Thursday, November 08, 2007

What would Samuel Adams drink?

photo taken at Winter Beer Tasting, Brickskeller 19 DecemberOne wonders what founding father, populist, and rabble rouser Samuel Adams would have thought of a beer priced at $150 per 24 ounce bottle.

A story in Wednesday's Washington Post presented details of the Boston Beer Company's latest iteration of its Utopias beverage: 27% alcohol by volume.

More power to brewery president Jim Koch and his brewers for such an achievement. But is it beer?

I don't mean to single out Koch, a pioneer in our craft and business. Indeed there appear to be quite a few brewers and beer lovers evincing an unseemly envy of wine and spirits. There's a puerile braggadocio: mine is bigger, hoppier, stronger than yours.

Not to mention pricier: blogger Alan McLeod's take on that, including to a blizzard of readers' comments.

So, maybe it's time for a latter day Samuel Adams to lead a new Boston Tea party. If I want whisk(e)y, I'll drink whisk(e)y. If I want wine, I'll drink wine. But those wine barrels and spirit casks, in our fermentation rooms? Dump them overboard! Let's get back to the democratic, non-elitist, incredible pleasures of good ol' beer.

Koch's best line in the piece: "It's not rocket science, but it is 'grain surgery.' "

In other news, Boston Beer Company's stock lost 25% of its value yesterday.

1 comment:

  1. I had a taste of it recently and it is fabulous!

    ReplyDelete

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