Type Lager Introduced 1984 Website Official website | Country of origin United States Alcohol by volume 4.9% | |
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Samuel Adams is the flagship brand of the Boston Beer Company. The brand name of "Samuel Adams" (often shortened to "Sam Adams") was chosen in honor of Founding Father Samuel Adams. Adams inherited his father's brewery on King Street (modern day State Street). Some histories say he was a brewer, while others describe him as a maltster. The Samuel Adams brewery is located in Boston, Massachusetts, where visitors can take a tour, and shop beers and merchandise. Samuel Adams beer is brewed by the Boston Beer Company, which was founded by Jim Koch and Rhonda Kallman. Samuel Adams beer was started using a recipe now known as the Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
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Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Following Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather’s recipe, Samuel Adams continued to use traditional brewing processes, including decoction mash (a four vessel process) and krausening (a secondary fermentation). Boston Lager is also dry hopped using the Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger hops.
Seasonal offerings
In addition to year-round offerings, Samuel Adams also has four seasonal offerings. The spring seasonal beers are Cold Snap, a Witbier and Escape Route, a Kölsch. The spring seasonals are sold from January to March. The Summer offerings are available from April through August and include Summer Ale, a wheat ale and Porch Rocker, a radler. The Autumn seasonal beers are available August through October and are Octoberfest, a Marzen and Pumpkin Batch, a saison. The Winter/Holiday seasonal beers are available November through December and are, Winter Lager, a Bock and White Christmas an Ale.
Samuel Adams also offers seasonal variety packs which include a mix of year-round and seasonal offerings.
Samuel Adams Rebel IPA
First brewed in 2014, Samuel Adams Rebel IPA is a West Coast style India Pale Ale. The beer is brewed with five American hops - American Cascade, Simcoe, Chinook, Centennial, and Amarillo. In early 2015, Samuel Adams released Rebel Rouser, a double India Pale Ale, and Rebel Rider, a session India Pale Ale. There are five flavor options in the Rebel Family; Rebel Juiced IPA, Rebel Grapefruit IPA, Repel Rouser IPA, Rebel Cascade IPA, and Rebel Raw IPA.
Sam Adams Light
Introduced in 2001 Sam Adams Light was the second light beer the company brewed. The company previously sold Boston Lightship which was introduced in 1993.
Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection
These Belgian style beers are left in large wood barrels to age and pick up some of the flavors of the wood. The beers in this collection include American Kriek, New World, Stony Brook Red, Thirteenth Hour and Tetravis.
Hopscape
There are currently nine brews of this variant available: Fresh as Helles, Ella Blanc IPL, Noble Pils, Winter Lager, White Christmas, Octoberfest, Cold Snap, Summer Ale, and Porch Rocker.
Nitro Project
Originally brewed in a nano brewery in 2014, the Nitro Project is a collection of two styles that are infused with nitrogen gas in the carbonation process. The two brews are Nitro Coffee Stout and Nitro White Ale. There was also a third style, Nitro IPA, which is not currently brewed. In a Boston Globe article, Jim Koch describes the process of infusing the nitrogen as "difficult".
Samuel Adams Utopias
The company followed this up in 2002 with Utopias; at 24% abv, it was marketed as the strongest commercial beer in the world (a mark that has since been challenged). The company subsequently released new "vintages" of Utopias annually, increasing the alcoholic content to 27% abv by 2007.
Utopias is made with caramel, Vienna, Moravian and Bavarian smoked malts, and four varieties of noble hops: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalter, and Saaz hops. The beer is matured in scotch, cognac and port barrels for the better part of a year. A limited number of bottles are released each year; in 2007, only 12,000 bottles were produced, and in 2009, only 9,000 bottles were released. Sold in a ceramic bottle resembling a copper-finished brewing kettle, a single bottle of Utopias cost $100 in 2002, and $150 in 2009.
Because of legal restrictions, Utopias is not offered in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, or West Virginia.
Media
Samuel Adams beer has gained attention in the media for its various beers. In a list of "Best Christmas/Winter Beer in Each State", Samuel Adams' Fizzewig brew won in the state of Massachusetts. Additionally, Samuel Adams brewery itself was named the best brewery in all of Massachusetts according to a Yelp-based Buzzed article.