Samuel Adams: World of Beer

[paintmered]

Originally Posted by cincinnati chili

A couple years back, M2 and I toured a microbrewery in South Boston called Harpoon. They were more than happy, when pressed, to point out that Sammy is brewed in Cincinnati.

They claim that the Sam Adams angle was purely a marketing ploy.

It seems to have worked.

It's a widely held misconception from what I've seen. When I was in Boston for an interview a few months ago, I went to the pub with a few of the other interviewees. One of them (from Kansas) got a sammy and commented on how it was probably fresher considering the location. He was shocked to find out it wasn't brewed in Boston.

[M2]

Originally Posted by pedro

They still have the brewpubs in the airport there in Boston?

There's bars, but no one's brewing on the premises as far as I'm aware.

Nice to see Yuengling get a mention. My dad's family comes from northeast Pennsylvania, so I grew up with Yuengling in the fridge. After Schmidt's closed down, Yuengling was basically all that was left in terms of local beer in Philly. I once went on an impromptu beer expedition on the way from the Shenandoahs to New York. Wound up touring the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville and the Stroh's plant in Allentown (which was glorious, one of the most spectacular buildings I've ever seen). Good times.

paintmered, Sam Adams does have a brewery in Boston, but it only produces a small amount of the company's total product. They mostly come up with the initial recipes there and brew a few of the limited editions.

[Cyclone792]

Originally Posted by Redhook

That'd be awesome if that happened. Cincinnati had something like that when Mainstreet Brewery was downtown and Watson Brother's in Blue Ash off of Pfeiffer. I only went to Mainstreet once, but I went to Watson's all the time. Watson's made it's own beer in the restaurant. I'm still upset it's shut down. Apparantly, from what I've heard, the owner's were skimming off the top and not paying bills. A damn shame. Because the location and the quality of the product was outstanding. I doubt it'll ever open again.

Watson Brother's was also a place that served minors, at least during the times I was there. Who knows if that was an aberration or the norm, and I'm not sure if they were ever caught.

Thanks for the heads up on Logo's. I had never heard of the place, but that's a great price for 20oz Sammy's on draft. Most of the places I've been to charge quite a bit more for a 20ish ounce Sammy on draft.

[SunDeck]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

I don't have the space in my house at the moment for homebrewing (if I could ever get rid of some junk in the basement I would), but there's a place in the Cleveland area called The Brew Kettle that let's you brew your own. I called last week to set up an appointment, but they're booked through August already.

That is SUCH a cool idea!
I'm moving into a new house in two weeks, so I have pretty much packed up all the supplies. It will take a while just to get things back in order so I probably won't have any brew until late April. Had I planned better, I would have had a batch bottled for the move.

[BoxingRed]

Originally Posted by M2

Nice to see Yuengling get a mention. My dad's family comes from northeast Pennsylvania, so I grew up with Yuengling in the fridge. After Schmidt's closed down, Yuengling was basically all that was left in terms of local beer in Philly. I once went on an impromptu beer expedition on the way from the Shenandoahs to New York. Wound up touring the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville and the Stroh's plant in Allentown (which was glorious, one of the most spectacular buildings I've ever seen). Good times.

Yuengling is actually quite common here in Columbia, South Carolina. Most places have it on tap and in bottles now. At my Publix, it is distributed by the Miller distributer. I have been told, since they expanded, that most of it is now brewed in Florida. Not sure if that is true.

As for Sammy, I have a 12 of the White Ale in my fridge now. It's very refreshing, especially since we have already reached summer-like temps here.
I also enjoy Octoberfest and Winter Lager. I always thought the Light was trying too hard, if that makes any sense.

Anyone been able to find the collection of homebrews they have been advertising? Apparently the alcohol content is too high on some of the beers to be sold in SC.

[GAC]

Originally Posted by BoxingRed

Yuengling is actually quite common here in Columbia, South Carolina. Most places have it on tap and in bottles now. At my Publix, it is distributed by the Miller distributer. I have been told, since they expanded, that most of it is now brewed in Florida. Not sure if that is true.

It may no longer be true, since they are expanding their distribution areas, but isn't it mainly still only available in Pa. and certain southeastern states? I have yet to find it here in central Ohio. My buddy always brings some back whenever he's in Pa.

[RFS62]

Yuengling is very popular and very available in South Florida. You see it on tap a lot. It's my second favorite, behind Sammy.

[gonelong]

Originally Posted by RFS62

Yuengling is very popular and very available in South Florida. You see it on tap a lot. It's my second favorite, behind Sammy.

My neighbor's in-laws are from Pennsylvania and bring him "Yinzers" whenever they come out. I like quite a bit. I, however, have unconditional love for beer so I am not known for my discerning tastebuds. I don't care for Olympia (its the water!) and wheat beers. Everything else is in BIG trouble.


I don't know of anywhere in Ohio where you can purchase it, though I haven't been to a jungle-jims ... I know they have all sorts of things there.

GL

[Johnny Footstool]

Originally Posted by paintmered

One of them (from Kansas) got a sammy and commented on how it was probably fresher considering the location. He was shocked to find out it wasn't brewed in Boston.

I had a Budweiser in St. Louis once. It didn't taste any fresher.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Johnny Footstool

I had a Budweiser in St. Louis once. It didn't taste any fresher.

Bud was the first big boy to have breweries around the country to insure of their beers freshness in outside markets.

Still tastes like water and gives me a chemical headache.

[Yachtzee]

I've had plenty of Yuengling in my day. I like it better than Rolling Rock, which had an odd flavor I didn't like (didn't they supplement the barley malt with corn?). Yuengling's a good beer to drink if your other choices are Bud or Miller. It's also not too heavy, so it's good on a hot day. I'd rate it somewhere between a Sam Adams and the Major US breweries. Probably somewhere around a good Canadian lager.

As far as Bud or Miller goes, I have a friend who works at AB in Columbus. He never drinks Bud on draft unless it's from his own tap. It's his belief that Bud causes so many hangovers because bar owners don't clean out their tap lines often enough and it results in unpleasant microorganisms to grow in the lines. Thus he only drinks bottled Bud when out at the bars.

I remember when Great Lakes first started selling kegs to bars, they actually had people run routine inspections at various locations to ensure they were cleaning their lines properly. I don't know if they still do it, but when they first offered their beer on tap at the Jake, they were so concerned about quality in those days that they actually sent out people to the Jake to clean the lines themselves. The philosophy was that so many people would get their first exposure to Great Lakes at the Jake that they wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad one.

[Cyclone792]

Originally Posted by gonelong

I don't know of anywhere in Ohio where you can purchase it, though I haven't been to a jungle-jims ... I know they have all sorts of things there.

I always completely forget about Jungle Jim's, probably because I never literally drive past it, but it's easily close enough to me to warrant a trip over there. If you're in the Cincy area, Party Source down in Bellevue, KY is another decent place to look for different beers, and being in Kentucky they may have a few beers that can't be found in Ohio.

I've been picking up most of my Sammy at Bigg's locations since they usually have around a half dozen varieties in six-packs as well as some of the 12-pack mixes.

Kroger's beer selection is an absolute disgrace.

[BoxingRed]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

As far as Bud or Miller goes, I have a friend who works at AB in Columbus. He never drinks Bud on draft unless it's from his own tap. It's his belief that Bud causes so many hangovers because bar owners don't clean out their tap lines often enough and it results in unpleasant microorganisms to grow in the lines. Thus he only drinks bottled Bud when out at the bars.

Great advice. I almost never drink tap beer. I wouldn't trust most bartenders to wash my car, much less keep taplines clean. The microscopic beasties that make you sick love to feed on the stuff left over in tap lines.

[DoogMinAmo]

Yeungling can not be bought ANYWHERE in Ohio, including Jungle Jims, which is a travesty.

[Roy Tucker]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

I've been picking up most of my Sammy at Bigg's locations since they usually have around a half dozen varieties in six-packs as well as some of the 12-pack mixes.

Yep, Biggs usually has Sam Adams in various configurations plus a fairly decent selection.

Wild Oats has a good selection of beer as well. Plus, since my daughter works there, we get a 15% discount.

If you go there (Deerfield store) and Jen is your cashier, say hi.

And let me be clear about one thing... I like beer.