Sam Adams

Whether you have friends visiting from out of town, or you just feel like having fun and drinking beer early on a Saturday, I highly recommend the Samuel Adams brewery tour.
Two of the five times I’ve been there, I was able to take a tour as soon as I walked in the door. The other three times, I had to wait about an hour, but the wait was very painless. Instead of making you wait in line, they give you a ticket, and tell you when to come back. In the meantime, you can hang out in the lobby, send postcards to your friends with free postage, shop at the gift shop, or have some food and coffee at the nearby Ula Café.
The tour is fun and free (although there is a suggested donation of $ 2 to the charities they support). All of the tour guides are very friendly and knowledgeable.
After the tour, there is a free tasting. In theory, you are only supposed to get three 4 oz samples of beer (and a 4 oz souvenir glass). In reality, you can usually get more if you want it; the trick is to sit at a table with people who don’t drink much.
Try to save room for one more beer, and hold onto your ticket, because you’ll need it when you go to Doyles Café after the tour. There’s a free trolley that takes you from the brewery to Doyles. It’s also a short walk. When you buy a beer at Doyles, and show them your brewery tour ticket, they give you a free Samuel Adams pint glass (a $ 7.50 value). There is a cool story behind the pint glass, but instead of writing that here I’ll let you hear about it from your tour guide.

Why hasn’t this franchise caught on to the rest of New England!!!
Airport food is usually horrible, but you’ll find great pub fare here, especially by airport standards.
But the Sam on tap is all you need to know to park your luggage here before your flight. Also if your time it right when you double your buzz for free as soon as they pressurize the cabin.

4:01pm: Plane is delayed. F*ck!
4:19pm: What’s that in the distance??? A Sam Adams brew house???
4:20pm: Hmmm… (in Larry David voice) delay is sounding pretty good… preeeeeetty…preeeeetty…preeeeeetty good.
4:28pm: Beer #1: Sam Adams Summer Ale — crisp with a lemon flavor and a little spice. Love it… probably one of my favorite domestic beers.
4:37pm: Beer #2: Sam Adams Cherry Wheat — Kind of a fruity flavor… not making my list of favorite beers anytime soon. But of course I will finish it.
4:59pm: Beer #3: Sam Adams Creamy Stout — I like it… don’t love it… all this stout talk got me wanting a…
5:11pm: Beer #4: Guinness — Shocker right? I love the black gold. While it is a step below the real deal in Ireland (yes European Guinness tastes better than American Guinness). I am really a little tipsy… might need to slow down… naaah.
5:26pm: Back from a piss break. Beer #5: Another Sam Adams Summer Ale — I love this beer. So delicious and goes great with the burger and fries I ordered.
5:55pm: Beer #6: Sam Adams light — Call me crazy but I like the light over the original.
6:20pm: Beer #7: Sam Adams Octoberfest — Although this is seasonal, since the place is an official Sam Adams brew house, they have them all here year round according to the bar tender. So it was nice to have this tasty beer in May.
6:49pm: Sadly I must go now. But I am feeling great about my flight from Boston to Los Angeles now.
7:47pm: Get on the plane and am able to nap easily. Thank you Sam!
p. s. You can find this gem right by the entrance to Terminal C.

4 stars for an airport restaurant? Yeah, you read that right.
Surprisingly tasty sandwiches at decent prices. Great view of the tarmac. A super friendly and funny waitress with the most ridiculous Boston accent ever. Several varieties of Sam Adams on tap. What’s not to love?

Christ, I can’t believe I’m writing reviews for restaurants INSIDE airports. But I gotta look out for my fellow travelers …
Their cheeseburger was actually damn good — and the fries weren’t your normal, run of the mill starchy tubers. Definitely had some extra zip added to them. Tasty.
Round it out with a beer or three and you’ll be all set for your flight.

Pre-​Flight Pints!
Super Friendly Staff that seems happy to be working there.
Damn good Chicken Sandwich with grilled peppers and everything.
Great Views of the Tarmac!
Standard Issue SAM ADAMS beer (where can’t you find this?)

According to my friend who works for Sam Adams, this is one of the top 5 highest volume locations for their beer. You can see why, since it is the only beer that they serve. Regardless, this sure beats some of the other airport bars that I have been stuck in before. The barlady was really nice, albeit her frustrations with the lack of ordering skills from out-​of-​towners.
The next time you’re delayed 4 hours like me, drop on by and enjoy a cold pint — or even better try one of the «big boys» 22 oz if I remember correctly. Be mindful of the time, however, they close wicked early!

Ah, my dear old friend, Terminal C. The security strip down sucks, but the people at Sam Adams are there to make it all better by providing beer to those who need a little courage before dropping their pants for security. That’s right. Pass the Dunkin Donuts and the Burger King to the Sam Adams «pub.» The hamburgers they serve are HUGE, and the fries are really tasty. I’ve enjoyed several pre-​flight pints at this locale, and the flight is much more enjoyable.