A few weeks ago, I went on a tour of the Sam Adams factory in Boston.  Here's my review: 
  1. It's not in Boston.  Well, it is, sorta.  It's in the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, which, like all things in Boston, isn't really "in" Boston.
  2. Their beer isn't commercially brewed in Boston.  Sam Adams is brewed and bottled in factories in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  The "factory" in "Boston" is actually more of a test lab where they make small batches of experimental beers and invite people in for tours.
  3. Our tour guide was an evangelist for Sam Adams beer.  She told us all about the high-quality ingredients, the tightly-controlled processes, and the countless awards won.  By the end of the tour, I was ready to invest my life savings in their company.
  4. During the tour, they passed around little samples of barley and hops for us to smell and taste.  Barley tastes like Grape Nuts cereal (dry, bland, gritty), and hops smell like sweaty feet.
  5. The tour ended in the sampling room, where several pitchers were passed around to visitors seated at long tables.  We were given pitchers of regular, Octoberfest, and pumpkin, which is an experimental flavor and as such isn't yet available commercially.  We were told how to properly taste beer, allowing certain parts of our tongue to pick up on certain flavors.
  6. I don't really like regular Sam Adams beer.  I'd like to like it, probably because of their attractive advertising and effective evangelism, but I just don't.  It's probably something I could develop a taste for, but it's hard to develop a taste for something if you just don't like it.  However, I was a fan of the Octoberfest and the pumpkin.
  7. This was all free.  Plus we were all given a little branded sampling glass as a souvenir.  Cha-ching!
  8. At the entrance to the factory, a few local guys set up a sandwich stand.  I don't know if there's anything better in all the world than a free tour, free beer, and a $5 pulled pork sandwich.
Despite not entirely liking the beer, I would totally do this again. #food