Did you know not all Samuel Adams
beers are brewed in the same brewery? It’s true. Samuel Adams began life as
a contract brewed beer back in 1984. Rather than come up with the
capital to build a brewery in an unsure market for bolder, tastier beers,
entrepreneur Jim Koch founded the Boston Beer Company by renting unused
capacity from other brewers (Iron City in Pittsburgh, for example), bottling
his brew and selling it in New England. Koch literally went from bar to bar
in Boston to get his beer sold on tap.
Today, Boston Beer has grown from a small regional brand with one beer,
Samuel Adams Boston Lager, to one of the nation’s largest brewers with a
line of beers that includes stout, India Pale Ale, Kölsch, Pilsner, and
many, many others. Contract brewing still continues as a means for the
company to deliver fresh beer quickly around the country, but Boston Beer
now owns the former Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery in Cincinnati and is no
longer exclusively a contract brewer.
Still, some New Englanders are sometimes distressed to learn that the Samuel
Adams beer they drink here is not always brewed here. What they should
know is that Boston Beer does in fact operate a small test brewery in the
Jamaica Plains section of Boston. Some draft beer, experimental beers, and
special beers are brewed here, and tours are given to Boston residents and
tourists. The brewery is located on the site of the old Haffenreffer
brewery, which was a famous New England brand from the early 1900s right on
into 1965 when Haffenreffer fell victim to the growing success of the
national brewers, most notably Anheuser Busch and Miller.
Ironically, Haffenreffer at one point bought out a brewing company called
the Boston Beer Company that had been in business since 1828, only to have a
new Boston Beer Company sprout in its old buildings in 1985. Did Koch have
the old Boston Beer Company in mind when he named his own company? Perhaps.
What is not in doubt is that many fine test beers have come from the small
Jamaica Plains facility, and living in Rhode Island I’ve tasted many of them
at the Mews tavern in Wakefield here in my home state, and at the Great Lost
Bear in Portland, Maine. You won’t always see these beers make their way to
bottles, but perhaps that is part of their charm.
Samuel Adams Maibock
This is the most recent Sam Adams specialty I’ve spotted. I enjoyed a few pints at the Great Lost Bear in Portland recently, and I must say this brew was one of the best examples of the style I’ve ever tasted. Maibock is a light-colored German style usually offered in spring that has a slightly higher alcohol content than traditional bock. It is a rarely produced style among American microbrewers.
Boston Beer’s interpretation pours to a light orange-golden color with very light head formation and a sweet, malty nose. The palate is rich and chewy, candyish, malty-sweet and rich. The finish is warm with alcohol and has a subtle hop bite. I loved this beer, and I would be in beer heaven to see it in six-packs the next time I walk into my local liquor store.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft