2beerguys beer blog

Boston Beer Company – December news

Here is a December 2008 update for Sam Adams. In addition, we have also reviewed the Sam Adams Chocolate Bock. It will be posted sometime this week.
 
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Sean

2Beerguys.com

Drink Craft Beer, You’ve Earned It!!!

Sam Adams Beer of the Month – The Cappuccino of Beers. Roasty, Smooth & Sweet.

Samuel Adams Cream Stout is a true Cream Stout, balancing body, sweetness, and the natural spiciness of hand-selected English hops. We use generous portions of the roasted chocolate and caramel malted barley as well as unmalted barley to impart a fullness of body, a roasty malt character and rich, creamy head. Its dark, mahogany color makes it almost as easy on the eyes as it is on the palate.

First released in 1991, Samuel Adams Cream Stout has one of the most devoted followings among the Samuel Adams family of beers. Critically acclaimed in beer competitions across the globe, it is often referred to as one of the beer world’s best kept secrets. Look for Samuel Adams Cream Stout in our Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack now and in its own 6-pack all year round.

Official 2Beerguy Review: Pours a dark cloudy white which quickly turns and settles into a dark brown with a reddish tint, covered by a strong frothy head with decently sticky lacing that falls away. Almost opaque body that allows some light to get through. Aroma is fairly strong with some bakers chocolate, a bit of toffee, and just a generally nice malty creaminess. Initial taste is a bit sweet, but towards the finish some burnt malts reveal themselves with increasing bitterness. Light bodied, it leaves a creamy film behind providing a nice velvety mouthfeel. A very nice selection from the Brewmaster’s Collection.

Reviewed on March 15th, 2008.
Style Stout
ABV 4.9%
Source 12 oz bottle
Overall 22/30

Holiday Seasonal Multipack

Be sure to look for the Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety 12-pack featuring 6 delicious brews perfect for the season including: Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Samuel Adams Winter Lager, Samuel Adams Cream Stout, Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale, Samuel Adams Holiday Porter, Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic.

When you arrive sporting this 12-pack you’ll be the hit of the party. With 2 bottles of each delicious style you’ll be able to please even the most discriminating tastes in your group. If that’s not enough, the packaging features a convenient “To/From” tag that allows you to take credit for bringing the good stuff.

2Beerguy Feedback: My favorites in this holiday pack are the Winter Lager and Cream Stout.

Sam Adams Hop Sharing Program

We received more than 100 requests for the 20,000 pounds of Tettnang Tettnanger hops we had available to share. We’re happy to say that with this second time around we were able to help the brewers who did not receive hops from the first lottery in March as well as a few brewers who requested hops for the first time. We wish the best of luck to everyone next year and hope that future hops crops continue to improve so that we can all go on brewing and enjoying great craft beer. For more information on the Hops Sharing effort and to see a list of recipients, visit our website
http://www.samueladams.com/promotions/HopSharing/Default.aspx.

2Beerguy Feedback: I checked out the list of breweries. It’s quite impressive and a great program organized by Boston Beer Company.

More about Hop selection:

Sam Adams and Hallertau Mittelfreuh Hops

Every autumn for the last 20+ years Samuel Adams Founder and Brewer Jim Koch has made a pilgrimage to Bavaria to sniff flowers. Well not exactly, Jim actually travels to the 12th generation, family owned Stanglmair farm in the Hallertau region of Bavaria in Germany to hand select Noble Bavarian hops including the prized Hallertau Mittelfrueh variety. Considered to be one of the best varieties in the world for imparting a unique taste and aroma, these babies can be found in every bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The Stanglmair farm is one of the oldest hop farms in the world so they know how to grow them right.

Why does Jim still make this trek? He’s so obsessed with the taste of the Samuel Adams Boston Lager, he wants to know first hand that the hops in Samuel Adams beer measure up to his highest quality standards. Check out this video to get an insiders view of what Jim does at the Stanglmair farm…

More…
Equally impressive (to hop geeks like us) is that records show it to be the oldest farm in Bavaria. It has been owned under the Stanglmair family name since 1722 when Anton Stanglmair was on the scene. Before that it belonged to Anton’s wife’s family – the Westermairs – going back to 1608. Before that, farm operations date back to 779!

So you can imagine that the Stanglmairs take their hops seriously. It just so happens we also take our hops seriously so it’s the perfect match! And if you ask them, the Stanglmairs will tell you that we’re a bit different from other brewers. We actually hand select the hops while others will just phone in their orders. We ask questions about soil content and climate and how the harvest timing can affect the quality of the hops. We’re almost as passionate about the hops as they are. And they love it!

So why does Jim visit the Stanglmairs each fall to inspect the harvest? Because Hallertau Mittelfreuh hops from the Stanglmair farm are in every bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Lager® and Jim takes that seriously. As he likes to say, hops are the soul of beer. Furthermore he’ll tell you he’s enjoyed a Samuel Adams Boston Lager nearly every day for the last 23 years and he never gets tired of it. Attention to detail pays off!

The Stanglmairs are just getting this year’s growing season underway. Over the next few months we’ll share photos and other information about the crop. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out the video below to get an even better sense of the Stanglmair farm.

Link to quick movie.