Boston Beer Company

Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

File:Samadamsovallogo.png
Company type	Public (NYSE: SAM)
Industry	Alcoholic beverage
Founded	1984
Founder	Jim Koch Harry M. Rubin Lorenzo Lamadrid
Headquarters	Boston, MA (Administrative Offices and Brewery)
Key people	C. James Koch Chairman Martin F. Roper President and Chief Executive Officer William F. Urich Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Thomas W. Lance Vice President of Operations John C. Geist Vice President of Sales David L. Grinnell Vice President of Brewing
Products	Beer
Production output	293,369,000 Liters (2,500,000 barrels)
Revenue	US$513.0M (FY 2011)
Operating income	US$103.655M (FY 2011)
Net income	US$066.059M (FY 2011)
Total assets	US$272.488M (FY 2011)
Total equity	US$184.745M (FY 2011)
Number of employees	840 (FY 2011)
Website	www.bostonbeer.com www.samadams.com

Samuel Adams is an American brand of beer brewed by the Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) and its associated contract brewers. The company was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, Harry M. Rubin, and Lorenzo Lamadrid in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The brand name of Samuel Adams (often abbreviated to Sam Adams, even in advertisements), was chosen in honor of Samuel Adams, an American patriot famous for his role in the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party. According to tradition, he was also a brewer. Based on sales in 2011, the Boston Beer Company is tied with Yuengling for the largest American-owned beermaker.

History

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 1984, Jim Koch, the sixth-generation, first born son to follow in his family’s brewing footsteps, brewed his first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen, using the original family recipe for Louis Koch Lager. At the time, Koch was working at Boston Consulting Group after receiving BA, MBA and JD degrees from Harvard University. At Harvard, Koch met Harry Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid. Both Rubin and Lamadrid were graduates of Harvard Business School. In December 1984, Koch left his career at Boston Consulting Group and along with Rubin and Lamadrid, founded Samuel Adams Beer. As co-owners Koch, Rubin, and Lamadrid, all played different roles. Koch played the role of publicist. This paved the way for Samuel Adams' trademark commercials, which featured Koch. Rubin assumed the financial and business management role in the company. Lamadrid played a major role as one of the lead investors in the company. Samuel Adams would be the first step for Rubin and Lamadrid who later became prominent businessmen in their fields. Shortly thereafter, they optimized the recipe with the help of Joseph Owades, the man credited with the invention of light beer in the 1970s.

Samuel Adams beer glass

Koch, Rubin, and Lamadrid agreed on the name Samuel Adams after the Boston patriot, who fought for American independence, and who also had inherited a brewing tradition from his father.

In April 1985, 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 America” 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. The beer was first put on tap at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain.

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's original Blitz-Weinhard brewery (shuttered in 1999), Cincinnati's Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery (eventually purchased by the Boston Beer Company in early 1997), and industry giant SABMiller. 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. The brewery occupies part of the premises of the old Haffenreffer Brewery.

In the mid-1990s, Jim Koch returned to his hometown of Cincinnati to purchase the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery, where his father apprenticed in the 1940s. This was also one of the first steps the company took to reduce reliance on contract brewing.

Boilers at the Samuel Adams brewery

File:Samuel Adams Black Lager bottle and mug 20120805.JPG

Samuel Adams Black Lager

The company's success occurred as the U.S. craft beer 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 the ticker symbol, "SAM". These shares, however, have minimal voting rights. Instead, the company is controlled through its Class B Common Stock, of which Koch owns 100% of the shares.

Despite the appearance of competitors, the company remained the largest "craft beer" company 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).

With Anheuser-Busch's takeover on July 13, 2008 by Belgian-Brazilian giant InBev, and the subsequent approval of the takeover on November 12, 2008, The Boston Beer Company become the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. As of sales in 2011, the Boston Beer Company is tied with Yuengling for largest.

The company has approximately 840 employees in its Boston, Cincinnati and Breinigsville, PA breweries. Each year, an annual trip to Bavaria is made where various hops are selected for Sam Adams brews.

Products

The Boston Beer Company produces a variety of beer year-round: Boston Lager, Sam Adams Light, Boston Ale, Pale Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Coastal Wheat, Scotch Ale, Black Lager, Honey Porter, Noble Pils, and Irish Red. The Sam Adams Boston Lager contains 4.75% 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 contained 25.6% abv, beating the records that Samuel Adams Triple Bock and Samuel Adams Millennium had set before it.

Additionally, the company brews four seasonal beers per year, as follows:

• Alpine Spring (January - March)
• Summer Ale (April - August)
• Octoberfest (August - October)
• Winter Lager (November - January)

Samuel Adams also runs a "Winter Classics" pack during the holiday season. This variety collection consists of: Old Fezziwig Ale, Holiday Porter, White Christmas, Chocolate Bock, Winter Lager, and Boston Lager.

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. Because of 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 US fl oz (350 ml). 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 and Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock were 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 Alpine Spring, Summer Ale, Octoberfest and Winter Lager, grows in popularity each year. Also available from the keg in select locations are Boston Ale, Hefeweizen, Cherry Wheat and Black Lager.

In 2009, Samuel Adams released a new variety called Blackberry Witbier. The flavor, like Irish Red, Brown Ale, and Honey Porter in previous years, was the winner of The Boston Beer Company's annual beer competition, which was voted on by over 50,000 people around the country. The new flavor beat out a Coffee Stout option. Blackberry Witbier is sold in its own six pack and in Brewmaster Collection variety packs.

In 2009 Samuel Adams began its Imperial Series, beers with better quality ingredients and higher alcohol contents. Beers in this series include Double Bock, previously a seasonal brew, Imperial Stout, Wee Heavy, and Imperial White. Each style is sold in its own four pack.

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.

In early 2009, the Boston Beer Company released a limited-brew known as Boston Brick Red, a red ale in the European tradition. It is presently only available at select bars in the Boston area, and is only available on tap. Proceeds from its sale go toward an entrepreneurial fund the company sponsors to support new business ventures.

In October 2009, Samuel Adams announced the addition of the Barrel Room Collection to their products line. Three beers (American Kriek, Stony Brook Red, and New World Tripel) were released initially in 2009 followed by a fourth beer (Thirteenth Hour) in 2011. These beers, like some previous experimental products, are aged in a wood barrel for a special finish. Each flavor is sold in a 750ml stylized bottle with a champagne cork.

Utopias

A Samuel Adams Utopias beer bottle

In 1999, the Boston Beer Company produced Millennium, a single release strong beer with an alcoholic content of 21% by volume (abv). The company followed this up in 2002 with Utopias; at 24% abv, it was marketed as the strongest commercial beer in the world. The company subsequently released new "vintages" of Utopias annually, increasing the alcoholic content to 27% abv by 2007. However, it is no longer the strongest in the world, since several beers have surpassed Utopias in alcoholic content, the record currently being held by Armageddon (65% abv), produced by Brewmeister in Scotland .

Utopias is made with caramel, Vienna, Moravian and Bavarian smoked malts, and four varieties of noble hops: Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalter, and Saaz hops. The beer is matured in scotch, cognac and port barrels for the better part of a year. A limited number of bottles are released each year; in 2007, only 12,000 bottles were produced, and in 2009, only 9,000 bottles were released. Sold in a ceramic bottle resembling a copper-finished brewing kettle, a single bottle of Utopias cost $100 in 2002, and $150 in 2009.

Because of legal restrictions, Utopias is not offered in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, or West Virginia.

Weihenstephan partnership

In October 2009, the Boston Beer Company announced a two-year project with German brewery Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan to jointly produce a new craft beer named Infinium, to be marketed in both Germany and the U.S. The brewers describe the beer, which is sold in corked bottles and has alcohol content of 10.3% abv, as a Champagne-like “crisp pale brew”. Approximately 15,000 cases were released in North America in December 2010 at a suggested retail price of $20 per 750 mL bottle, Marketed towards drinkers who would rather toast with beer than Champagne on New Years Eve, Infinium is described by the brewers as "the first new beer style created under the Reinheitsgebot in over a hundred years."

Current family of beers

Core beers

Beer title	Year introduced	Description
Boston Lager	1984	This deep amber color lager is brewed using only four ingredients and traditional brewing methods for a full, smooth body. The Noble hop varieties of Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger add a wide range of floral, piney and citrus notes, which are present from the aroma, through the taste, and all the way to the lingering smooth finish. It has been awarded a Grand Gold Medal by Monde Selection in 2011.
Light	2001	Brewed using only two-row malted barley and Bavarian Noble hops, Sam Adams Light has a malt character that is balanced with the citrus fruit notes of the Noble hops.
Boston Ale	1987	First brewed to celebrate the opening of the Boston brewery. Classic English ale hops, East Kent Goldings, and Fuggles are added to the beer. Its red amber color and glow come from the two-row Harrington and crystal malts.
Pale Ale	1999	Brewed in the classic style with English ale hops and roasted specialty malts. Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops impart a dry finish to this ale.
Noble Pils	2010	A pilsner brewed with 5 Noble hop varieties. It is golden in color, clear, and in the style of a Bohemian Pilsner. Brewed with all 5 Noble hops for a distinct hop character and fresh taste. Deep golden in color with a citrusy hop aroma, Samuel Adams Noble Pils is a traditional Bohemian Pilsner.
Cherry Wheat	1995	Combines Michigan cherries with a large portion of wheat malt. A small amount of honey enhances the natural sweetness of cherries.
Cream Stout	1993	The Samuel Adams brewers use roasted chocolate and caramel malts as well as unroasted barley. It received a Grand Gold Medal by Monde Selection in 2011.
Scotch Ale	1994	This ale is brewed with three special malts, including rare peat-smoked malt that is kilned in Scotland and used in Scotch whiskies. This malt gives Scotch Ale a subtle, smoky flavor and a deep amber hue.
Hefeweizen (Retired)	2003	This fruity wheat ale is cloudy because it is unfiltered, retaining a natural haze from the malt proteins. Bavarian Spalt Noble hops give the beer a smooth aftertaste. *This beer is no longer brewed.
Black Lager	2005	This Black Lager is a Schwarzbier, a traditional style from Eastern Germany. The two-row Munich, Harrington, and deep roasted Carafa malts create the layers of roasted, malty flavors in this beer. Noble hops from the Spalt region of Bavaria are also added.
Brown Ale (Retired)	2006	This traditional ale is brewed with a malted barley blend, imparting notes of toasted malt, biscuit, nut and caramel. *This beer is no longer brewed.
Honey Porter	1994	An English porter with a substantial roasted malt character offering a sweet finish. This beer is brewed with traditional English Ale hops and is dry-hopped with English Goldings.
Irish Red	2008	This ale has a deep red color and distinctive caramel flavor. It is brewed using two-row Harrington and Metcalfe as well as Caramel malts. The hop bitterness balances the sweetness of this medium bodied ale. The beer finishes with an earthy note from the East Kent Goldings hops. The Irish Red Ale has been awarded by Monde Selection with a Grand Gold Medal in 2011.
Dunkelweizen	2009	This “dark wheat” is a traditional German ale with a dark amber-brown in color. This unfiltered ale is brewed with Bavarian yeast, which imparts a wide spectrum of flavors and aromas.
Coastal Wheat	2009	This wheat beer is a twist on the Hefeweizen style. Brewed with Eureka and Lisbon varieties of lemon that balance the character of the malt blend, resulting in a crisp wheat beer with subtle lemon aroma and flavor.
Blackberry Witbier	2009	This witbier features Oregon Marion Blackberries, with coriander and orange notes.
Latitude 48	2009	A unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48th latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere.
Revolutionary Rye Ale	2010	Roasted malt sweetness and a spicy rye character. German and American hops add light pine and citrus notes to this medium-bodied brew.

Seasonal beers

Beer title	Year introduced	Description
Samuel Adams Boston 26.2 Brew	2012	A light beer with a slightly lower alcohol level than many other Samuel Adams beers. It will be available exclusively at Boston Marathon-related events, and select pubs and restaurants along the marathon route and around Greater Boston.
East-West Kölsch	2011	Fragrant and complex, brewed with Spalt Spalter and Strisselspalt hops, with a slight lemon citrus taste from Alsatian hops. This beer also contains a special ingredient: Jasmine Sambac, a Southeast Asian flower, gives the beer a floral aroma and flavor.
Rustic Saison	2011	An incredibly complex yet refreshing beer in the classic style of Belgian farmhouse ales. These blonde ales were traditionally brewed to quench the thirst of farmers throughout the summer months. The unique character of this brew comes from its Belgian yeast that imparts floral, fruity, and spicy flavors.
Harvest Pumpkin Ale	2010	Smooth and roasty, real pumpkin adds to a full body and sweetness while deep roasted malts lend a toasty finish to this subtly spiced brew. This beer is exclusive to the Harvest collection mix pack in the fall and recently in limited release 6 packs.
Alpine Spring	2011	Brewed especially for the season, this bright citrusy unfiltered lager is both satisfying and refreshing. It’s the perfect transition from winter’s heavier brews to the lighter beers of summer. Borne of our brewers’ many trips to Germany, Alpine Spring features a unique blend of lager attributes: the balanced maltiness and hoppiness of a Helles, the smoothness and slightly higher alcohol of a traditional spring bock, and the unfiltered appearance of a Kellerbier. The beer is brewed with Tettnang Noble hops to add a unique, bright orange-citrusy aroma and flavor.. It replaced Noble Pils as the Spring seasonal. Available late January through March.
Summer Ale	1996	Brewed with wheat malt, lemon zest, and Grains of Paradise, a West African spice, to add a peppery, citrus note that enhances the taste of lemon peel and notes of tropical fruits. Available April through August.
OctoberFest	1989	Brewed to celebrate the arrival of autumn with an amber hue. This beer contains a blend of four malts – Harrington, Caramel, Munich, and Moravian – to create sweet flavors. The sweetness is balanced by the bitterness imparted by the Noble Bavarian hops. Available Early-August through October.
Winter Lager	1989	Brewed in the tradition of celebrating winter. Made with winter spices that include orange zest, cinnamon, and fresh ginger. Available November through Mid-January.
Cranberry Lambic	1990	Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic is a fruit beer that draws its flavor not just from the cranberries it’s brewed with, but also from the unique fermentation character imparted by the weissbier yeast in the primary fermentation. Available November through January.
Holiday Porter	2004	A traditional, British style. Robust and full bodied. Available November through January.
Old Fezziwig Ale	1995	Spicy and bold, a big Christmas cookie of a beer. Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale is bursting with spices of the season. Available November through January.
Dunkelweizen	2009	Brewed with authentic Bavarian wheat beer yeast, which imparts a wide spectrum of flavors and aromas from spicy clove and nutmeg to tropical fruit and banana. Available August through October.
White Ale	1997	Brewed with 10 exotic spices: orange and lemon peel, dried plum, Grains of Paradise, coriander, anise, hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, and vanilla. Available late January through March; was formerly the Spring seasonal beer.

Extreme beers

Beer title	Year introduced	Description
Triple Bock	1994	Noncarbonated and ruby-black - this Triple Bock should be sipped from a small crystal glass in a two-ounce serving. Triple Bock was brewed exclusively in 1994, 1995, and 1997 only.
Millennium	2000	A 40-proof beer brewed for celebrations at the Millennium. Brewed exclusively in 2000 only.
Utopias	2001	Made from a precise aging process and all-natural ingredients. Samuel Adams Utopias is an uncarbonated and extraordinarily strong beer with 24 to 27 percent alcohol by volume.
Chocolate Bock	2003	A dark beer that has malty character, combined with the sweetness of chocolate. The chocolatiers at Scharffen Berger crafted an exclusive blend of chocolate for Samuel Adams made with cocoa beans from Ghana called forastero. As the beer matured, the fruity, tart, earthy, and chocolate aromas were infused into the liquid. Chocolate Bock can be found in the Brewmasters' Variety Box.
Hallertau Imperial Pilsner	2005	A beer using large quantities of Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops selected from the Bavarian hops harvest. The intensity of deep citrus, spicy Noble hops flavor is balanced with the sweetness from the malt.
Infinium	2010 (limited holiday release)	A collaboration from the Boston beer company and Weihenstephan (world's oldest brewery). Infinium is a champagne style beer made with only the four essential ingredients, malted barley, hops, water and yeast. Infinium is a light and dry beer with a crisp clean malt character, and delicate fruit and spice notes. 10.3% ABV.

Imperial beers

Beer title	Year introduced	Description
Imperial Stout	2009	Huge roasted malt character with smoky, chocolate, and coffee aromas and flavors balanced by an earthy English hop bitterness.
Imperial White	2009	All of the characteristics of a refreshing witbier, but with more flavor and body. This beer delivers new and exciting flavors with every sip
Double Bock	1988	Strong malt and caramel character; very smooth, full bodied, low to medium bitterness
Wee Heavy	2011	Intense and full bodied with a deep roasted flavor, subtle sweetness, and earthy smokiness from the peat smoked malt.

Barrel Room Collection beers

Beer title	Year introduced	Description
New Tripel World	2009	Pale gold in color, this ale is big, flavorful and complex. A special Belgian yeast strain adds tropical fruit and spice notes to the crisp dry ale, while Saaz hops add a subtle herbal note. (~10% ABV)
American Kriek	2009	The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging. (~7% ABV)
Stony Brook Red	2009	This unique brew defies traditional beer style definition. The rich, malty brew combines notes of tart fruit from the yeast with a toasty oak character from the barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like. This is a beer that is satisfying on its own and also pairs well with many foods such as braised or roasted meats, beef stews and strong salty cheeses. (9% ABV)
Thirteenth Hour	2011	The combination of 7 different malts creates a brilliant black brew that's full bodied and smooth with rich notes of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits like raisins and plums. The dark roasty, and slightly sweet flavors of a stout are blended with the unique, spicy and sour character of our Kosmic Mother Funk (KMF), an ale that's been aged in oak tuns for up to a year. The KMF gives the beer an added complexity with notes of black pepper, oak, vanilla, and a hint of acidity. (~8% ABV)

Samuel Adams Boston Lager pint glass

In 2007, The Boston Beer Company collaborated with TIAX laboratories of Cambridge, MA to develop a new type of pint glass. The glass is designed to bring out the flavor of a Samuel Adams Boston Lager and features a curvier shape, thinner walls, a beaded rim and outward-turning lip. One feature of the glass is a neck-and-lip design that helps sustain the head of the beer, which enhances the release of signature Noble hop aromas found in Samuel Adams Boston Lager. A laser-etched nucleation site within the glass maintains flavor release during the drinking experience.

Philanthropy

2008 hops shortage

In early 2008, amidst a worldwide shortage of hops—a key ingredient in beer – Boston Beer Company agreed to share 20,000 pounds of its hops, at cost, with craft brewers throughout the United States. In random drawings, the company selected 108 craft brewers to receive the 20,000 pounds of hops it could spare. This prevented many craft brewers from having to reformulate recipes – or worse, go out of business.

Longshot Competition

The Boston Beer Company encourages smaller craft brewers—channeling Jim Koch in 1984—by participating in programs like the Longshot Competition. In this annual competition, homebrewers submit their brew to a series of judging and taste tests with the chance to see their creation in larger-scale production and sold on store shelves as part of a Samuel Adams mixed 6-pack the following year.

New breweries

According to the company's 2006 Annual Report, Boston Beer Company was considering a possible new brewery in Freetown, Massachusetts. The estimated cost would be between $170 and $210 million.

A December 2006 article from SouthCoastToday.com indicated that the proposed Freetown site was 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 would be estimated to produce between 82 million and 117 million liters (700,000 - 1 million barrels) of beer.

On August 2, 2007, it was announced that instead of building in Freetown, the company would purchase an existing brewery in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley.

In 2007 and 2008, due to concerns about expected future availability and pricing of brewing capacity at breweries owned by others and Boston Beer Company’s desire to better control its brewing future and to improve efficiencies and costs long term, the company initiated several steps designed to reduce its dependence on breweries owned by others. These steps included the acquisition on June 2, 2008 of substantially all of the assets of the Pennsylvania Brewery from Diageo North America, Inc. From 2007 to 2009, core product volume brewed at company-owned breweries increased from approximately 35% to over 95%.

Controversies

Since 1990 the company has produced a seasonal fruit beer labelled "Cranberry Lambic". Because "Lambic" describes a spontaneously fermented beer generally produced in Brussels or the nearby Pajottenland region, and the Samuel Adams product is not spontaneously fermented, consumers and brewers charged that "Cranberry Lambic" is mislabeled and could cause consumer confusion. (Michael Jackson, a leading beer critic, called it "a misleading name".) Grant Wood, Senior Brewing Manager at Boston Brewing, defended the name, saying, "I wouldn't consider it mislabeling. Whenever I have served the Cranberry Lambic, I have always been really up front about it. Is it a true lambic made in that region in Belgium? No. Does it taste like one? Yes. So it's sort of our homage to the style without the pain and agony of it."

In 2000–2002, the company sponsored a radio promotion called "Sex for Sam", in which WNEW radio hosts Opie and Anthony encouraged couples from various states to have sex in notable public places in New York City. On August 15, 2002, a Virginia couple was charged with public lewdness after attempting to have sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral; this led to the suspensions of the radio hosts a week later.

In October 2007, in an incident referred to by the Wall Street Journal as, "Sam Adams v. Sam Adams," the Boston Beer Company demanded that control of the domain names "samadamsformayor.com" and “mayorsamadams.com" be turned over to the company. The domains had been purchased by Portland, Oregon radio station NewsRadio 1190 KEX for the campaign of Portland mayoral candidate, Sam Adams. In a cease-and-desist letter, the company expressed concern that consumers might confuse the mayoral candidate with their beer. In an interview with the Associated Press 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."

In April 2008, the Boston Beer Company issued its first recall, because of defects found in certain 12-US-fluid-ounce (350 ml) 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. News of the recall led to shares of the company dropping by over 3%.

External links

• Samuel Adams - Official Website
• Boston Beer Company Website
• The Boston Beer Company Financial Information from Yahoo!
• "The Revenge of Infinium"