Sam Adams Brewery: Who Says There’s No Such Thing as FREE BEER? (My 200th Review!)
Written: May 19 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Free beer!
Cons: The tour itself, no bottling, can't BUY fresh beer
The Bottom Line: Free beer! What could be bad?
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| beckytcy's Full Review: Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company) |
For my 200th review on Epinions, I have decided to write about a place that combines two of the two greatest concepts in world: FREE and BEER.
I live for getting free stuff. Those people who say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" have never worked in publishing or gone to a liberal arts college. In college, my housemates and I had a manifesto that stated that we could and should attend any event on campus at which food would be provided. We sat through boring, campus planning meetings for the free pizza, and the Marisa Tomei play we saw was definitely enhanced by the cannolis that were served at the reception afterwards.
I thought that the free grub would disappear once I entered the real world, but meetings at my office often feature a spread of snacks or even lunch. As the receptionist, all food that comes into the office has to pass by me first. If there are leftovers, I send out a “Vulture Alert” email to all my friends in the “Vulture Club,” of which I am president, and they all swarm the kitchen and pounce on the remains.
Beer is the nectar of the gods. For a long time, I didn’t like beer, but now it’s one of my favorite substances. In fact, it’s what I had for dinner last night. This amber liquid makes any social gathering more fun, but, like any precious substance, it usually costs a pretty penny.
The Sam Adams Brewery Tour, located in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, teaches you about the history of beer in Beantown, how beer is made, and lets you taste fresh beer all for free! Not only that, but you get to keep a mini Sam Adams glass as a souvenir. They ask for a $2 donation to charity, but, really, the tour is free. It’s the best bargain in town.
The Tour
While the free beer at the end of the tour is fantastic, the tour itself is rather lame. It is given by a burly young man in a red, bowling style shirt and a wicked strong Boston accent. They start out by showing a ten-minute video narrated by the founder of Sam Adams beer, Jim Koch, who started the company in 1984, using an old, family recipe. The video tells about the history of beer in Boston with a few jokes thrown in, such as, “The Pilgrims stopped at Plymouth because they ran out of beer.” In the first two rooms, which are full of photographs and awards from beer competitions, the guide reiterates some of what the video told us (boring!) and brags about the various varieties of medal-winning Sam Adams. Apparently, the Boston Beer Company has produced some of the strongest beers ever made, including the Millennium, which contains 20% alcohol by volume. Unfortunately, they won’t serve that one as a sample at the end of the tour.
The third room is where the actual brewing takes place, and the tour guide explains that process while passing around cups of barley and hops. Unfortunately, the bottling takes place elsewhere, so you don’t really get to see much at this research and development facility. Also, this means that you won’t get to buy a case of fresh Sammies. They just hand out a sheet with directions to local bars and liquor stores at the end of the tour, which was rather disappointing. However, for a post-tour pint, I would recommend Doyle’s on Washington Street, which was featured in Mystic River and has nice skylights and good sweet potato fries.
The final leg of the tour is what everyone struggles through the factual presentations for…
The Tasting
After receiving their souvenir glasses, visitors are ushered into one of two tasting rooms containing lovely wooden tables and chairs. The tour guide or another staff member fills up pitchers and passes them around to the tables, and they teach everyone the four steps of drinking beer that connoisseurs use but normal people can’t be bothered with. At this point, you’ll probably be very eager to just drink the stuff. (I don’t care about what it smells like! Just let me drink, dammit!)
At each tasting, you’ll try three varieties. They always start with the traditional Boston Lager (4.75% abv). If you’re quick, you can get almost two full (six ounce?) glasses during each round. Next, they’ll pass around a pitcher of one of the seasonal brews such as the Summer Ale (5.2% abv) and then finish with a darker or specialty beer like the Double Bock (8.4% abv!) or the Cherry Wheat (5.2% abv). I’m not sure if it’s because I’m drinking on an empty stomach or the fresh beer has more alcohol in it, but I always leave the Sam Adams Brewery feeling more buzzed than I normally would after drinking that amount.
After drinking the free beer, they send you out past a gift shop where you can purchase, t-shirts, towels, coasters, glasses, and other novelty items.
Logistics
The Sam Adams Brewery is located at 30 Germania Street in Jamaica Plain. The Stony Brook T-stop is about a five minute walk away, and there is usually plenty of parking nearby. However, if you aren’t familiar with Boston, J.P. is a very confusing area, so you are better off taking public transportation, especially if you’ll be sipping the Double Bock!
Tours are given on Thursdays at 2:00 PM, Fridays at 2 and 5:30, and Saturdays at 12, 1, and 2 PM. During the summer, you can also take a tour on Wednesdays at 2 PM, which is probably your best bet since it would be least crowded and you would, thus, get more beer.
Visit www.samadams.com/beer/tour.html or call 617-368-5080 for more information. The website has driving directions if you want to brave the crazy Boston roads.
WARNINGS:
Massachusetts is practically fascist about checking IDs, so you’d better bring your passport if you don’t have a driver’s license.
You might think it would be a good idea to walk over to J.P. Licks on Centre Street after the brewery tour for a milkshake or a dish of Cherry Garciaparra, but, last summer, I learned the hard way that beer and ice cream create a tempest in your stomach.
Recommended:
Yes
Brewery Name: Samuel Adams Brewery
Date Visited: August, 2003; February, 2004; April, 2004
Tours Offered: Yes
Tasting cost, per person: FREE
Brewery Rating: Something special
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Epinions.com ID:
beckytcy
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Member: Becky
Location: Boston
Reviews written: 277
Trusted by: 236 members
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