The Boston Beer Company history

Boston Lager soon became a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution, making its public debut in Boston on Patriot's Day in April 1985.

1986: The White House receives its first Samuel Adams delivery.

Asimov, Eric, “Beer from Boston Brewery Makes Its Way to New York,” Wall Street Journal, June 24, 1987.

1988: Boston Beer starts brewing in its Jamaica Plain brewery in Boston.

Boston Beer has been among only a handful of brewers to print encoded freshness dates on their products so that they can be evaluated by consumers, a practice they initiated in 1989.

1990: The company begins brewing at the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, in Portland, Oregon.

Distribution increased in 1992, when California’s Pacific Wine Co. agreed to distribute Boston Beer products on the West Coast.

Samuel Adams was served at each of the social balls and dinners that accompanied President Clinton's ascension to the presidency in 1993.

Triple Bock, first introduced in 1994, is a dark, sherry-like barley beer that is aged in oak casks.

In 1995, The Boston Beer Company, Inc. went public, selling shares of Class A Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SAM. Today, Boston Beer employs more than 2,500 individuals who are as equally passionate as Jim when it comes to rich, full-flavored beer.

In retaliation, in March 1996 Boston Beer petitioned the BATF to request “full disclosure” on all beer labels.

Also in 1997, HardCore Cider Company, an affiliate of Boston Beer, launched HardCore Crisp Hard Cider and HardCore Apple Cranberry Cider in 11 cities nationwide.

In February 1998, Koch predicted on CNN that the next few years would be difficult for the smaller craft brewers.

1999, Pabst Brewing Company assured Boston Beer that it would continue Boston's brewing contract with Stroh upon completion of the proposed sale of Stroh brands and brewing assets to Pabst.

The company posted an 8 percent volume increase in the first quarter of 2000.

2001: President Martin Roper is named CEO, succeeding Koch, who remains chairman.

By January 2002, after test-market success, Samuel Adams Light arrived in New England bars and restaurants, and would land in stores that March.

In 2007, Samuel Adams unveiled the Samuel Adams Boston Lager Pint Glass, which Jim says is the first glass specifically designed to showcase Boston Lager as the brewers intended.

Then, in June of 2008, The Boston Beer Company took ownership of a world-class brewery with a distinguished history of brewing great beers, located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.

In 2010, Jim continued to push the envelope in brewing with the release of Infinium, the culmination of a two-year collaboration between Samuel Adams and Germany’s Weihenstephan Brewery.

In 2011, Samuel Adams created the first “craft beer incubator” through a subsidiary company, A&S Brewing, which seeks to research and discover exceptional beer styles (styles that exist, used to exist and don’t yet exist) and make them available to craft beer drinkers.

Samuel Adams collaborated with Berkshire Mountain Distilling to begin distilling two beers in 2012, Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Samuel Adams Cinder Bock, into two never-before tasted whiskies, further pushing the envelope of beverage innovation.

Samuel Adams announced in February 2013 that for the first time Samuel Adams Boston Lager would be offered in the new Sam Can.

In 2014, Boston Beer again expanded the program, making an additional philanthropic investment of $1 million to support small business owners through speed coaching events in more cities and additional microloans.

Berkshire Mountain Distiller began selling the whiskies through its distribution network in late 2016.