Samuel Adams Brewhouse

[DonRocks]

You have an hour until your flight leaves, and you see it.

"Oh, man! Finally! REAL beer in an airport!"

Seeing that homey picture of Samuel Adams in his little wig just conjures up notions of colonial purity, of farm-fresh eggs, of a guy "hand-crafting" his own beer back before the days of mass production.

Microbrew!

And now I'd like you to get a stock quote on ticker symbol SAM, and you'll see that the Boston Beer Company has a market cap of over $300 million.

The last flight I took from Dulles Airport I made the mistake of spending some time at the Samuel Adams Whorehouse there. The first beer I had came from the tap, and it was so clearly damaged that I apologetically sent it back. Ever left a beer out in an open glass for two days and then taken a whiff only to detect rotting and fecal aromas? That's what this smelled like - round two was a Summer Ale from the bottle, which was also amazingly bad, not just bad, but really really bad. I finished it like I would have finished a pan of dishwater, but then looked down at the "best drunk by" date and it had expired by several months - several months!

The food at this place? Don't even go there... let's just say TGIF is a much better dining option, and I'm not kidding. It's simply not edible.

Samuel Adams has gone the way of Starbucks: it sold out long ago, and much of it tastes like mass-produced swill, and that's when it hasn't been damaged by improper handling.

Don't be fooled by marketing,

Rocks.

[Busboy]

I've always found the beer at the airport Sam Adams places drinkable, but the food inedible.

Better bet at Dulles is the Vintage Virginia Wine Bars, or whatever the hell they call them. It's not like it would be if say, Beaune International Airport offered up an array of the local products by the glass, but it's not mass-produced, foul-tasting generic swill, either. Pretty drinkable, in fact, and they usually offer a variety of wines.

Also, don't they have a non-Sammy micropub at Dulles?

Edited September 15, 2004 by Busboy (log)

[iamthestretch]

Don't be fooled by marketing,

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You mean the ad where the snotty Euro chick at the Temple of Beer Worship gives the Dartmouth-looking guy an "I'd do you" nod when he skips the 200-page brew menu and goes straight for a Samuel Adams? Next you'll be telling me that naked women actually won't come and wrestle in my back yard even if I do drink Pawtucket Patriot. Leave me some illusions.

[razzar]

This is disappointing. I admit, the last time I was in the Sam Adams place at Dulles was about 5 years ago, but the beer was good and fresh-tasting. Didn't try the food though -- that would only counteract the beer, and I still had to get on the plane.

[hannnah]

There are Old Dominion brewpubs in concourses B and C, as well as unspecified "Brew Pubs" in the Main Terminal and concourse A.

[Minister of Drink]

Samuel Adams has gone the way of Starbucks:  it sold out long ago, and much of it tastes like mass-produced swill, and that's when it hasn't been damaged by improper handling.

Don't be fooled by marketing,

Rocks.

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Sorry you had to go through that. It was much better 5 years ago when John W. and yours truly needed a beer at 8:00 am prior to boarding (yes, they were open!).

Instead of Samuel Adams, you should try a Samuel Jackson:

http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/chap...l?startIndex=25

Edited September 15, 2004 by Minister of Drink (log)

[chengb02]

I have had similar experiences as busboy, decent beer, bad food at the ones in Logan and Dulles. If I were at National, I would instead go to Legal Seafood, unless stuck in the old terminal, ugh!

[FunJohnny]

There are Old Dominion brewpubs in concourses B and C, as well as unspecified "Brew Pubs" in the Main Terminal and concourse A.

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Yeah -- when I had to kill some time before putting my daughter on a plane to Boston last month, since I don't drink beer, I had a glass of wine at one of these establishments -- $9 for a-glass-o-swill. Talk about taking advantage of a captive audience....

[mnebergall]

Bad or expired beer is primarily the fault of the distributor. They should monitor for expired beer and rotate stock. In my youth, I worked for a beer distributor.

[GG Mora]

I can't believe there are people out there who can actually afford to drink in airports.

[Minister of Drink]

I can't believe there are people out there who can actually afford to drink in airports. 

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Given the time many people spend in airports due to delays, security, etc..., drinking there is where it's at, save for Crapuel Adams of course. Cheers and safe travels!

Edited September 15, 2004 by Minister of Drink (log)

[mnebergall]

Just so I understand, this thread is about the Sam Adams establishment at Dulles and should not be characterized as a slam on Sam Adams's beer in general?

[JPW]

Just so I understand, this thread is about the Sam Adams establishment at Dulles and should not be characterized as a slam on Sam Adams's beer in general?

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Perhaps partially.

IMO, Sam has gone downhill since it started going national. Same thing with Pete's (which is a real disappointment because I loved it when I first tried it in '93).

THe larger issue, though is the airport "pubs". It would not surprise me to find out that the smegma in their lines is as old as the beer is. Dirty lines=bad beer.

[hillvalley]

This why I stick to Jack and Coke, expecially on my way home

[Chef Shogun]

This why I stick to Jack and Coke, expecially on my way home

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I don't know, I like the Sam Adam's Seasonal lineup (With regard to 'the beer itself' aspect of the thread, as opposed to the brewpub, which I've never been to and indeed didn't know about until this thread)! As long as you don't get a bad bottle, which happens occasionally, they're pretty tasty, and generally availible as a happy hour special (Thursdays at Froggy!), so they're relatively cost-effective. Picked up the first Oktoberfest of the season the other night! Was non-trivially exciting!

Edited September 16, 2004 by Chef Shogun (log)