As some of you may have heard, today we announced an exciting collaboration with Berkshire Mountain Distillers to distill two of our brews into two completely new spirits. Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Cinder Bock will be transformed to create a unique spirit taste (more on that below). For those not familiar with BMD, they are the first legal distillery in Massachusetts since prohibition and a pioneer in the craft distillery movement.

Chris Weld, BMD’s founder, came to us with an idea of distilling beer and we started tossing around ideas while sampling several of our beers and some of his distilled products from trial distillations before deciding to use Boston Lager and Cinder Bock for this project. From our first meeting it was clear that Chris carries the same passion for his spirits that we have for brewing beer. This looks to be the beginning of a beautiful collaboration.

This follows in the tradition of past unique brewing adventures such as Triple Bock (which lead to Utopias) and Infinium, so we’re excited to explore another uncharted boundary of brewing. We’ve never worked in a distillery and Chris has only briefly experimented with brewing, but we’re all excited about what the possibilities could be. The mutual respect of one another’s craft and the willingness to do something challenging has us excited for the next few years!

The distilled Samuel Adams Boston Lager will be aging in a vintage wooden bourbon barrel, which should create a silky whiskey with a hint of sweet fruit and a touch of bitterness, according to our early test findings. The distilled Samuel Adams Cinder Bock, will age for two years in wooden, oak barrels (some previously used for extreme beer, including our Utopias®), should produce a rich and bold whiskey.
Image: Chris and Jim share a pint at Berkshire Mountain Distillers
This sounds awesome! So when can I sample this “super distilled beer” in my area?! As any whiskey aficionado can tell you, the aging process of whiskey is extremely complex and takes time… a long time, as in two to three years, if not longer depending on the blend. You remember the old saying good things come to those who wait; well you are in for a worthwhile wait!

We’re energized to see what comes of this collaborative adventure in the next few years! To cross back and forth and bring craft beer and spirits together as one has our brewing team’s minds going in a variety of directions. As we sample the progression of these two evolving spirits, we’ll be sure to keep you posted with updates.