Samuel Adams Boston Lager was launched by the Boston Beer Company, USA in 1985 and was an instant success in the states. It is often said that this event kick started the country's microbrewery explosion that continues to this day.
A recent birthday present reminded me of the time I first drank this excellent beer.
A recent birthday present reminded me of the time I first drank this excellent beer.
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| Happy Birthday to me |
We were on a family holiday in Florida in 1993. The hotel we were staying in sold Budweiser and Miller Lite, hardly inspiring stuff. Across the street was a Seven Eleven, so I had a look around around, desperate for something different. I spotted these bottles of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, with the words, "Best Beer in America" on the label. Intrigued, I bought a couple. They were absolutely gorgeous.This is an amber beer which has a nice malty taste which is quite distinctive.
This one on of the few occasions when I can remember when and where I was when I drank a particular beer. Needless to say, I was a regular in that Seven Eleven for the rest of the holiday.
Fast forward about 8 years. We booked a holiday in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and started our trip in Boston, staying a few nights in the Lenox Hotel which, by a remarkable coincidence was the city's brewery tap for the Sam Adams Brewery.
Some quick research revealed that the brewery was a short subway ride from the city centre to the suburb of Stonybrook. So, leaving the family to some shopping, I set off. I remember walking through deserted back streets to get to the brewery in south east Boston ; wouldn't have done it in the dark !
Some quick research revealed that the brewery was a short subway ride from the city centre to the suburb of Stonybrook. So, leaving the family to some shopping, I set off. I remember walking through deserted back streets to get to the brewery in south east Boston ; wouldn't have done it in the dark !
Now Sam Adams beers are sold all over the US and I quickly learned that most are not brewed in Boston, but contract brewed throughout the US. The Boston site is used as an experimental brewery to create new brews.
Still, the tour was excellent and we were treated to several brews served in jugs. I was sitting at a table with some student types who looked barely 21 ( the legal drinking age in the US). They were sipping their beers , me I was knocking it back !.
" If you don't want the rest I'll have it"
I bought several souvenirs including a T shirt which I still have, albeit with more holes in it than when I acquired it.
I bought several souvenirs including a T shirt which I still have, albeit with more holes in it than when I acquired it.
It was a hot day so when the tour finished I headed back to the hotel and straight down to the basement bar. My Sam Adams drink barely touched the sides.
No photos exist of this occasion ( pre-digital era) so luckily , a few years ago my daughter visited the brewery and sent me some photos which brought back many memories. ( see above)
Now Sam Adams Boston Lager is common in many supermarkets and pubs but at the time it was a novelty in the UK. For some years now it has been brewed under license at Shepherd Neames brewery in Kent and doesn't quite taste it did in the US.
As recent as July this year I enjoyed a few pints of Blonde Ambition in The Steps Washington , brewed for American Independence Day.
When I had that first drink of the Boston Lager over 25 years ago little did I know that this was just at the start in the rise of micro breweries in the USA to challenge the dominant position of the dreaded Bud.
