What's On Tap – Samuel Adams Newsletter September 2007

Alright, buckle up everyone. We are heading into a couple of really fun months to finish off 2007 and we are going to have some great things going on. Just a little heads up.

Now. What’s On Tap for September?

We are only a few days away from the 7th Annual Samuel Adams® OctoberFest! We’re rolling out the barrels, throwing the brats on the grill and warming up the oompah band. And we will be serving an amazing variety of Samuel Adams® brews, just for you. I actually can’t think of an event where we have served a wider variety of our beer. It’s going to be great! (details below.)

While that is going on, we are releasing Samuel Adams® Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. Not released since 2005, this amazing pilsner is taking hops to a whole new level (see below). After that, the Bavarian Hop Harvest is upon us and we are celebrating it with an Open House dedicated to our Bavarian Noble Hops.

Also On Tap this month…we are announcing the next homebrew competition, the Patriot Homebrew Contest. Plus, you can try my own OctoberFest recipe…

Have a great month everyone and hope to see you at OctoberFest!

Cheers!

– Brian

So, have I mentioned this OctoberFest thing we are doing? I think I have. But let me mention it one more time just in case.

7th Annual Samuel Adams OctoberFest
September 14th & 15th
The Castle at Park Plaza This celebration is not only going to be a great OctoberFest celebration but also a celebration of beer. Last month, I told you that we were going to have 14 styles of beer available. I apologize, but that was wrong.We will be serving 16 STYLES OF BEER. And here they are…

Whoa…this is going to be one hell of a time. And you can enjoy almost all of them in your own authentic Samuel Adams OctoberFest stein (certainly not Samuel Adams Utopias – 2oz samples only.) The Weiss Beer is being brewed specifically for this event and won’t be available anywhere else!

Our friends at the Beer Summit are helping us pull this celebration together and it looks like it is going to be the best one we have ever done. Authentic German food and music, stein hoisting contests, great prizes and most importantly…quality, flavorful beer!

So, mark the date, grab some friends and get your tickets. Saturday tickets are $15 and that includes a Samuel Adams OctoberFest stein and your first beer. Friday night is a VIP night – costs a little more, but definitely worth it.

For tickets and more information, visit the Beer Summit website or our

Samuel Adams website. We received a big rush for tickets after last month’s WOT, so get yours early.

• What: 7th Annual Samuel Adams OctoberFest
• When: Saturday, September 15th – Noon to 10pm
  (VIP Night on Friday the 14th)
• Where: The Castle at Park Plaza

As I am sure you know, we love our hops around here. And Jim and our brewers have a certain obsession for our Bavarian Noble hops, specifically the Hallertau Mittelfrueh variety, prized for its unique flavor and aroma. It is the soul of our

Samuel Adams Boston Lager. In 2005, we released Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner 2005 Harvest, a beer that showcased the Hallertau Mittelfrueh hop. It was a truly amazing beer that took these hops to another level.

Well, I am pleased to announce that we are putting these hops on a pedestal again with Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. This one-of-a-kind brew uses enormous, almost reckless, quantities of Noble Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops from the Bavarian region in Germany, 12 pounds per barrel to be exact, which give the beer an unmatched flavor dimension and complexity. To put that in perspective, a barrel of

Samuel Adams Boston Lager contains about 1 pound of hops and ordinary beers contain about an ounce and a half. So that’s about a hundred times the hops of an

ordinary beer!

This is a seriously hoppy beer, but very different from other “hop-bombs” you may have tried. The Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops are coveted for their aroma and unique flavor, making Hallertau Imperial Pilsner incredibly fragrant and “hoppy”, but not too bitter. For all the hops thrown into this beer, it is amazingly balanced.

This is one of the most unique beers we make and I am thrilled it is back! Enjoy it… because who knows when we will do this one again.

Imagine going to a pro football game and being able to drink your own homebrew? Pretty nice, right? Well, we thought so too. (Since I am a HUGE football fan, I think this is one of the coolest things we have ever done.)

I am happy to announce the Samuel Adams® Patriot Homebrew Contest. You brew your own beer and send it to us. Jim and the brewers judge the entries. The winner will have their beer brewed here at the Samuel Adams® Boston Brewery and served at Gillette Stadium(TM) for the 2008 Football Season.

Click below to see the commercial. You might even recognize someone in there…

So, like Steve and Andre said, go to the website for all the contest details and get brewing! The link is right on the front page.

After a year of watching our Bavarian Noble hops grow, we are about ready for harvest! Christian has checked in one last time with his hop report. The next time we will hear from him is when we are in Bavaria for the Hop Selection. Take a look at some of the latest images.

From Christian:

All cones have reached the final size. 50 to 70% of the cones are ready. Because of the rainy weather the degree of ripeness goes forward slowly. Many farmers have rescheduled start of harvest some days. But within the next week most of the growers will start the picking. There are some cones with wind damages on the vine.

All in all, the harvest is looking like it will be better than last year’s, but we won’t truly be able to tell until we get over there. We’ll keep you posted after the harvest!

In honor of the upcoming Hop Harvest and the release of Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner – we are dedicating September’s Open House to the Bavarian Noble Hop.We’ll talk to you about why we use Bavarian Noble Hops, what we like about them and what they contribute to our beers. We’ll have Hallertau Imperial Pilsner ON TAP, which can only be found in limited areas and here at the Brewery. Plus some food pairings for this amazing beer.

RSVP HERE. It will be a very fun night and you will go home with a much better understanding of hops.

• What: Samuel Adams® Open House –
  Hop Harvest
• When: Thursday, September 27th – 5pm to 8pm
• Where: Samuel Adams® Boston Brewery
  30 Germania StreetMBTA Orange Line to Stony Brook Station