Boston Beer Company 224016 225920747 2008-07-16T00:50:38Z Buck O'Nollege 499657 Removed contentious statement - see [[Talk:Boston Beer Company|talk page]] for details {{Infobox Brewery | name = Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams) | image = [[Image:Samadamsovallogo.gif|220px|Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Co.)]] | caption = | location = [[Boston, MA]]<br/>[[United States]] | owner = Publicly owned ({{nyse|SAM}}) | opened = 1985 | production = 159,358,000 [[Liters]] (1,358,000 [[Barrel (unit)|barrel]]s)}} The '''Boston Beer Company''' ({{nyse2|SAM}}) is an [[United States|American]] [[brewing company]] founded in 1985 by [[Jim Koch]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], [[USA]]. The [[beer]]s were originally contract brewed by the [[Pittsburgh Brewing Company]], though today, more than 60% of its beer is produced at the company's Cincinnati brewery. [[Miller Brewing Company|Miller]] is also a contract brewer for a portion of their production.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} The brand name for the beers is ''Samuel Adams'' (often abbreviated to Sam Adams, even in advertisements), after [[Samuel Adams]], a [[brewer]]<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000045 The Congressional biography of Samuel Adams]</ref> and an [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriot]] famous for his role in the [[American Revolution]]. ==History of the brand== The Samuel Adams brand began with Samuel Adams Boston [[Lager]]. The original recipe was developed in 1860 in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] by Louis Koch, who sold under the name [[Louis Koch Lager]] until [[Prohibition]], and again until the early 1950s. In 1985, the recipe was reformulated by Louis Koch's great-great grandson, Jim Koch, with the help of [[Joseph Owades]], the man credited with the invention of [[light beer]] in the 1970s. That April, the beer was re-introduced as Samuel Adams Boston Lager, at the re-creation of the first battle of the [[American Revolution]] on Patriot's Day. Three months later, it was voted best beer in the United States at the [[Great American Beer Festival]], in which 93 national and regional beers competed. The publicity that followed helped the Boston Beer Company's sales grow to 7,393,000 liters (63,000 barrels) in 1989. [[Image:Samadams.jpg|thumb|right|Boilers at the Samuel Adams brewery]] The company's success occurred as the [[American_beer#Resurgence_of_craft_brewing|U.S. craft brewery movement]] was exploding. By 1995, some 600 craft breweries were producing specialty beers in the United States. That year The Boston Beer Company went public, selling shares of Class A Common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under SAM. Despite the appearance of competitors, the firm remained the largest craft brewer in the United States with nearly 141 million liters (1.2 million barrels) sold in 1996. Sales leveled off after that, and Boston Beer tried to continue its growth by offering alternative beverages, such as Hardcore Cider (1997), and Twisted Tea (2000). The brand was first produced under contract by the [[Pittsburgh Brewing Company]], best known for their [[Iron City]] brand of beer. Over the years, the brand has been produced under contract at various brewing facilities with excess capacity, ranging from Stroh breweries, [[Portland, Oregon|Portland's]] original [[Blitz-Weinhard]] brewery (shuttered in 1999), [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati's]] [[Hudepohl-Schoenling]] brewery (eventually purchased by the Boston Beer Company in early 1997), and industry giant [[SABMiller]]. Today, more than 60% of its beer is produced at its very own, newly renovated, Cincinnati brewery. One-third of Samuel Adams beer is still produced under contract at breweries in Rochester, NY and Eden, NC. According to the Company, its own employees, ingredients and brewing processes are utilized at these contract sites. The Boston Beer Company also has a small R&D brewery located in Boston ([[Jamaica Plain]]), Massachusetts, where public tours and beer tastings are offered. Samuel Adams Boston Lager was voted "Best Beer in America" by fest-goers at the [[Association of Brewers]]' "Great American Beer Festival" several times in the mid to late 1980s, although that award was mired in controversies surrounding accusations of ballot-stuffing. The award was later cut from the Great American Beer Festival as a result of the controversy. ==Other Boston Beer Company brands== [[Image:Samuel Adams beer glass.JPG|thumb|right|'''Samuel Adams''' traditional [[pint glass]]]] As of 2007, the company produces twelve varieties of beer year-round: Boston Lager, Sam Adams Light, Boston Ale, Pale Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Brown Ale, Hefeweizen, Scotch Ale, Black Lager, Honey Porter, and Irish Red. The Sam Adams Boston Lager contains 4.9% [[alcohol by volume|abv]], roughly average for its style. Other styles have pushed the physical limits of alcohol content for the brewing process - in 2003 one batch of [[Utopias (beer)|Utopias]] contained 25.6% [[alcohol by volume|abv]], beating the records that Samuel Adams [[Triple Bock]] and Samuel Adams Millennium had set before it. Additionally, the company brews five seasonal beers per year, as follows: * White Ale (January - March) * Double Bock (March- April) * [[Summer ale|Summer Ale]] (April - August) * Octoberfest (August - November) * Winter Lager (November - January) Samuel Adams also runs a "Winter Classics Mix Pack" near the Christmas Season, including Old [[Fezziwig]] Ale, a spiced [[ale]] introduced in 1995, Holiday [[porter (beer)|Porter]], which is very dark but smooth, introduced in 2004, and Cranberry Lambic, which tastes like cranberries, but is not actually a [[Lambic]]-style beer. The company has also produced several limited-run "Extreme Beers", which are meant to be enjoyed more in the manner of an [[aperitif]] or cordial rather than a beer. These include Millennium, Utopias, Triple Bock, and Chocolate Bock. Due to the extremely high alcohol volume in these brews (as high as 25% for the Utopias), their sale is restricted by several states. In November 2005, the brewery continued extreme brewing innovation by releasing a limited release (60,000 units) "Imperial Pilsner Harvest '05" brew. As of 2008, the Sam Adams brand had 20 styles of beer available in 12 oz. bottles - Boston Lager, Light, Double Bock, White Ale, Summer Ale, Octoberfest, Winter Lager, Old Fezziwig Ale, Cranberry Lambic, Holiday Porter, Boston Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Scotch Ale, Black Lager, Brown Ale, Hefeweizen, Pale Ale, Honey Porter, and Irish Red. One of the most recent of these is Samuel Adams Octoberfest, which won a gold medal in the Marzen category at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival. Samuel Adams Irish Red is the most recent beer to be added to the list and was released in 2008. Five Samuel Adams products are available on draft towers across the country. Boston Lager, with its trademark blue-flame tap handle, is the most widely distributed Samuel Adams draft. However, the seasonal draft line up of White Ale, Summer Ale, Octoberfest and Winter Lager, grows in popularity each year. Also available from the keg in select locations (mostly airports) are Boston Ale, Hefeweizen, Cherry Wheat and Black Lager. In summer 2006, Sam Adams released a limited-run Brewer Patriot collection that included four beers which "honor the fine American Brewing Tradition of our founding fathers." The Brewer Patriot collection included: * Traditional Ginger Honey Ale * James Madison Dark Wheat Ale * George Washington Porter * 1790 Root Beer Brew The Boston Beer Company also produces Twisted Tea hard iced tea and HardCore hard apple cider, which are intentionally separate from the Samuel Adams brand. ==Utopias== Samuel Adams '''Utopias''', which went on sale in February 2002, was claimed to be the strongest commercial beer in the world, at 27% [[alcohol by volume]]. The beer was stronger than Millennium, a single release brew made by Sam Adams in 1999, at 21% alcohol. Utopias are made with [[Mash ingredients#Continental Europe|caramel]], [[Mash ingredients#Vienna malt|Vienna]], Moravian and Bavarian smoked malts, and all four varieties of [[Hops#Noble hops|noble hops]]: ''Hallertauer Mittelfrüh'', ''Tettnanger'', ''Spalter'', and ''Saaz''. The beer is aged in [[Scotch whisky|scotch]], [[Cognac (drink)|cognac]] and [[Port wine|port]] barrels for the better part of a year. It is described as having a "distinctive smell of cinnamon and vanilla with subtle hints of floral, citrus and pine."{{Fact|date=October 2007}} The beer was packaged in a copper-finished kettle designed to resemble those used in the brewing process. 8,000 twenty-four-ounce bottles of Utopias were produced in all, with a suggested price of [[United States dollar|US$]]100 a bottle. The beer is considered by some to be more comparable to [[brandy]] or [[sherry]] than to other beers. Due to legal restrictions, Samuel Adams Utopias is not offered in the states of [[Alabama]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Idaho]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], [[New Hampshire]], [[North Carolina]], [[Ohio]], [[Oregon]], [[South Carolina]], [[Washington]], or [[West Virginia]]<ref>[http://www.samueladams.com/world_of_beer.aspx Samuel Adams – America’s World Class Beer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Utopias are still being made and have been released in 2002, 2005, and 2007. Samuel Adams produced just 12000 bottles for the 2007 holiday season,<ref> {{cite web | title = The 48 proof beer | work = Beer Break Vol. 2, No. 19 | publisher = Real Beer Media, Inc. |date=2002-02-14 | url = http://www.realbeer.com/library/beerbreak/archives/beerbreak20020214.php | accessdate = 2007-07-22 }}</ref><ref> {{cite web | last = DellaSala | first = Steve | title = Sam Adams Utopias - Strongest Beer in the World | work = Audioholics |date=2007-01-31 | url = http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/sam-adams-utopias-strongest-beer-in-the-world | accessdate = 2007-07-22 }} </ref> and plans to release the next Utopia in late 2009. ==Criticism== Five years after the Company's "Sex for Sam"<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opie_and_Anthony#Sex_for_Sam</ref> promotion on [[WNEW]]'s [[Opie and Anthony]] show, the company again found itself under scrutiny. In October 2007, in an incident referred to by the Wall Street Journal as, "Sam Adams v. Sam Adams,"<ref>[http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/10/25/trademark-dispute-of-the-day-sam-adams-v-sam-adams/ Law Blog - WSJ.com : Trademark Dispute Of the Day: Sam Adams v. Sam Adams<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> the Boston Beer Company demanded control of the domain names, samadamsformayor.com" and “mayorsamadams.com" be turned over to the company.<ref>[http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=9765 Willamette Week | Tuesday, March 25th, 2008<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The domains had been purchased by [[Portland, Oregon]] radio station NewsRadio 1190 [[KEX (AM)|KEX]] for the campaign of Portland mayoral candidate, [[Sam Adams (Oregon politician)|Sam Adams]]. In a cease-and-desist letter<ref>[http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=9765 Willamette Week | Tuesday, March 25th, 2008<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, the company expressed concern that consumers might confuse the mayoral candidate with their beer. In an interview with the Associated Press<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/25/america/NA-ODD-US-Candidate-vs.-Beer.php Sam Adams brewer takes on Sam Adams, Portland mayoral candidate; dispute brews - International Herald Tribune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, the company said it was willing to discuss Adams' use of his name on his Web sites, "probably for the length of the time the election is being held." ==New Brewery== According to the company's 2006 Annual Report, a possible new brewery in [[Assonet, Massachusetts]], which it estimates would cost between $170 and $210 million, is under consideration. In April 2007, Boston Beer Co. announced that it would begin brewing beer at the [[City Brewing Company]] Latrobe facility in [[Latrobe, Pennsylvania]], the facility formerly used to brew [[Rolling Rock]] beer.<ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07094/774830-28.stm Samuel Adams comes calling on Latrobe brewer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> According to a December 2006 article from SouthCoastToday.com, the once proposed Assonet site is still being considered for a brewery location. The facility would be built in the Campanelli Business Park and would cost an estimated $200 million. The new brewery is also estimated to produce 82 million liters (700,000 barrels) to 117 million liters (1 million barrels) of beer. On August 2, 2007, it was announced that an existing brewery will be bought in [[Breinigsville, Pennsylvania]]. <ref>[http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/NEWS/708030351/1018/OPINION SouthCoastToday.com: Freetown's Sam Adams deal goes flat<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==2008 recall== In April 2008, the Boston Beer Company issued its first [[product recall|recall]], due to defects found in certain 12-ounce glass bottles manufactured by a third-party supplier which supplies about a quarter of the bottles the Boston Beer Company uses. The Boston Beer Company stated that they believed fewer than 1% of bottles from the supplier could contain small pieces of glass and issued a recall for the safety of consumers. There were no reports of injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1085589 |title=Samuel Adams beer maker issues recall due to glass in bottles |accessdate=2008-04-09 |author=Donna Goodison |date=[[2008-04-07]] |work=[[Boston Herald]]}}</ref> News of the recall led to shares of the company dropping by over 3%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/07/news/companies/boston_beer.ap/index.htm |title=Shares of Boston Beer sink after recall |accessdate=2008-04-09 |author=[[Associated Press]] |date=[[2008-04-07]] |publisher=[[CNNMoney.com]]}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.samadams.com/ Samuel Adams - Official Website] * [http://www.bostonbeer.com/ Boston Beer Company Website] * [http://www.beeripedia.com/index.php/Samuel_Adams Samuel Adams on Beeripedia] * [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SAM The Boston Beer Company Financial Information from Yahoo!] [[Category:Companies based in Boston, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Companies established in 1985]] [[Category:Beer brewing companies based in Massachusetts]] [[fr:Samuel Adams (bière)]] [[it:Samuel Adams (birra)]] [[ja:サミュエル・アダムズ (ビール)]]