has craft beer abandoned sam adams

[huckstep]

Has the craft beer movement abandoned Jim Koch what do you guys think of this article ?


http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/article/2015/01/05/jim-koch-sam-adams-beer/

 

[soccerdad]

I appreciate the fact that Sam is still independent. I like one or two of their beers. But I prefer to buy local and we have a half a dozen very good brews from Georgia and north Florida.

 

[GHBWNY]

Has the craft beer movement abandoned Jim Koch?

Or has Koch abandoned the craft beer movement? At least philosophically. Or a little of both?

 

[feinbera]

He's a victim of his own success in getting people to try things which aren't BMC.

These days, most of his line tastes sweet and bland to me – but this is after nigh on a decade and a half of beer geekery. A pitcher of Sammy's, with just enough of what I couldn't find in BMC to be intriguing, and plenty of malty sweetness to help these strange, new flavors go down, was one of my go-to's when I was first getting into craft beer.

At this point, there are enough long-established craft beer drinkers that the seasoned hands who've already experienced lupulin threshold shifts and whatnot outnumber the folks who are just getting into it, so, while they may not have any philosophical beef (big and advertisey though Sammy's may be, at least they're not spreading lies about triple hopping and cold filtering and "drinkability"), most of our palates have just moved on to less-approachable things.

And, ya know what? This is fine. Craft beer is still a small minority of overall beer sales, and there will be a place for easy, approachable beers (which eventually get outgrown by most individual drinkers) for decades to come. Nobody can please all of the people, all of the time, not even Jim Kock – and he should be happy his empire hasn't gone the way of that other approachable beer pioneer, Peter Slosberg's.

 

[hunter_le five]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f5/jim-koch-not-happy-510807/

 

[Weezy]

I second the notion that he abandoned craft beer. This same scenario plays out in all sorts of markets...your favorite local garage band gets the big contract, your favorite smartphone app sells to google for a kagillion dollars, etc. The craft is lost when you get too big.

 

[unionrdr]

I like a few of his beers myself. A good size group of his bottles have found their way into my collection. Maybe many of his beers are a bit too approachable?

 

[xandersaml]

I still drink Boston Beer Company products on a fairly frequent basis. I even drink Angry Orchard once in a while. It sounds as though Mr. Koch is acting a bit spoiled and entitled to his perch atop craft brew. IMO he definitely built much of it. That doesn't mean you own it. Daimler invented the automobile (yes, there were others...) They don't cry that dealers sell Fords :0)
Let the free market rule.

 

[Larzean]

I second the notion that he abandoned craft beer. This same scenario plays out in all sorts of markets...your favorite local garage band gets the big contract, your favorite smartphone app sells to google for a kagillion dollars, etc. The craft is lost when you get too big.

I don't know that he abandoned craft beer... Growing larger doesn't always make you a sell out. He makes what he likes and doesn't exactly shift with the times though.

Maybe if he released a barrel aged imperial stout with spices and hot peppers he'd make it back into the trendy bars?

Either way, their stuff just seems tame compared to everything else coming out. They're a good gateway craft beer, and a safe bet at a chain restaurant full of BMC. I still buy their sampler packs each season, and think the beers are good but no wow factor to them really.

 

[rodwha]

I sent that article to my friend who is a big Sam Adams fan. He was outraged.

I have never been a huge Sam Adams fan, but I have appreciated it for what it is. I order it when my only other options are BMC. They do have a few beers which I think are great such as their hazelnut brown. And I've yet to find Noble Pils to try which another friend appreciates.

But I think their Rebel IPA, an attempt at a west coast style, is about the most boring IPA I've had, and I've tried nearly all that I can find in our small market in TX.

I greatly respect Jim for what he's done to help small craft breweries, and I respect that he sticks to his ideals. But he just can't complain much when those who really enjoy craft beers want something else as he's not doing enough to create THAT type of beer.

If I owned a pub I'd only sell what sells well, and not what sells a smaller portion. It's not worth it to keep something on tap that sits... It's just that simple.

 

[histo320]

I agree with you feinbera. He is a victim of being one of the most successful (if not the most) successful craft brewer. He introduced most craft brew fans to craft beer. But Jim Koch is (like many successful businessmen) set in his ways.

Like all industries the craft beer industry is changing and very rapidly, the Boston Beer Company did not change with the times. I think Rebel IPA was an attempt to enter the changing industry. To me it is the best beer they have to offer here in the midwest.

I think he should be happy about all of the craft beers available in bars even if his isn't available. I see it as a bit of an homage to what he started in the 1980's but then I'm not the one losing money.

 

[BeerFireBrew]

I wouldn't be surprised if BBC starts another subsidiary, solely dedicated on "cutting edge" ingredients/experimental brews in order to be "hip". Mainly as an ego stroke for "I'll show you" [Time mag did a piece on 'Wealthy Selfies: How Being Rich Increases Narcissism']. Even if it is not known to be own by BBC. Similar to Angry Orchard Cider Company, LLC. Most, not all, people I've talked to about Angry Orchard do not know BBC is the holding company, nor do they probably care. The general public mostly seem to only know/remember what they like and could care less who brews it or types of ingredients. It's only us craft folks that tend to care or want to know more.

 

[seefish]

It's not just Sam Adams, I find myself gravitating away from Sierra Nevada, Stone, New Belgium, etc. They all make good beer imo, but between my homebrew and the smaller local stuff I have plenty to drink.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

it's a good read, but the industry moving away from sam adams may be summed up in the statement he made about not making a beer that he doesn't like. as homebrewers we can brew what WE like to drink, but as a business he needs to remember that he's brewing for the masses which includes beers that he may not like.

just my two cents

 

[worlddivides]

I've always really liked Sam Adams. I don't drink much of it nowadays, but I think all of their beers are really well made, even the ones that I don't care for too much.

I can't understand those crazy people who say that Sam Adams isn't craft beer. It's essentially the first craft beer company out there. If Sam Adams isn't craft beer, then there is no such thing as "craft beer."

 

[GHBWNY]

Jim Koch is a product of his desire to be the biggest and the best, rather than simply stay a small-guy craft beer brewer like 90% of the present craft brewers in this fair land of ours. I don't know the BBC sales statistics, but nationally in 2014 alone, commercial beer sales slumped nearly 2% while the "craft" market has seen a 17% increase. So, maybe he fell this side of the black ink.

Mr. Koch has worked hard, and with both good sense and business acumen, has pursued the American dream and apparently succeeded. But like any other business big or small, he can only ride the crest of the uniqueness-and-popularity wave until it decides it is time to break on the shore and leave him wallowing dazed in the foam along with all the other brewers -- craft or otherwise -- who thought their ride would last indefinitely. If and when that might be, who knows?

My hat's off to the quest for good, different and tasty beers and to strive to do something better while considering the not unremote possibility of being handsomely rewarded in the process. His marketing demographics have been good, his ads and campaigns have been timely and profitable, his philanthropic pursuits well-noted. But there is nothing he can do about a consumer taste-base that may be changing faster than he, or any company, can accommodate. And he, better than anyone, knows if that is happening. And it's frustrating.

 

[Weezy]

I don't know that he abandoned craft beer... Growing larger doesn't always make you a sell out. He makes what he likes and doesn't exactly shift with the times though.

Maybe if he released a barrel aged imperial stout with spices and hot peppers he'd make it back into the trendy bars?

Either way, their stuff just seems tame compared to everything else coming out. They're a good gateway craft beer, and a safe bet at a chain restaurant full of BMC. I still buy their sampler packs each season, and think the beers are good but no wow factor to them really.

This is only true if the quality has not dismissed with the exponential growth. In this case I'd argue that it has.

 

[campbellmike]

Besides Utopias (which you can't drink because it's too much $$$) the only beer they've made I truly love is the Imperial Pilsner. I spoke to the rep from SA and he said people ask for the IP but the company won't release it again (caveat...at this time or any time for the past few years). It sounds like the volumes are too small for them to mess with it... I'd say they've abandoned craft brew.

 

[bobeer]

I still think SA has their place just like any other craft brewery that's of the same size. They obviously have their fans and I don't think they're going anywhere. Even bars that don't have a lot of craft beers carry SA and good thing too. I've been in small towns that aren't "with it" as far a beer goes and I'm always happy to get a pint of Boston lager or whatever other SA beer they have on tap.

 

[rodwha]

My experience has been similar to bobeer's. Even in places where the food's good but the beer selection only encompasses BMC and Blue Moon you can often find Sam Adams too.