Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Jim Koch has also compared Boston Lager to a Czech pilsner in a 1996 London Independent article, A 'dumb' idea that paid off:

...even though his brewery's website lists Boston Lager as an Amber Lager of the Vienna style:


If Koch is to believed, Boston Lager's recipe is a tweaked version of his great-great grandfather Louis Koch's beer. Vienna style lagers, typically called "Wiener Beer", was a common part of many lager brewers' portfolio in the pre-Pro era, as well as the immediate post-Repeal era to a much lesser extent. So, SABL is not so much a modern American take on Vienna Lager but a revival of a pre-Pro US Wiener/Vienna beer.

I don't know what malt(s) a pre-Pro US brewer would have used for their Vienna beer, but in 1934 Rahr Malting recommended these specialty malts to make a US Vienna beer (quantities per barrel):

 

Ill have a Samuel Jackson.

 

As usual, very informative.

I look at Boston Lager the same way I do Anchor's California Lager, which is an "American pale lager." They both use American 2-row in their malt bill, and while Anchor uses cluster hops, Boston Lager happens to be using German hops. But still, if California Lager were trying to be say, a pilsner, I would think pils malt would be in there somewhere. And if Boston Lager were trying to be a Vienna lager, I would think German malts would be used as well (Vienna or Munich). They're both American lagers, much like American IPAs differentiated themselves from English IPAs initially by using American "C-hops".

Many German styles get their trademark flavor(s) from the malts and the skill used in brewing with these malts. Using American 2-row and caramel malts exclusively in a Marzen for example would turn the style into a shadow of itself.

 

I too am a big fan of Boston Lager. Actually have several cans in my fridge as we speak. Whenever I have one I always question why I don't have them more often.

 

They also brew the only tasty "light" beer I have had, and given the chance to have that of say Michelob ultra I go for the Sam.

 

Actually, we all may have spoken too soon. @jesskidden 's post brought some real clarity to this issue, but it does beg the question: if these beers that have been foundational to the 'craft beer era' are really Pre-Pro US Vienna Lagers (two of which were designed by Joseph Oreskes, since I'm also thinking of New Amsterdam) why isn't this a more recognized style? From the description, that's the perfect way to describe them.

 

Try Founder's All Day. I'm not a fan of "light" beers, and Michelob would not even be a consideration.

 

Agreed, Michelob would not be considered, yet I have not seen "All day" as of yet, although I just looked it up being a lover of Founders products. That said, it IS an IPA and not to the wider palate of most "commercial" drinkers. Would love to try "All Day IPA", yet it seems the brewing world Loooovesss to slam our heads about with hops, hops, and more hops. If I would not care about getting a bad case of "brewers droop" from excessive hop intake I would head for the Sam I would think. Cool tick on a new brew though......this world of brew which I have been indulging in since...well....young....just gets bigger and bigger and personally I would thank Sam's for making it more mainstream than even Anchor could accomplish.

Cheers!

 

It's definitely a go-to when the picken's are slim. Wouldn't turn it down if offered either.

 

I'm a fan of Boston Lager, though it's the kind of beer that's so ubiquitous it's easy to get sick of. It's a great safe option for gatherings to, as it's acceptable to almost everyone. I bought a sixer a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it but don't buy it very often, mostly because I know I'm probably going to end up having lots of it anyway.

 

I never order SABL in my homebase (Chicago), but I did visit Boston once, and after taking a tour of Fenway, I went to a bar in the neighborhood, ordered a SABL, and enjoyed it thoroughly. For me, I think its a location thing... there are too many other options available to me that trump SABL, but when in Rome, it hit the spot.

 

FYI everyone. My girlfriend reps for Boston Beer Co and she unfortunately informed me a few months ago that Black Lager is discontinued. But swing by the TD Garden for a "Black and Gold Brew"(hint hint).

 

Oh well, there goes the twelve-pack idea...

 

It would be interesting to know when caramel malts were first produced and used in lager beer brewing, either in Germany, Austria-Hungary or the US. In mid-19th century German books on brewing they talk about kilning the malt at different temperatures in order to get differently colored malts. Most of those books recommend using a lighter kilned malt for the majority of the malt and using a small amount of strongly kilned, or roasted, farbmalz (color malt) to get the dark color which might be desired by the public, rather than kilning all of the malt to the same dark color. This they said was more beneficial since it took advantage of the extract content of the pale malt and the coloring properties of the color malt.

Others argued that the same caramel flavor could not be achieved by substituting dark malt with pale and coloring malt, instead a burnt flavor was achieved.

In a book on Bavarian brewing from 1929 (Münchener bierchronik aus urkundlichen quellen) pages 102-103 there's an advertisement/presentation for the Münchener Export-Malzfabrik (founded in 1901) where it says "at the pinnacle of technical accomplishment stands also the roasting facility, in which farb and karamelmalz (color and caramel malt) is produced in large roasting drums which each contain 7 centner". It then lists some products that they produce: "Münchener farbmalz marke "schwarzquell", "Münchener karamelmalz marke "süssquell", "Pilsener karamelmalz marke "urborn". So farbmalz for dark color, karamelmalz for sweetness.

On Weyermann's website talking about their history they mention that in 1887 plans were drawn up for a farbmalzbrennerei (I take brennerei to mean roaster in this context) and the subsequent construction of a spezialmalzfabrik in 1888, a roaster (brennerei) and with it the production of farb and karamelmalz.



In both cases caramel malt is thus connected with the production of coloring malt, both of which is produced in a roasting drum/roaster, as opposed to a regular kiln. I'm wondering if caramel malt was a natural development/off-shoot from the production of farbmalz in roasting drums.

 

Quick question...how do you know all this shit?!

 

@Crusader asked: "It would be interesting to know when caramel malts were first produced and used in lager beer brewing, either in Germany, Austria-Hungary or the US."

Maybe Ron (@patto1ro ) has some input here?

Cheers!

 

According to maltster French and Jupp crystallised malt, or crystal malt, first appeared in the 1860s. According to an article on Briess's website, crystal malt first appeared around the 1880s. Both seem to describe crystal malt, or caramel malt, as a product which developed from the roasting process that was used to produce coloring malt.

 

Too much malt at first