Samuel Adams: World of Beer

[Cyclone792]

Samuel Adams has around two dozen or so flavors of beer, and in recent years their popularity has started to grow. In fact, the amount of awards Samuel Adams has won worldwide for their beers is astonishing. As a proud beer drinker myself, I've gotten into the Samuel Adams collection a bit, and I was curious to see if any 'zoners have tried and liked or disliked any of the many Samuel Adams beers.

One very interesting tidbit on Samuel Adams is that around two-thirds of all their beer is brewed in Cincinnati in the Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery.

Here's their full beer list ...

• Samuel Adams Boston Lager
• Sam Adams Light

Samuel Adams Seasonal

• Samuel Adams White Ale (available late Jan. to April)
• Samuel Adams Double Bock (available late Jan. through March)
• Samuel Adams Summer Ale (available April through Aug.)
• Samuel Adams Octoberfest (available late Aug. through Oct.)
• Samuel Adams Winter Lager (available Nov. through Jan.)
• Samuel Adams Old Fezziweg Ale (available Nov. through Jan.)
• Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic (available Nov. through Jan.)
• Samuel Adams Holiday Porter (available Nov. through Jan.)

Samuel Adams Brewmaster's Collection

• Samuel Adams Boston Ale
• Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat
• Samuel Adams Cream Stout
• Samuel Adams Hefeweizen
• Samuel Adams Pale Ale
• Samuel Adams Scotch Ale
• Samuel Adams Black Lager
• Samuel Adams Brown Ale
• Samuel Adams Honey Porter

Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection

• Samuel Adams George Washington Porter
• Samuel Adams Traditional Ginger Honey Ale
• Sameul Adams James Madison Dark Wheat Ale
• Samuel Adams 1790 Root Beer Brew

Samuel Adams Extreme Beers

• Samuel Adams Utopias (limited release)
• Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock (limited edition)
• Samuel Adams Millennium (single brew of 3,000 bottles)
• Samuel Adams Triple Bock (available year round)
• Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner (2005 harvest limited release)
• Samuel Adams Hallertau 24 (550 gallons brewed w/limited availabilty at the Samuel Adams brewery in Boston)

I've never had quite a few of these beers just due to never seeing them. The Brewer Patriot Collection is a new release from last year that I've yet to see, and some states (including Ohio) won't even sell their Extreme Beers due to the high alcohol content.

IMO, Sam Adams Light is far-and-away the best "light" beer I've ever had, and it has a taste that's richer and fuller than most of the non-light beers I've had. Even if you despise light beer, I say give Sam Adams Light a shot. It's really that good.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest is outstanding, and I wish they brewed that year round. I may have to stock up on a large inventory of Octoberfest when it comes back out again in the fall.

Personally, I also love draft beer, and Samuel Adams offers the Boston Lager plus some of their seasonal beers on draft, including White Ale, Summer Ale, Octoberfest and Winter Lager. I've seen quite a few bars and restaurants include the Boston Lager on draft, and I like it quite a bit out of the keg. I've been trying to track some local places that have some of the seasonal brews on draft. Last week I ran into a bar in Mason that had White Ale on draft, and it was nothing short of outstanding. The Summer Ale seasonal should be out soon, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying that on draft as well.

One warning though: drink the Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic at your own risk. It only took me one swig of a Cranberry Lambic to know that I never wanted to drink that beer again.

[919191]

I agree with you on the Cranberry Lambic. A few years ago here a local bar had a supply of Triple Bock. It was served in smaller bottles and was 6 or 7 dollars a bottle I think. Holiday Porter and Double Bock are 2 of my all time favorites. The same bar that dad Triple Bock serves Double Bock on tap a few years back. It changed my life!

Right now I am drinking PBR. Yeah PBR. I don't have a drinking problem- I work 12 hour night shifts and this is evening in my world.

[RFS62]

Haven't tried any of the variations, but I really like their Boston Lager.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

IMO, Sam Adams Light is far-and-away the best "light" beer I've ever had, and it has a taste that's richer and fuller than most of the non-light beers I've had. Even if you despise light beer, I say give Sam Adams Light a shot. It's really that good.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest is outstanding, and I wish they brewed that year round. I may have to stock up on a large inventory of Octoberfest when it comes back out again in the fall.

Personally, I also love draft beer, and Samuel Adams offers the Boston Lager plus some of their seasonal beers on draft, including White Ale, Summer Ale, Octoberfest and Winter Lager. I've seen quite a few bars and restaurants include the Boston Lager on draft, and I like it quite a bit out of the keg. I've been trying to track some local places that have some of the seasonal brews on draft. Last week I ran into a bar in Mason that had White Ale on draft, and it was nothing short of outstanding. The Summer Ale seasonal should be out soon, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying that on draft as well.

Huge fan of Samuel Adams. It's my second favorite brewing company, behind Great Lakes, but I drink Sam a lot more because it's more affordable. I usually buy a 12-pack from Kroger's.

I've actually never had the Light version. I usually get the Lager. Sometimes I'll get the Boston Ale which is pretty good. I love the Octoberfest too. I kind of wish they offered that year round. The Winter Lager is also good.

A great place, locally, to get Sam Adams on draft is a place called Logo's. Logo's is off of Blue Ash road just south of Cross County Highway. It's a low-key sports bar. They serve huge pints of Sam on draft for $2.75. I think the pints there are 22 or 24 ounces. They're huge. It's a great deal. The only downside to Logo's, IMO, is that they still allow smoking in there. Not that big of a deal, but I hope it ends soon.

[SunDeck]

Jim Koch, the owner of SA is actually from Cincinnati. His family has been in the brewing business for a long time and he changed careers to start SA. He had his beer brewed by contract at other breweries that had excess brewing capacity, but both big breweries and microbreweries used the contract brewing against SA, saying that it wasn't really a brewery. This is, of course, all BS because the beer was always brewed according to Koch's family recipe and under the strict control of qualified brewmasters, but competition for marketshare being what it is, you can't blame the other breweries for trying to use this against SA.
Anyway, so Koch needed a brewery of his own so he bought Hudepohl Schoenling, which were also a contract brewer at the time for SA.

[westofyou]

Sam's is a good mass produced beer, and as SD said they have an interesting history, especially in the world of big brewers.

I've had probably 9 or 10 of the listed, most of it good, none too memorable.

We're spoiled out here when it comes to beer, way spoiled.

[Redlegs23]

I've just recently gotten into Sam Adams, and I really enjoy the Boston Lager. Looking forward to the Octoberfest.

[vaticanplum]

I had no idea that a lot of Sam Adams was brewed in Ohio. I have several Yankee-fan friends who refuse to drink it on the basis of it being a Boston beer. They will be very pleased to hear this.

[westofyou]

They serve huge pints of Sam on draft for $2.75. I think the pints there are 22 or 24 ounces. They're huge.

Probably 20 oz Imperial Pints

United Kingdom, Commonwealth of Nations (Imperial)
1 pint = 20 fluid ounces = 568.26125 ml ≈ 568 ml
1 pint = 4 gills (this was the legal definition although in some areas a gill of milk or beer is referred to as a half-pint; elsewhere a gill was the ⅓ pint of milk given free to school children)

United States
1 pint (wet) = 16 fluid ounces = 2 cups ≈ 473 ml
1 pint (dry) = 550.6104713575 ml ≈ 551 ml
1 pint (metric) = 500 ml (informally)

Although the Scottish pint is equal to three Imperial pints, if you request a pint in a Scottish pub you will only be served the usual 20 ounces.

[Chip R]

I love their Cherry Wheat beer.

[Johnny Footstool]

Sam Light doesn't belong in the same category as other light beers. It's actually a craft brew with a nice malt and a bit of hop. You don't notice the "light"-ness. Good stuff.

Boston Lager is decent on tap. I can't stand drinking it out of the bottle, though -- too hoppy and bitter.

The brown ale is nothing spectacular. I'll drink Newcastle instead.

The black lager tastes pretty much like a light porter. Too much coffee flavor for my liking.

I used to love the cherry wheat back in the 90's, but it seems like they changed something about it in recent years, and now all I taste when I drink it is cough syrup.

I really appreciate what Sam Adams is trying to do -- introduce a variety of styles and flavors to the American mass market. If I was just starting to explore the world of beer, I'd be on board with everything they make.

[Yachtzee]

My cousin is a brewer for Sam Adams in Cincinnati. Sometimes he hooks me up with a six-pack of something they're testing out. I got to try the hefeweizen before it hit the shelves. I like Sam Adams a lot. It's my go-to beer when I'm at a bar that doesn't have more interesting beers on tap. Not to say SA isn't interesting, but I can get that at the grocery store and I know what it tastes like. If I can try out something new on tap, I'll go for that.

[SunDeck]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Sam's is a good mass produced beer...

"Mass producued" really doesn't mean a whole lot. Prior to the advances made by Budweiser, Pabst, Schlitz and Miller in the 1800's many beers were quite inconsistent. The thing that made these four beers so popular (aside from the fact that they were appealing to the growing taste of americans for a much lighter product) was the fact that a Bud bought in New Orleans tasted exactly the same as one bought in St. Louis. What they brought to the industry was rigid adherence to the principles of brewing, consistency and cleanliness. And they did it on a very large scale.

Koch understands that same principle- beer doesn't have to be brewed in some tiny brewery to be high quality; it just has to be brewed by people who care about what they are doing with the best ingredients.

Incidently, the breakthrough that Budweiser made in the US was in discovering how to create a light "bohemian" style brew, similar to that brewed in south central Europe at the time, but without using the same kinds of barley, which were nearly impossible to import in sufficient quantities. American six row barley was very difficult to brew a lighter beer with. The breakthrough was in also using rice malt and although this was a departure from traditional brewing the beers were nonetheless heralded back in old Europe, and in 1878 "Budvar" (Busch's first Bohemian Lager) won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition.

This info all comes from:
Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer
By Maureen Ogle

Great read on the american brewing industry.

[WebScorpion]

I've tried their Winter Lager, Boston Ale, and Oktoberfest beers. I liked all three...I think I've only had the Boston Ale on draft. The cherry and cranberry things violate one of my primary rules of alcohol consumption. Fruits are for Wine and Grains are for Beer. I wouldn't say any of their beers are my favorites, but they are high on my list of bottled beers available nationwide. I travel quite a bit, and the locally brewed beers are usually my preference. When I'm home, I like a Molson or Moosehead if I'm in the mood for a lighter brew, but mostly I just drink Guinness.

[westofyou]

Great read on the american brewing industry.

Yep, read it too.

My beer snob mentality aligns a beer as mass produced if it finds its way to bottles, and definitely if I can buy it in an airport.

But that's me