not sure why it gets so much hate on these forums, but I have to say that Sam Adams is arguably one of the best Domestic brands out there. I love to try new beers, and I'm always up for a new experience, but the BBC consistently comes out with beers that more than meet my expectations. IMO The brand gives American brewers and beer drinkers something to be proud of. Not to mention their support for the home brewing community.
 
Met a guy from England on train ride to Savannah, he said he thought Sam Adams was the best of the American Beers. The Brits know beer! I like Bass Ale ( oh , that not American is it).
 
I like a lot of their beers, you can actually taste the hops, I too am not a fan of the Cherry Wheat and found most who like it are not into hoppy beer (to each his own) My favorites are their Pale Ale and winter lager and of course Boston Lager.
They make mostly German styles

Their angle is marketing and I'm sure at the main brewery it is as depicted (somewhat) the fact they contract out is not an issue Coke, Pepsi, many imports also do it. Read the label on many "imports" and you will see the "brewed under the authority of" on the label, it is cheaper to get someone local to make it for you than ship it, or build a new brewery when you can keep a small regional going by having them brew it for you.

They have done great things for craft beer in the US, For many it is their first crossover brew from BMC. I think Fat Tire is a decent beer but gets way over rated (my wife loves it).
 
I think a lot of people resent the fact that SA is now a big corporation, and that they aren't really doing the craft brews like some of the smaller operations. I'm still a fan of their support for homebrewing, and I love the fact that they get quality beer into almost every nook and cranny of the country.

I love the Boston Lager, but like the Boston Ale more. I also like their Cream Stout and get really excited every fall when the Octoberfest comes out. They may not make my favorite beer, but they make several really good ones, and I can get them anywhere.
 
SA is a quality product, period.

There are certainly better offerings available from smaller, regional breweries, but imo it is the best quality craft beer that is readily available to anyone, anywhere in the country.
 
ohiobrewtus said:
SA is a quality product, period.

There are certainly better offerings available from smaller, regional breweries, but imo it is the best quality craft beer that is readily available to anyone, anywhere in the country.
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My thoughts exactly, I can go to any store cooler, look at the selection and see the same old crap. SA will be sitting right there also, I enjoy most of their beer (besides the fruit beer). I can always rely on Sammy A!
 
SA & BBC catch a lot of flack, and I can't ever figure out why. It seems there are always a group of people on the lookout to find something to bash them for and give them another reason not to like it.

But personally, I like some of their beers a lot. For me it's the Boston lager, Boston ale, pale ale, Oktoberfest, cream stout, and holiday porter. All are quality brews. Some are quite nasty though and I can't stomach them (e.g., cherry wheat, cranberry lambic). I know their marketing is over the top but I think they are a great company that produces a great nationally available product. I have turned many a BMC friend into a craft brew lover with the Boston lager.

As others have said, there are many 'better' craft and micro brews there, but that doesn't make SA any worse. Plus, they've got lots of support for the homebrew community. I'm sure they have turned many many people onto homebrewing.
 
Danny013 said:
SA & BBC catch a lot of flack, and I can't ever figure out why. It seems there are always a group of people on the lookout to find something to bash them for and give them another reason not to like it.

.
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I bash them for one reason, and one reason only. I don't like their beer, and I think it is sub par quality. If you drink it and like it then great, but I have given SA many many chances and it always lets me down.
 
I like to think I've tried a good number of brews out there, from macros to micros. In my opinion, SA has some of the best quality for the price. Though I'm not sure where they are in the grand scheme of macro and micro, I do know that it makes me proud that there's an American company that's trying to educate Americans on the qualities of good beer.

As far as I'm concerned, they're making "gateway beers" from BMC to micro or, maybe, homebrew in the grand scheme of things and that's important.

P.S. Their Scotch Ale is pretty tasty. I could make a small session of it. Probably one of their better brews (you can taste a hint of that peated malt).
 
"Gateway Beers"- good call. I agree. I suppose that I personally am annoyed that they try and put out a lambic- (I hope we don't have to discuss why they are NOT making a flipping true lambic) and also come of as a tight group of like 8 dudes. I doubt that any SA that I ever drank was make by some burly cool looking dude who just cant wait to get to work in the morning. But- maybe I'm not their target audience anyway.
And though I roll my eyes at their commercial when the old woman is pouring wort through a strainer- I have to admit- it would be wrong to bash it too much. That could easily start a spark in Many people- like "Hey, if shes doing that- I could too" type of thing.
 
Personally love the boston lager, and surprised so many dont like cherry wheat. In the summer over the BBQ I always have some cherry wheat on hand.

Recently tried the Irish Red and the Boston Pale and was very unimpressed. The red tasted alot like a green batch of homebrew brown ale to me.

You would hope a man like Jim Koch will be on top of his company to keep quality number 1 as they continue to expand.
 
budbo said:
Read the label on many "imports" and you will see the "brewed under the authority of" on the label, it is cheaper to get someone local to make it for you than ship it, or build a new brewery when you can keep a small regional going by having them brew it for you.
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True. On my last trip to Europe, I was surprised to see how many young adults were drinking Budweiser, all brewed at the Guiness Brewery.

Quality is quality. I like the Sam Adams Lager, regardless of where they actually brew it. It always come out good.

nick
 
I cant be mad at them for trying to commercialize there beer, They want to make money and that is understandable because there not in the buisness of making free beer for everyone at least not to my knowledge and I think there commercials are imformative to the BMC drinkers out there or to anyone that does not know a lot about whats in beer.I think they want to pull in the BMCcrowd to show them what a beer actually tastes like especially a beer that falls under the German Purity standards and does not dump truck loads of rice or corn into there beer, Maybe im wrong but.... I love Sam Adams!
 
Sam Adams is fine, it's just a commercial repackaging of a microbrewery...here's an SAT association for you...

Bravo (chain Italian restaurant) is to Italian food as Sam Adams is to Microbrews

Not saying it's bad, it's just a mass produced commercial version of better beer...
 
I know I'm showing my age here, but when Sam Adams was introduced (in the 80's I believe) it WAS microbrew... at the time there was really no such thing, certainly not that I was aware of here in Maine. I may have had my head too deep in my Budweiser can, but I don't remember hearing the term 'microbrew' till it was associated with SA. I've told my buddies before... SA opened my eyes to what a beer could be.

Now, in the advent of microbreweries and distribution agreements that get the local brews some exposure, I can definately say there are others that are better than SA, but I give props for their leadership in getting this whole thing started. When in a resturant with little local beer to offer, I certainly am willing to pay homiage to good ole SA.

As to SA's support of homebrewing, I do believe they still run their recipe contest every year.... they take recipes/samples and choose one to brew and distribute.

By the way, I agree their Oktoberfest was absolutely kick butt this year, in my opinion...
 
I really like Sam Adams.....IMO it doesn't matter where they brew the beer, how much $$ they rake in, or anything else. What matters is how the beer tastes....and I am a fan of most of their beers. I also like buying them because the labels come off easily.

Favorites include their Boston Ale & Lager, Brown Ale, Scotch Ale, Oktoberfest & Winter seasonals, Hefe, Black Lager, & Cream Stout. Heck, I even think their light beer is the best light beer out there when I'm watching the gut. The cherry wheat doesn't taste bad, it just doesn't taste like beer, which is a downside to any beer for me :) The only beer I've ever had by them that I absolutely didn't like was their Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. That got poured right down the drain.

I recently picked up a bottle of their '97 triple bock that I will be trying this weekend.....should be interesting.
 
This is a really interesting thread, because I just had my first Sam Adams last night.

I picked up a 12-pack from the grocery store. I must say that it fell faaaaaaaaaar short of my expectations. It's not digsuting - I'll drink the rest (unlike a 6-pack of Molson Gold... BLEH!), but it's just plain. I thought there would be a little more to it. For the price, I'd rather have just about any other beer.


-------------------------------

EDIT!!:

I took too long to drink my Sam Adams last night and it had warmed up a good bit from the near freezing temp my fridge is at. I take back my previous statements about SA... it was good unfrozen :p

----------
 
SA is not the best beer out there by any means but as it's been stated in numerous replies it's the gateway beer to the real good stuff. It's the most common non bmc beer at most restaraunts and isn't that bad. I'd much rather have a Boston larger than any bmc product.
 
I don't care for them at all. They preach craft beer, but they long since moved on from craft brewing a long time ago. They still contract out some of their beers anyways. Which means they don't even brew some themselves. They pay Pittsburgh Brewing Company to produce beers, and Sam puts their label on it.
 
Ooompa Loompa said:
I bash them for one reason, and one reason only. I don't like their beer
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+1

Except I also can't stand Jim Koch, the word smarmy( excessively or unctuously flattering, ingratiating, servile, etc) comes to mind, as does the word phoney. Yes they do a lot for homebrewers......so they can sell more beer? The commercials he's in are awful/fakey, he's out to make money and seems to be trying to put on a false image of what SA is to the general public( non-beer EAC's). The Cranberry Lambic is a perfect example. It's nothing like a real Lambic, but thousands will try it and say, "So this is what a Lambic is." No its not, Sam Adams has just fooled you. You can get all the beer styles of the world from Sam Adams:rolleyes:

I'm not coming from a 'I used to drink only BMC until Sam Adams opened my eyes to other beers' perspective, so I only feel their beers are OK to downright awful, which does not signal a 'buy' for me. I don't fault them for trying to make money, some of their tactics are less than favorable(Cran Lambic), but its a business like any other. I just chose not to support them, except for the longshot six pack.
 
I actually live up the street from the Boston Brewery, and I must say their brewery tours are awesome. They give out free beer at the end and you get to look at all the cool brew kettles. The "Boston Lager" is actually an old pre prohibition lager recipe that Jim Koch's Great grandfather or something used to brew, they just revived the old recipe gave it a new name and some marketing spin and it took off during the 80's when there were no other beers like it on the market. They were the first to innovate and make flavorful (at the time, by todays standards they are lacking) different beers, and the first to mass produce them. Essentially at this point they are the 900 lb gorilla in the craft brew market.

Unfortunately they are no longer considered innovative with their brews, and focus mainly on those things that will have mass appeal. The long shot brewing competition is a prime example, they have other homebrewers doing their innovation for them, and offer them only a few thousand bucks and the chance to get 15 minutes of fame.
 
Donasay said:
The long shot brewing competition is a prime example, they have other homebrewers doing their innovation for them, and offer them only a few thousand bucks and the chance to get 15 minutes of fame.
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That is a very good point, hadn't thought of it.
 
Their Boston Lager is great. Havn't really had to much of their other beers, or I have and it wasn't good enough to leave an impression. Like everyone else, I usually order it at bars that don't have a selection, but if given the chance I get a Micro Brew.
 
While I'm not a huge fan of their beers, I am very impressed by the way that Sam Adams has helped introduce so many new people to a better class of beer. The Boston Lager was my first taste of something other then BMC, as it was for many others out there. I may not have liked it as much as others but it sparked my interest in something different from the good ol boys beer we grew up drinking. So Cheers to BBC :mug:
 
I like many of the Sam Adams beers and think the company is well run. I'd also be willing to bet that if I repackaged and sent out SA products as part of a beer swap, most people that claim to hate the product would rave about them if they thought it was home brew. I'd bet that's expecially true of the Black Lager.
 
i think the only thing i have against SA is that they started out brewing so much of their stuff under contract, particularly with all the hands on stuff you see in the ads.

around south jersey/philly there are other alternatives in the majority of bars, blue moon is getting to be everywhere, i love yeungling lager, dogfish IPA is in a good few places, jersey's own flying fish is in a lot of places, so i haven't experienced SA as the gateway beer. i did like the 12 of oktoberfest i got last fall, though, that's the best i've tasted. cherry wheat is revolting but to be fair i'm not a fruit in beer fan so probably won't like anybody's cherry wheat.
 
rdwj said:
I like many of the Sam Adams beers and think the company is well run. I'd also be willing to bet that if I repackaged and sent out SA products as part of a beer swap, most people that claim to hate the product would rave about them if they thought it was home brew. I'd bet that's expecially true of the Black Lager.
Click to expand...

I think the Black Lager is awesome!

cd2448 said:
blue moon is getting to be everywhere
Click to expand...

I heard that Coors bought out Blue Moon so with there marketing and distribution it's not suprising that it should be appearing in more places
 

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