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285 Comments
- gsadamb, on 02/17/2008, -1/+303Yes, this is good publicity for Sam Adams, and they've no doubt considered that. Still, that doesn't take away from the fact that they're doing a good thing for breweries and beer drinkers alike. It's a very classy move.
- inactive, on 02/17/2008, -2/+150Sam Adams... A true patriot ;-)
- brentinkc, on 02/17/2008, -3/+135I think it's time to take the crown away from Anheuser-Busch and bestow it upon the folks at Sam Adams. Better beer, better people.
- akkibaba, on 02/17/2008, -1/+87They get publicity and that "warm fuzzy" image, microbrewers get their hops, us consumers get quality beers. It's win-win-win. Please join me in raising a toast to the Boston Beer company. Cheers!
- Ajajadude, on 02/17/2008, -1/+60Anheuser-Busch beers, as well as Miller and Coors, are probably the blandest tasting beers mass-marketed in America. The fact that Budweiser is so popular and considered the "king" of beers in this country is, well, quite depressing.
- zephyr42, on 02/17/2008, -4/+56I never really did like the taste of most of their beers, one thing that I always did like about the company is they seem like they really are genuine about customer satisfaction. Glad to see companies lending a helping hand once in a while.
- Ajajadude, on 02/17/2008, -1/+49Despite the fact that Sam Adams is a beer that can be found nationwide, I always think of it as a sort of locally brewed beer, no matter where I'm at in the country. I guess that's the image what they're going for, especially when they do things like this.
- amnesiac096, on 02/17/2008, -1/+43it's "king of beers" because they say so, not because we say so... microbrew beers are so much better than that mass *****.
- Laughboy, on 02/17/2008, -2/+41Being a home brewer myself I admire Sam Adams for there help to the craft brewers. Granted the hops I buy are 1-4 oz at at time but since the shortage certain varieties are very hard to get ahold of (Kent Goldings being one of them). But seeing one of the biggest craft brewery's offer their help to this crisis brings tears to my eyes. Rock on Sam Adams!
- aurorous, on 02/17/2008, -1/+28I've heard that this hops shortage isn't effecting the large beer makers much. Not because they have so much buying power but because they onlyuse a microscopic amount in their beer anyway.
- f4nt0m4s, on 02/17/2008, -2/+28Dude, I'm pretty sure it's a Man Law that you don't joke about any shortage relating to Beer.
- lucutus, on 02/17/2008, -1/+26It's sad times for us beer lovers. Thanks to Sam Adams for sure. I must now show my support and go buy several cases of winter lager!
- signal15, on 02/17/2008, -2/+26AB has the crown for the crappiest beer with the largest distribution. It's 90% rice syrup instead of malt. Do they even use hops? I don't taste any. I carry a bottle of hop oil in my laptop bag so when I travel to places with crappy beer, I can at least make it palatable.
- holzp, on 02/17/2008, -1/+25How can I not digg a man with hop oil on him all the time?
- bobbydiamondz, on 02/17/2008, -1/+24I'm not a Sam Adams drinker, but I've always got the feeling from their commercials that they like beer as much as I do. Though they're pitching a product, they seem genuine. I know, they're commercials, they're selling a product. However, now SA is really backing that up. I agree that it's a classy move. I might have to revisit their line up too see if I can find one that I can drink regularly.
- signal15, on 02/17/2008, -2/+24Also one of the main warehouses was destroyed by fire or a storm.
- mtekk, on 02/17/2008, -2/+24Bad growing season, caused by a variety of factors.
- sockpuppets, on 02/17/2008, -21/+43I recently offered the total output of hops from my rabbit farm to the cause but I've yet to hare back from them.
- PopcornDave, on 02/17/2008, -2/+23One of my customers was telling me about the shortage around a month ago. She said that due to the shortage, the prices of micro brews were skyrocketing, and she told me it was due to people planting corn for ethanol rather than growing the hops because of the money they thought they could make.
- inactive, on 02/17/2008, -5/+24I have some friends and family members who brew their own beer (on a very small scale obviously). This is a very good thing that Sam Adams is doing.
- Sarki, on 02/17/2008, -3/+20Brilliant marketing move. Make mine a Sam Adam's. OK, maybe not, I still prefer vodka, but...
- j.carcinogen, on 02/17/2008, -1/+17My next 6 pack will be Sam Adams. I think I'll try the seasonal White Ale that is out now.
- brewer, on 02/17/2008, -1/+17Not only that, but the hop industry has been shooting itself in the foot by breeding high-alpha varieties that the brewers want (so that they don't have to buy as much to get the same bitterness level in the beer). Consequently, they aren't buying as much and the lower-alpha hops (usually aroma varieties) aren't being chosen by hop farmers because they don't sell as well (the "Big 3" breweries pretty much dictate what is grown in the US, and they don't use much of the aroma varieties).
- jeimus, on 02/17/2008, -1/+16Cheers to you Sam Adams!
- drakethegreat, on 02/17/2008, -1/+15Ya its publicity but they are still giving away part of their stockpile without making any money from it. I don't think publicity alone would be worth it. The only real thing I see driving this is that they care about the little guys and thats awesome. If you have ever seen an interview with the CEO of Sam Adams his passion is overwhelming.
- mauahah, on 02/17/2008, -0/+14Wow, a business that is willing to show some real ethics. Somebody actually understands that profit and money are not everything.
- urbancontra, on 02/17/2008, -2/+16Also, there was a massive warehouse fire that destroyed much of the surplus from previous years.
- A2TrueBlue, on 02/17/2008, -3/+16Nice move, and I love their beer.
- NeoPlatonist, on 02/17/2008, -0/+13Very true, but if I want a really good hoppy beer, Sam Adams is always a good choice. Ever had Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner?
- moger777, on 02/17/2008, -1/+14Expanding on mtekk and urbancontra's comments. A lot of it was also caused do to underestimates on demand for hops. For many years there was a hop surplus and a lot of the bigger brewers would just use hop extracts since there was warehouses full of it being sold for below costs. Because of the hop surplus a lot of growers stopped growing and now the surplus has ran out. On top of that, due to the increase in demand for ethanol a lot of farmers are switching to growing corn.
- chronichyjinx, on 02/17/2008, -1/+14Seems to be a better comment then your last 3
- Mothrog, on 02/17/2008, -0/+12I don't know why signal's being dugg down. One of the main warehouses here did burn.
- maanico1, on 02/17/2008, -0/+11mmm. mmm. IT'LL GET YA DRUNK!
- bdbr, on 02/17/2008, -1/+12OK, but this isn't really about them.
- Ajajadude, on 02/17/2008, -1/+12Yeah, I should sacrifice and go buy several cases of Sam Adams, too.
- signal15, on 02/17/2008, -0/+10Hops offer the majority of the flavor in the beer. Hops with a low alpha offer more flavor than they do bitterness, and it also matters just when you add the hops to the boil. Beginning of the boil will give you bitterness, midway will give you flavor, and at the end will give you aroma.
Also, hops are added to the wort during the boil, not the mash. There are some situations where they are added to the mash, but it's rare. - B3000, on 02/17/2008, -1/+11***** or "*****" as we call you. You waste your life being a ***** jackass and follow up people's perfectly nice comments by acting superior, like you know about ***** everything.
sorry but you don't know what you are talking about. you are just a jerk - zephyr42, on 02/17/2008, -0/+10This is why I drink Shiner Bock...
- nebari, on 02/17/2008, -1/+10/rude
- amnesiac096, on 02/17/2008, -0/+9u have a point, but u dont see budweiser at college parties, at least in Wisconsin... you see Milwaukee's Best, PBR, Old Milwaukee... just to name a few. You only see Miller Lite and Bud Light when ppl bring cans to parties.
king of beers is still a ***** name to give themselves, should be "King of the ***** Beer" or something, not king of beers - moger777, on 02/17/2008, -2/+11As a homebrewer I consider this an incredibly classy move by Sam Adams. Even if it's just publicity it shows you can have a successful business model by working with your competition instead of destroying it. This is probably a good way of getting Sam Adams in some of the smaller brew pubs who sometimes have guest brewers available on tap. Micro brews probably directly benefit Sam Adams because when people try good beer they realize there is more out there than Bud, Miller and Coors. Someone who likes a microbrew is more likely to like a Sam.
- inactive, on 02/17/2008, -0/+9Looks to me like we have a successful pilot program for a national strategic hops reserve. All that's left now is to appropriate funds for the real thing.
Somebody call the major presidential candidates. - mugsoh, on 02/17/2008, -1/+10Wow, what an oversimplification. Especially considering that the most popular craft ales are heavy in hops, like India Pale Ale. No, more hops does not necessarily make a good beer, but true lovers of good beer do prefer hoppiness over blandness (Bud, Miller, etc.)
- jhuebel, on 02/17/2008, -3/+12I can't help it, I chuckled. Clever in its own way.
- rhedrick, on 02/17/2008, -2/+10Sam Adam's has an enormous number of varieties of beer - you've tried them all?
- bdbr, on 02/17/2008, -0/+8We have about 50 breweries & microbreweries in my town (Portland, OR), so a big thumbs up to Sam Adams for supporting the little guys! I'll probably still stick with the local brews, though...
- signal15, on 02/17/2008, -3/+11The hops are Tettnang and Golding. While this is a great move by Sam Adams, many US micro brews don't use these kinds of hops at all. Most are using Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, Perle, Warrior, Magnum and Ahtanum.
The european style beers are mostly the ones that use Tettnang and Golding. But, since many micro breweries are changing their recipes from the shortage, this could certainly help out. But they are not going to be able to obtain any of the fruity/citrus/piney flavors that come with the other ones.
It's actually pretty ridiculous how homebrewing stores are taking advantage of the situation. Hops were $1 an ounce for a long time, and now most everywhere is charging $4-5 an ounce. But, you look at the price on these Sam Adams hops, and they paid something like 40 cents an ounce. I paid $4.99 an ounce for hops a month ago because I needed them same day. The next day, I ordered 4 pounds of them on the net for $1.20 an ounce. I've lost a lot of respect for the stores that think because there is a shortage they can gouge their customers. I don't know what they paid for their hops wholesale, but if Sam Adams is paying 40 cents, I can't imagine it was anywhere near $4. - Quicksdraw, on 02/17/2008, -0/+8No wonder DogFish 90 minute IPA is so expensive now.
- elipabst, on 02/17/2008, -1/+9Actually in many cases it is brewed locally. Very little Sam Adams is made at its brewery in Boston. They contract out most of their brewing to other brewers around the country. For a while much of it was by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company (yes same one that brewed Iron City). I think much of it is now brewed in Cinncinati, some by Miller and a number of smaller breweries across the country. Next time your slugging down a cold Sam Adams, check out the label to see where it came from, you might be surprised.
- gotamd, on 02/17/2008, -0/+8Diggnation should show its appreciation and drink some Sam Adams for the next show :)
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