Beer For Breakfast

A couple Saturday's ago Girls’ Pint Out and Beeriety teamed up to offer a private early morning tour of the Sam Adams Brewery. I had always wanted to check out the brewery located in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. A tour put together by local beer advocate groups compliments of the folks at Sam Adams seemed like the perfect excuse to make the trek out to Stony Brook on the Orange Line. It's actually not a trek at all with the orange line running smoothly and the brewery only a short walk from the T stop, I was there in under a half an hour. It was a crisp winter morning, filled with blue skies and slushy streets. Once inside the brewery I snapped some photos of the banners and wall art on display. Soon enough, we embarked on the tour. Down a dimly lit tunnel guided by strands of tiny white lights and our friendly tour guide Katie, we made our way first to the ingredient deck. Here we were introduced to malts, hops, yeast and water, learning about how each contributes to a delicious tasting pint of Sam Adams beer. We were encouraged to get to know these ingredients as Katie passed around plastic cup fulls to smell, touch and even taste. Next Katie lead us into the Barrel Room, a VIP space created to house beers awaiting release and to hold special events and parties. Then onto the brew house, where we learned all about the process of making their beer! From the machinery used, to the fermentation period, to dry hopping, barrel aging, filtrations and everything in between. Founder Jim Koch prides the company on using traditional brewing methods following sound brewing practices to ensure beers of the highest quality. The company also believes in using innovative recipes and ingredients to create exciting new styles of beer. Styles that we were able to sample on the final portion of our tour, which lead us to the tasting room. First and foremost we sampled Boston Lager, the original full flavored quality lager that debuted in April 1985 in 25 Boston bars/restaurants. In other words, the beer that began the company.

With this beer Katie lead us through the tasting and evaluation steps.

1) Appearance: visual appraisal, color, clarity, foam

2) Aroma: gently swirl and inhale

3) Taste: flavor profile, layers, balance

4) Body: overall mouth feel, density, effervescence

5) Finish: lingers or fades, bitter or sweet, final impressions

Next on tap we enjoyed the Winter Lager. The seasonal brew proved robust and spicy with notes of ground cinnamon, orange and ginger. Up third was Brick Red, a beer served only on tap in local Boston establishments. It has a rich caramel flavor, the sweetness from the malts balanced by the earthy characters of the hops.

The fourth pour was an ale exclusive to the tasting room! The Farmhouse Ale was bright and hoppy, a real treat rounding out this breakfast of beer in fine form.

Katie was a knowledgeable and spirited tour guide with a passion for this company overflowing from every word she spoke. I imagine all the employees exude the same enthusiasm for Sam Adams, which makes this Craft Brewery experience a highly enjoyable one. I'll take any excuse to drink Beer for Breakfast; thanks to all the folks involved with GPO and Beeriety for making it happen!