Guide Note

Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company) is America's largest microbrewer. Sam Adams produces more than 25 varieties of craft-brewed beers. Annually, it sells more than 1.3 million barrels of lager, ales, cider and malt beverages.

Fast Facts

1. Location: Boston, Massachusetts
2. Publicly traded
3. Opened: 1985
4. Produces 159,358,000 liters per year
5. 2006 Sales: $285.4 Million
6. Is the 6th largest brewery in the United States
7. Market share is ½ of 1% of the U.S. beer market
8. NYSE ticker Symbol: SAM

The Boston Beer Company was forced to issue a recall in April 2008. It was the first recall in the company's history. Defects were found in bottles manufactured by a third-party supplier. The Boston Beer Company issued a statement that they believed less than one percent of the supplier's bottles may have contained small pieces of glass. For safety reasons, a recall was instated. While there were no injuries reported from bottles containing glass, company shares fell 3 percent because of the incident.