Samuel Adams Unveils the Samuel Adams Boston Lager(R) Pint Glass, the First Glass of Its Kind, Elevating the Craft Beer Tasting Experience

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® Pint Glass is the first glass specifically designed to showcase the beer as the brewers intended, delivering the optimum full-flavored taste and aroma of Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®. With the Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® Pint Glass, craft beer drinkers now have a glass on par with the high-end glassware wine enthusiasts have enjoyed for decades. The award-winning Samuel Adams^® flagship style led a beer revolution by reviving the passion of American beer lovers for full-bodied American brews that are robust and made with the highest quality ingredients. Just as specific wine glasses enhance the flavor of different fine wines, the Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® Pint Glass raises the bar of the craft beer tasting experience.

“The glass hit all the marks in presenting the truest color, taste, and aroma. The difference in delivery of the malt and hop taste from a typical pint glass was significant.”

“It’s been a personal passion of mine to develop a beer glass that elevates the craft beer drinking experience” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “We wanted to create a glass that offers beer lovers a full sensory drinking experience by fully showcasing Samuel Adams Boston Lager’s complex balance of malt and hop flavors. This glass achieves that mission.”

Samuel Adams employs the highest standards of brewing including a traditional brewing process, the best ingredients, and Jim’s commitment to taste every batch brewed. The same commitment to detail and craftsmanship was used in developing this glass for craft beer enthusiasts.

TIAX, the world-renowned sensory experts, worked closely with Jim to identify and evaluate the functional design features needed in a glass to showcase the key attributes of Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®. The key requirements for the perfect glass for Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® included: delivering sweetness from the malt; maximizing the hops aroma and flavor; maintaining the ideal temperature; supporting a rich and creamy head; and sustaining the right amount of carbonation.

“Our research has demonstrated that the right glassware can make a world of difference in optimizing the consumer's sensory experience with taste, color, and aroma, especially in a complex craft beer like Samuel Adams Boston Lager," said Todd Rhodes, Manager, TIAX Food, Formulation, and Sensory Science Group.

Multiple glassware manufacturers submitted prototypes designed exclusively for Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®. Ultimately, German glassware manufacturer Rastal shaped a glass that best met the criteria developed by TIAX and Samuel Adams. Rastal presented a glass featuring a unique angled lip that delivers the beer to the right points on the drinker’s palate producing the optimal drinking experience. The neck and lip design also helps sustain the head of the beer, which enhances the release of the signature Noble hop aromas found in Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®. To keep the brew at optimum temperature, the designers used a narrower glass base to reduce the impact of heat from the drinker’s hand. A laser etched nucleation site within the glass maintains flavor release during the drinking experience. And finally, the brew’s deep amber color is showcased by the light refracted within the rounded body of the glass.

A panel of beer, wine, and spirits experts, including Randy Mosher, brewing guru and author of “Radical Brewing;” Paul Pacult, editor of “Spirit Journal;” Adams Chase, Boston-based wine educator and connoisseur; and Jim Koch, brewer and official taster of Samuel Adams for 22 years, contributed their knowledge and palates to evaluate various glassware prototypes. The panel ultimately selected this design as the one that best delivers a perfect glass of Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®.

Paul Pacult said, “The taste of the beer in this glass is much more lively, complex and balanced with a malty sweetness and true expression of the hops than you would experience from a normal pint glass. The glass merges style and function, truly elevating craft beer drinking to a new level.”

Randy Mosher commented, “The glass hit all the marks in presenting the truest color, taste, and aroma. The difference in delivery of the malt and hop taste from a typical pint glass was significant.”

The Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® Pint Glass is now available in select restaurants and bars. Beginning in March, four-packs of the glassware will be available for purchase for $30 at www.samueladams.com.

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY BACKGROUND:

The Boston Beer Company is America’s leading brewer of handcrafted, full-flavored beer. Founder and brewer Jim Koch brews Samuel Adams^® beers using the time-honored, traditional four-vessel brewing process and the world’s finest, all-natural ingredients. With over 18 distinctive, award-winning styles of beer, Samuel Adams offers discerning beer drinkers a variety of brews. The brewery has won more awards in international beer-tasting competitions in the last five years than any other brewery in the world. Samuel Adams is an independent brewery and has half a percent of the domestic beer market. Forbes magazine named The Boston Beer Company in its annual list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies in 2006. The company’s flagship brand, Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®, is brewed using the same recipe and processes that Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather used in the mid-1800s. The result is a beer renowned by drinkers for its full flavor, balance, complexity, and consistent quality. For more information, visit www.samueladams.com.