E-Malt.com News article: USA: Samuel Adams celebrates 2006 hops harvest with the famous Samuel Adams Hallertau 24

The brewers at Samuel Adams are celebrating the 2006 fall hops harvest and toasting to the marvels of the jet age with the rarest beer they’ve ever created: Samuel Adams Hallertau 24, the company’s press room released January 16. The jet-set hops in this exclusive Bohemian-style Pilsner were harvested and kilned starting at midnight in Germany, flown as fresh whole hops from Bavaria to Boston and then used in a unique brew at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, all within 24 hours of being on the vine.

Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams beer, has travelled every autumn for the last twenty years to one of the oldest hops growing regions of the world, the Hallertau region of Bavaria in Germany, to hand-select Noble hops. When Jim and the other Samuel Adams brewers were in Bavaria for their annual hops selection in 2005, the crop was so great that they wished they could start brewing with it right away. That wish turned into a plan, and in October 2006, that plan turned into the Samuel Adams Hallertau 24 beer.

“It’s exciting to be able to experiment and create new, distinct brews like Hallertau 24. This small batch of beer, almost as limited as the first batch of Samuel Adams, brewed in my kitchen back in 1984, is the Beaujolais Nouveau of beers,” said Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams beer. “Beer lovers will experience the taste of this year’s hop harvest right off the vine, and how the freshness of the Noble hops can enhance the flavor and intensity of a beer.”

With a complex schedule of interlocking steps, the brewers were determined to beat the clock and get the hop from vine to beer in 24 hours. Before sunrise on August 23rd, almost one thousand pounds of hops had been harvested and then kiln dried at Stanglmairs Farms in Bavaria. Next, the hops were baled and driven to the Munich airport, arriving before the airport opened and then flown to Boston. At 2:00 p.m. Boston time, just as the hops were clearing customs in Boston, the kettles were being fired up at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston, and when Jim signed for the delivery at 5:15 p.m., the wort was ready to receive the freshest of hops. The timing was perfect; with 45 minutes to spare. Two weeks later the brewers dry hopped, adding even more fresh Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops to the liquid.

Stefan Stanglmair said his neighbors in Germany were very curious about the goings on at the farm and said, "What a crazy hop family, the Stanglmair´s! They even run the hop harvest during the night! This must be something special or secretive if they do the harvesting, picking and kilning during the night!"

Samuel Adams Hallertau 24, brewed using proprietary lager yeast and German pilsner malt, a limited beer with only 550 gallons brewed and available exclusively at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. In fact, in order not to waste a drop, it wasn’t put in kegs but is poured directly from the aging tank into pitchers for the freshest of tastes.

The Boston Beer Company background:

The Boston Beer Company is America’s leading brewer of handcrafted, full-flavoured beer. Founder and brewer Jim Koch brews Samuel Adams beers using the time-honoured, traditional four-vessel brewing process and the worlds finest, all-natural ingredients. With over 18 distinctive, award-winning styles of beer, Samuel Adams offers discerning beer drinkers a variety of brews. The brewery has won more awards in international beer-tasting competitions in the last five years than any other brewery in the world. Samuel Adams, is an independent brewery and has half a percent of the domestic beer market. Forbes magazine named The Boston Beer Company to its annual list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies in 2006. The company’s flagship brand, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, is brewed using the same recipe and processes that Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather used in the mid-1800s. The result is a beer renowned by drinkers for its full flavor, balance, complexity, and consistent quality..


19 January, 2007