So, yesterday, as is often the case, we were engrossed in another of our beer debates… This time an acquaintance was with us who, although enthusiastic about beer, was new to our more “formal” beer sessions. And he posed an interesting, if not altogether different, question for the group: “What”, he asked, “is the most IMPORTANT beer?”

“Important? –What do you mean, important?” I asked. He didn’t have much else to say but it got us to thinking… We’ve debated so often the quality, taste, aroma, etc. of beers from all over the world but not until yesterday did this question to come to the table – Important?

 Well… After a great deal of thought I’ve got an answer! Now, it should be noted that I’ve fine tuned the question a bit, rendering it specific to modern times – no need opening up the debate to the first of this or the historical something-something of that (all worthy topics in and of themselves). Simply, the most important beer of, say, the last 50 years. With that in mind, the answer is: “The most important beer of the last 50 years is Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager.” Now before everyone starts throwing bottles at me, and arguing their side, hear me out…

The Why: Let’s not forget that the Big Three – Bud, Miller and Coors – have had (and still do) a strangle hold on the American beer market for years and years and years. The truth is that up until 15 years ago, you were hard pressed to go to a bar/lounge/and certainly a restaurant and find much else on the menu beyond the Big Three. Then came the push from Samuel Adams. Starting out as a micro-brew, slowly, slowly, they were able to position their beer in more and more mainstream locations – not just beer joints, but cocktail lounges and restaurants. They were, regardless of what you might think of the brew, masters of marketing in those early years of the push (late 80’s and through the 90’s) and the Boston Lager was and still is tasty enough to appeal to those of us “in the know” but not so different as to turn off the first time drinker of anything other than the Big Three. This, I contend, was the turning point. By kicking the door open and creating an alternative in the minds of the American masses, they enabled the hidden army of micro-brewers, craft beer men and women, and even those of us that brew a couple gallons at a time in our storage closets, to come storming out of the shadows and make our voices heard and our presence felt. Onward beer soldiers!

 Whether you like Boston Lager or not, we all owe Sam Adams a BIG Thank You!

 As posted on Sam Adams web page: “The Noble hop varieties of Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger add a wide range of floral, piney and citrus notes, which are present from the aroma, through the taste, and all the way to the lingering smooth finish.”

As it turns out, both varieties are in our beer and hop appreciation kit.

 Don’t just drink your beer, Taste Your Beer!

-C.