Sam Adams Winter Classics

Thank god the Cranberry Lambic is gonzo from the pack !

 

I picked up a 12 pack today at Kroger in Charleston WV. The only problem, it was 78 degrees outside. It might be a while before I crack these open.

 

Say what you will about Sam...the Winter Classics 12 pack is the 12 pack I look forward to all year. I would buy it just for Old Fezziwig & Holiday Porter.

 

I have seen Fezzi on tap once at the Pour House in Boston.

 

I recently cracked open the last Chocolate Bock. It was totally accidental, but I don't waste beer, so I drank it. Needed to follow it up with something else, though, just to get the taste out of my mouth. I enjoyed the first one I had, last January, but tired of them by the second. I will miss the Black and Brew. A winter selection needs a stout. A couple of stouts, actually.

 

Disagree. Would happily buy a mixed sixer of just Chocolate Bock, Holiday Porter and Old Fezziwig.

 

They should just release 6's of Old Fezziwig, a brewery this size should realize this is what people want.

 

It might be possible. Wasn't Noble Pils a seasonal beer originally? Plus, their Harvest Pumpkin was only in the seasonal packs until this year. So we might see one of the winter seasonals in sixers at some point...

 

I was just browsing SA's Facebook page, and it looks like Infinium won't be done again this year.

 

I just saw some White Ale and Winter Lager 6ers, perhaps these are the winter seasonal 6 packs this year? I don't know what that does for the chances of getting Old Fez in 6's.

 

At this point they should conceded defeat and let this drift away into the public memory a la Triple Bock. Particularly if they bring it back in a few years only good this time, a la Millenium/Utopias.

 

What the heck, no Black & Brew? One of my favorite beers they ever brewed. Why the heck do they put their standard Sam Adams Lager in the Winter variety pack? No year round beers should be in a seasonal variety pack.

Out of all the beers that could replace Black & Brew they chose a heavily spiced Witbier. LAME!!!

 

Love this pack, but I'd rather have Cranberry Lambic over White Christmas every time. I dig Chocolate Bock and am glad to see it return. It's better than it was back in those weird metal labeled bombers.
They've mastered having 5 of the 6 beers being good. I wish Boston Beer would stop trying to force witbiers upon us. Maybe give us the Imperial Pils as that 6th bottle instead.

 

I emailed them...asked them to leave out the Boston Lager from the sampler packs. They are convinced that it is better market strategy to keep the BL in there. I answered back that there are probably more loyal Boston Beer Co. fans who would gladly buy more seasonals that DID NOT include SABL than there are curious "newbees" who need exposure to BL in those sampler packs to become regular Boston Beer drinkers.
Bottom line is they most likely do their homework with market research and what I would like to see from them isn't what the "mainstream" wants based on their research.

 

I love that Boston Lager is in all of those packs, and that strategy makes me go out and buy more of it more often than not because it's easy to forget how good it actually is sometimes.

In terms of why they're doing it - I think a lot of multi-pack purchases are geared at random buyers, gatherings, and people "testing the waters" with a variety pack. Boston Lager is a pretty safe bottle usually packed in among beers spiced with random ingredients, malt bombs, and a variety of darker brews. For things like BBQs and family gatherings, Boston Lager is something anyone can turn to.

 

Would you be less apt to purchase a seasonal 12 pack if Boston Lager was not included..?

 

Depends on what's in the pack. I'd take Boston Lager over about 2/3 of what Sam Adams makes. The Spring and Summer packs are notoriously hit or miss. If they replaced Boston Lager with another wheat beer or some half hearted take on a Belgian I might avoid that pack if BL wasn't in it. If I was headed to a BBQ, I'd probably lean toward a 12'er of BL but if the variety pack had some appealing items, I might go there instead. At the very least, I know 2/12 of the beers will be good.
Plus, I'm a beer geek. Think about those just getting into craft beer or looking to branch outside a little.

 

I completely agree and think it's a good marketing strategy on their part.

I do wish they would expose more people to the Boston Ale at least once in a while, though.

 

I'm with you 100%. We should get a group of people together to email them about this. I was excited for black & brew and now I find out I won't get it.

 

Yes, I'd rather see Black & Brew in the winter pack instead of BL. My email to them was something like "case #XX,XXX" for 2012...so they have a guy there who enjoys "talking beer" with the public.
The only way [in this area] for me to buy Noble Pils is if I buy a mixed 12 pack that has 3 [gawdawful] wheat beers in it........
so, they lose 100% of my business during those months. I doubt that I'm the only "Boston Beer Fan" who fits into this niche where the mixed pack contains a beer that kills the whole deal. What do their "marketeers" learn from reactions like this? Not much.