Sam Adams founder and Newton resident Jim Koch was invited to have dinner with President Donald Trump and other business leaders Tuesday evening in Bedminster, NJ.
The Boston Business Journal has posted a transcript here
KOCH: I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I’m like the smallest company by far. I’m Jim Koch, and I started making Sam Adams beer in my kitchen 37 years ago (inaudible) the designated drink. (Applause.) At least I brought the beer. (Laughter.) (Inaudible.) And I guess I’m sort of speaking on behalf of what is now 7,000 small brewers in the United States.
TRUMP: Right.
KOCH: When I started Sam Adams, American beer was a joke, and it pissed me off. And now, American brewers make the best beer in the world. And the tax reform was a very big deal for all of us, because 85 percent of the beer made in the United States is owned by foreign companies.
TRUMP: That’s right.
KOCH: I mean, Americans — I’m the largest American-owned brewery at 2 percent market share. We were paying 38 percent taxes —
TRUMP: Wow. But you’ve done a great job. Great job.
KOCH: — and competing against people who were paying 20. And now we have a level playing field, and we’re going to kick their ass.
TRUMP: Yeah. That’s good. We’ve done that. That was a very unfair situation. That’s right. Good job. That’s a really good job. (Applause.)
KOCH: Thank you. My wife Cynthia —
TRUMP: Hi, Cynthia.
KOCH: — working with the White House on health (inaudible).
TRUMP: That’s right. That’s exactly. Thank you very much. Thank you. Great job.
Who is going to be first to suggest a boycott of sam adams because the founder is able to hire more workers?
3,2,1…
Bugek, your detailed understanding of the long-term economic impact of tax cuts for corporations is phenomenal!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-trillion-dollar-deficits-could-be-the-new-normal-1533380400
Michael,
I take it you are going to protest outside his house, harass his family, boycott in front of his office and harass his employees …..simply because he thanked trump to allow him to invest more into his company?
Its the new playbook right?
Uh, I’m gonna do what, now?
Boycott or not, I personally won’t buy Sam Adams anymore. No kidding. This association creates an unpleasant beforetaste.
Anatoly: Why were you buying Sam Adams before? So many better beers of every type out there. Sam Adams is basically marketing. I haven’t needed to have one in years, there are always better and more tasty options in every city. Pick a city, I’ll tell you a good microbrewery in it.
If you tell me what type of beer you like, I’m happy to give some suggestions. There is a great beer store in Newtonville…
This would make a good thread. Friends don’t let friends drink bad beer (especially when it costs as much as good beer)
fignewtonville, thank you again for your fatherly guidance. Or should I say “motherly”? This time sounds fatherly.
Neither fatherly nor motherly. Just chit-chat. I was occasionally a barkeep in my youth. Old habits die hard.
Even 20 years ago Sam Adams was all hat, no cattle. It isn’t that is “bad” beer for what it is, I just think there is a lot of “better” beer for the same price point. American microbrews have come a long way.
And still think this would make a good thread. Name your favorite beer or wine, and why.
Fig – great thread idea. But “name your favorite beer” to me is like “name your favorite song”… Different favorites for different genres, seasons, atmospheres, etc. And in my view, Sam Adams was important – and really, really good compared to all the mass produced stuff – back in the day. I have been pleasantly surprised with a couple of their seasonals in recent years, but I’m only ordering one if the only other options involve Bud, Miller, Coors, or Yuengling (shudder) and their many cousins.
Border street would be perfect for a craft brewery. But our antiquated zoning doesn’t allow it.
Yellow Cab Brewery.
Yellow Cab Brewery…love it. There have been two parts of West Newton that I’ve long felt were underutilized – Capt. Ryan Park (it was fun to see an event there!) and Border Street…its proximity to West Newton Square would lend itself so well an extension of West Newton Square and now there’s extra space. A brewery would indeed be perfect. (Stupid zoning….)
I would like to see some beer gardens pop up in Newton
Tricia:
I actually like the Sam Adams seasonals. I shouldn’t be so harsh on Sam Adams. But there are a lot of great beer choices.
For the records, I think the tax bill is very important to the mass produced beers like Sam Adams. But much less so for the small producers. The small producers are much more concerned about getting their product to market, getting tap lines in bars, not getting shoved out because the major brewers offer benefits to the bars, etc.
Btw, one small hint from a reformed bartender. The beer companies used to pay to flush the lines in a lot of bars (basically their guy would do it for free). I don’t think that happens anymore, because it was seen as an improper benefit. Mold and bacteria grow in the tap lines (any former bartender will share with you the color of the solution that comes out after a cleaning of a bad line).
What does this mean? If your beer tastes weird, don’t drink it. And in any establishment that doesn’t make beer a focus, I don’t order tap beer. Mold and bacteria are more likely to grow in underused lines. and that first pull of a line that hasn’t been touched in 24 hour isn’t going to be a clean pull.
I’d bet you 50 bucks and a bottle of clown shoes that Brewers Coalition pays for someone to clean their tap lines. Same for any pub which is well known for their quality of their tap beers.
I’d also bet you the same that at least a dozen establishments where a draft beer/bar is an afterthought just don’t clean them and just toss the first beer of the day.
So in any place where the bar seems underused, I get a bottled beer. Hard to mess that up. And having seen what grows in the lines, take my advice and do the same.
Anatoly, now THAT was some parental advice!
Cheers.
Figgy
I typically become annoyed when a Village 14 thread veers off topic. But I fully endorse what’s happening here. It’s far better to be talking about beer.
And in a year or so, I hope we can have a calm, product-focused, discussion about marijuana varieties and whether or not growers clean whatever the equivalent of tap lines would be.
Figgy, back about ten+ years ago when I was in my 20s and sans-child, I used to love to hang out at Franco’s on Moody Street for drinking/pizza/karaoke/dancing/etc. But I made the mistake of ordering a beer on tap there the first time I went and it was evident that something was not right! It was bottles from then on out at Franco’s. So yes, excellent parental advice for sure!
If it tastes metallic/vinegar/soapy, that is a good indication you’ve got a problem.
Wheat beers are naturally cloudy, but if it isn’t supposed to be a cloudy beer, that is a bad sign too.
Ok, back to work for me.
@fig – I’m now cringing when I think back to the restaurant/bar where I worked in college, and our keg line maintenance/cleaning procedures there!
3 2 1.. and the boycotts have begun.
https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/08/13/somerville-mayor-joseph-curtatone-sam-adams-beer-jim-koch-trump