How to REVIVE craft beer?

It sounds like you are basing this on what you read online. A lot of people who post here (or other sites) are fickle, if it is not new, they don't give a shit.

What is a "true craft beer drinker"? Someone who always chases trendy whales? Or someone who likes beer? The second type would not shit on Sam Adams.

 

Your premise is all wrong

 

I would need a winning lottery ticket in my pocket before I forked over $200 for a bottle of Utopia. Sam Adams has a niche and its a pretty big one and I am very happy to show up at a place like O'Hare and find bars serving Sam Adams. Likewise I can pull off the highway in the middle of nowhere and find some chain restaurant that sells their stuff. Jim Koch doesn't need our love and I don't think his beer is all that bad and it is a damn sight better than BMC.

 

As has been pointed out many times, many of your so called true craft beer drinkers started right there with things like Sam Adams and a lot of folks stayed. I cringe at folks feeling they are also the appointer of the title true craft drinkers. By the way, lager is still the overwhelming biggest beer style sold in the US--perhaps they know a little more about it than you think.

I would suggest SA has been anything but stale of late. IPA is the big craft style so the make one. Is it HT--no and not trying to be. They earned the ire of Tony with Rebel and although maliciously criticized on this site, it is a decent brew and when you slip one in blind on craft nerds, most really give it a solid review. I wouldn't worry about Jim's billion dollar empire--seems to be doing well.

 

Yep, your right, everyone is different, but I find this beer barely a step above BMC. Hard for me to believe a pioneer of craft beer could produce something like Boston Lager.

 

I agree on the focus part, but I don't think they put out too many bad beers.

They make way too many mediocre and forgettable beers.

 

I agree. Their Boston lager is a malty mess.

At this point, Sam Adams is a gateway from BMC to "real" craft. They produce a ton of styles that are very accessible to the BMC crowd, but none are particularly well done.

 

It's by no means an excellent example of the style but it's not a bad beer (IMHO).

 

If I buy a Sam Adams, I am going to expect a sub-par version of the style. Personally, I would have picked other Sam Adams products to criticize rather than the Boston Lager. Have you tried their Kriek?!?!

 

SA Boston Lager was my gateway. Their other offerings just arent good and seem homogeneous in taste. I did however enjoy their Black Harbour BA Stout, could use a year of aging but decent.

 

Tough to be all things to all people.

Do you want to be a SN/Lag/DFH?

Do you want to be a FFF/HT/HF?

Joining the big producers puts one on the outs with some of the in-demand crowd because frankly, not being hard to find suddenly makes one less desirable. Just the way it is--dumb-- but the way it goes.

The other thing is being careful for what you wish. SNPA allows SN to experiment. Do you want to be with the "in-crowd" or "in-business?" Sees like the "in crowd" is a bit fickle and with little allegiance.

Looking at an option to suddenly be more "talked about" would be a focus on an evolving niche. Not likely to pay the bills but could certainly kindle interest. ?sours ?lambic

 

Craft beer is dead. Move along.

 

Nobody will comment on your sophisticated style of purchasing beer if you are seen holding a Sam Adams beer. That may be their biggest issue right now.

 

LOL.
Thats certainly not the problem of the person holding the Sam Adams...it's really the critical snob that has more of a problem.

 

I'm sorry, these threads make me do full out face palms. Sam Adams failing? Boston Lager is a terrible beer? So, they aren't the darlings of the beer advocate world. Big Fn Deal.

 

There are just way too many wrong/bizarre statements in this thread.

 

Sam Adams seems to have both been responding to the beer geek crowd by releasing more barrel aged/limited release stuff while at the same time setting the bev alcohol market on fire with Curious Traveler and Angry Orchard.

I guess the only thing that Sam Adams can do to attract the BA crowd is to use their Alchemy and Science division to make limited release sours and stouts, force drinkers to wait in 3 hour lines for bottles (brewery only of course) and generally insult their customers via twitter? I mean, it's worked out pretty well for some small breweries...

 

Seems like people equate "Brewery X doesn't excite me" with "Brewery X is failing" and/or "Brewery X doesn't put out world class beers every time they brew."

The brewery puts out Utopias, which the "extreme beer crowd" lose their minds' over. They put out Noble Pils and Cream Stout, which the more "traditional style lovers" praise constantly. And they put out Boston Lager, which has saved all of our asses at countless weddings, sporting events, concerts, shitty bars, shitty restaurants, airplanes, trains, etc.