Sam Adams Brewery

Beer Me.
Why is that the funniest phrase in the world? It's so bro-licious. It's truly frat-tastic. All I can think of is Andy Bernard and his fratty Cornell-worshipping shenanigans on the early episodes of "The Office" where he used this phrase often.

I am in a silly mood today and everything (AKA this ridiculous phrase) is making me giggle. Including my recollection of the recent adventure I took with my husband and our dear friends, the Wests, out to the Samuel Adams Brewery. Oh the fun we had.

Map.
The Sam Adams Brewery is located in a suburb of Boston called Jamaica Plain. It's a bit of a hike to get out there (red line to green line to orange line on the MBTA) but it is the perfect tour. Not too educational, but not too fluffy either. Not too stuffy, but not too drunken. And it was the prettiest day. Hence the zillions of forthcoming photos.

Mmm.
We sampled three brews: the Boston Lager (the traditional flagship beverage), the Imperial Pilsner (a truly funky, spicy mix of lemon and nutmeg. Liked it though.) and my personal fave, the Octoberfest (they figured out a way to bottle the season!) So so yummy. And we got to take home our sample glasses. Now that's just classy. Way to go, Sam.

Off-topic: how gorgeous is this man? He gets sick of me photographing him, but he is a pretty good model. AKA he won't look at the camera. Little does he know that his avoidance of me actually makes for the best pics! Ha. I WIN! I like to think that we have a reverse-muse thing going on here, but let's be honest: I am not Woody Allen, and while he does have occasional dramatic fit that is eerily reminiscent of Diane Keaton, I'm not convinced we are dedicated enough to the cool/weirdness-factor of having a reverse-muse dynamic here. Am I making you gag yet? Me too. Moving on.

Moment.

We tasted. We sniffed hops. We munched on barley. We laughed at the wonderful kooky man giving the tour. Stevie attempted a bit of parkour outside the brewery. After this fun experience we headed to America's oldest restaurant, the Union Oyster House. This place is like a pirates den. It is so, so cool. All I ever order is the clam chowder and brewed-especially-for-the-house Sam Adams 375 Colonial, and I always leave ridiculously happy and full. This was a special day, though, because we convinced the hostess to seat us at "The Kennedy Booth", which is apparently where JKF used to sit all the time. It felt meaningful, sitting in the seat where one of America's most famous (and perhaps, infamous) presidents used to sit and quietly eat the same clam chowder we were enjoying. It doesn't matter how you feel about the Kennedy clan, their Camelot or his politics. It was still a neat moment to share with friends and as we dreamed and talked about our future plans. Needless to say, we cheered. With our Sam 375.

Are you a beer-house touring expert? Because I feel like I could really get into this as a professional hobby. What are some of your favorite brewery tours? I enjoyed this experience so much, I wrote an article about it for The Harbus. Check it out!