Samuel Adams Boston Lager: The Beer Revolutionary

According to lore, Samuel Adams, with fistfuls of Boston Lager, stood up to his beer brewing oppressors and lead the craft beer revolution of the past twenty years.  There is actually quite a bit of truth to this story and this is one of the reasons why I chose it to be the topic of my inaugural brew tale.  Not only was Samuel Adams one of the craft beer pioneers, but it is also responsible for my own personal beer revolution, introducing me to the world of beer beyond the bland, American light lager produced by the "big boys."

It may surprise you to know that throughout much of American history, beer brewing and consumption were staples of American life.  Traditionally, beer was brewed and consumed locally. For example, in 1887, there were over 2000 breweries in the country, which is a relatively large number considering the population was roughly 1/6 of what it is today.  However, starting in 1920, the American beer industry suffered a number of setbacks that resulted in just 89 breweries in 1979, with but a handful of mega-brewers dominating the industry.

Number of Breweries courtesy Brewers Association

The first cataclysmic event was the passing of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which ushered in the  Prohibition era thus making the production and transportation of alcohol illegal.  Upon being repealed in 1933 (the only U.S. Amendment to ever be repealed), the number of breweries steadily declined due to cultural aversions to alcohol, slow recovery from the Great Depression, the build-up to and aftermath of WWII, and increased government regulations.

The breweries that emerged from this era, bearing names such as Anheuser, Busch, Coors, and Miller, were those that could mass produce and transport beer to the growing population. The style of choice was a light German lager, which was cheaper to produce, had a better shelf life, and designed for refreshment rather than taste to appeal to the majority of beer drinkers. As the smaller regional breweries closed, the few remaining breweries grew to dominate the beer landscape. By the 1980s, most Americans never knew of any beer besides the mass-produced lagers from the beer giants.

In 1979, the beer industry found a hero in President Jimmy Carter who signed legislation that deregulated the beer industry and legalized home brewing.  One such home brewer, was Jim Koch, a Boston businessman and a third generation beer brewer.  In his kitchen he first brewed what ultimately became Samuel Adams Boston Lager based upon a a family recipe for a full-flavored German lager.  It was a beer unlike anything that was commercially available so in 1981, Jim followed his heart, quit his well-paying job, opened a small brewery, and began selling his beer one bar at a time. The beer was an immense success and served as a role model for many of the craft brewers that followed.  22 years later, Samuel Adams is now the biggest American craft beer brewery in the country and the entire craft beer industry is thriving with well over 2000 breweries in the country.  Jim Koch is a personal hero of mine and he clearly deserves to be considered one of the craft beer pioneers!

A "Craft Brewer" according to the Brewer's Association: Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less.  For reference, Anheuser Busch produces over 120 million barrels annually. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by an industry member who is not a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who uses all malt or uses adjuncts to enhance, not lighten flavor.  This one is in direct contrast to the mega-brewers who use rice and other adjuncts to produce flavorless alcohol in their light lagers.

Now on to the beer!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is best described as a complex, full-flavored, balanced German lager (technically a Vienna lager, I believe).  Brewed with 2-row pale malt, crystal specialty malt and Noble German hops (Tettnanger and Hallertauer Mittelfruh), this beer changed how I viewed lagers!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

The beer pours a golden amber color (10 SRM) with a clear, fluffy white head and good lacing. This truly is a picturesque lager. On the nose, you can smell the malt sweetness with a bit of citrus / grapefruit from the hops.  The taste is similar to the smell, a balance of malt and hops.  There is a slight bitterness at the end to balance the initial malt sweetness and the bitterness tends to linger a bit after swallowing. You definitely get the "lager" taste that's often subdued in the traditional American light lagers. The beer has a medium body, is crisp and well carbonated, though it is close to being too carbonated for my tastes. Regardless, the beer is quite smooth. At 4.7% ABV,you don't get any real alcohol notes, perhaps masked by the fairly high carbonation, making it very drinkable.

Overall: This is a great beer that served as the poster child for the craft beer industry. It's a flavorful, drinkable session beer and is the perfect gateway beer for those who drink macro-brewed American light lagers and want to broaden their beer horizons. Cheers!

Rating: 8/10