Samuel Adams brewery tour gets national nod. Did Adams himself even brew beer?

Sam Adams beer has gained a loyal audience over the last 40 years, and now the Boston-based brewery has made in onto the Top 10 list of best brewery tours in the country.

USA Today's Readers' Choice Awards for 2024 includes a number of beer-related categories, including best beer bars, gardens and festivals and best new breweries and labels, with Weymouth's Vitamin Sea Brewing making the latter list.

The Samuel Adams Boston Brewery came in 10th on the list of the best tours, with Tröegs Independent Brewing in Hershey, Pennsylvania, taking top honors.

Samuel Adams Brewery has tours 7 days a week

The company offers several variations of its brewery tours, with options lasting from 30 minutes for the VIP tour to an hour for private tours. Tour prices range from $10 to $45, excluding group rates, which vary according to group size.

The "Sam Signature Tour" is the least expensive of the tours at $10. The 45-minute tour offers a chance for guests to learn about the brewing process and the company's research and development programs. The tour of the brewhouse includes a tasting. Supervised people younger than 21 are allowed on this tour and don't need tickets.

Other tours include "Beyond the Brewhouse," "Keller Crafted: Artisan Beer and Cheese Experience," "VIP Pass Experience" and the private tours.

The tours fill up quickly, according to the company, and can be booked online.

Why did the founder name his company's signature brew after Adams?

According to the Samuel Adams website, CEO Jim Koch, who founded the Boston Beer Co. in 1984, named his beer after the Founding Father "because he shared a similar spirit in leading the fight for independence and the opportunity for all Americans to pursue happiness and follow their dreams."

Koch's family had been in the brewing business for 150 years. Jim Koch broke with that tradition when he left for college.

After college and graduate school, Koch began a career in management consulting, according to the company's website. Koch opened the craft beer company in 1984.

Where did the original Samuel Adams recipe come from?

The first batch of Sam Adams Lager, brewed in Jim Koch's kitchen, used the recipe his great-great-grandfather Louis Koch created.

Did the real Sam Adams brew beer?

Adams was more a maltster than a brewer, according to History.com and other sources. Maltsters prepare and process barley for use in beer-making.

Adams joined his father's malting business around the mid-1700s after a series of bad financial decisions and failed business ventures.

"Within years of inheriting his father’s malt house, the business was bankrupt and the building itself began to crumble," History.com said.

Adams was much more likely a beer consumer than a brewer, since his pre-revolutionary group, the Sons of Liberty, often met in taverns, according to Wikipedia.

Where is the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery?

The brewery is at 30 Germania St. in Jamaica Plain. The parking lot is small and street parking is limited. The Orange Line's Stony Brook Station is about a 5-minute walk away.

How did USA Today come up with its rankings?

To determine which breweries offer the best tour experiences, USA Today asked a panel of beer experts to nominate their top brewery tours across the country. From there, readers voted for their favorites.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Samuel Adams Brewery tour named one of best in United States