Jim Koch, brewer of Samuel Adams, announced today that he is teaming up with Denis Leary and The Leary Firefighters Foundation to create a once-in-a-lifetime auction item package of items, just in time for last minute holiday shoppers. Included in the group will be the first bottle of the limited edition 2007 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias autographed by Jim Koch, a custom made Samuel Adams Utopias snifter, exclusively designed and signed by Georg Riedel, and a “Rescue Me” coffee table book autographed by Denis Leary. The auction will take place on eBay.

Bidding will begin on December 13, 2007 12:00 PM EST and will end on December 20, 2007 12:00 PM EST. The items will be listed under the seller name “Jim Koch”, and the eBay item number is 120197956529. The proceeds will benefit The Leary Firefighters Foundation www.learyfirefighters.org, which is dedicated to providing fire departments with funding and resources for the best available equipment,, training and technology.

“This auction is a great way to raise money and give beer enthusiasts extraordinary collectible items at the same time,” said Jim Koch. “We have been working closely with The Leary Firefighters Foundation for over five years, and we know it to be a great cause. We are excited to be able to make some beer lover’s holiday a little brighter, while supporting Denis’s Foundation.”

The 2007 edition of Utopias comprises just 12,000 ceramic bottles all of which are numbered. Employees of The Boston Beer Company get the first 500 bottles according to their seniority with the Company. Jim Koch is autographing and donating his Number One bottle for this charity fundraiser.

There is historic precedent for this Samuel Adams auction. In 1999, the company created a special brew called “Millennium XX”, and the Number One bottle of that sold at an on-line charitable auction for nearly $5,000.

“We are really gratified to be the beneficiary of this auction, and I want to thank Jim Koch and everyone at Samuel Adams for donating their time in support of this important cause,” said Denis Leary, President of The Leary Firefighters Foundation. “Samuel Adams has been a consistent and leading partner helping us to promote the needs of firefighters.”

Samuel Adams Utopias is a strong, rich, dark beer that is uncarbonated and is served at room temperature in a two- ounce pour, to be savored like a vintage port or a fine Cognac. Breaking the record for commercially brewed beers held by the 2005 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias, the 2007 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias weighs in at 27% alcohol by volume. The average beer is about 5% alcohol. Utopias is a descendant of Millennium.

Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed, blended, and aged at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston with the same handcrafted care that goes into all Samuel Adams beers. It is brewed with several different strains of yeast, including a variety typically reserved for Champagne. A blend of two-row Caramel and Munich malts gives the beer its rich ruby-black color. Three kinds of Noble hops - Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittlefrueh, and Tettnang Tettnanger - blend to give the beer its floral character and its spicy note.

The 2007 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias is a blend of liquids, including Millennium, some of which have been aged in a variety of woods at the Boston Brewery for up to 13 years. A portion of the beer was aged in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. The extended aging process enhances the distinct cinnamon, vanilla, and maple notes in the beer’s flavor. The beer is then finished in sherry and Madeira casks from Portugal. The sherry casks add nutty, oak, and honey notes, while the Madeira casks contribute slightly more elegant, creamy fudge-toffee aromas and flavors.

ABOUT THE RIEDEL SAMUEL ADAMS UTOPIAS SNIFTER:

In April 2007 Georg Riedel joined Jim Koch at the Samuel Adams Boston brewery for a special tasting panel. Several flights of Samuel Adams Utopias were sampled from many different glass shapes to determine which attributes would best highlight the aromas and flavors of the unique brew. The end result is a custom-designed glass that best expresses the essential characteristics of Samuel Adams Utopias.

The curved, cut-glass rim of the snifter allows Samuel Adams Utopias to be placed on the front of the tongue, ensuring that drinkers properly taste the sweetness of the brew first. This also helps balance the alcohol taste. The shape of the bowl is taller than a typical snifter glass, which allows for the combining of the layers of alcohol and concentration of the aromas.

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY BACKGROUND:

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that founder and brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father’s attic. After bringing the recipe to life in his kitchen, Jim brought it to bars in Boston with the belief that drinkers would appreciate a complex, full-flavored beer, brewed fresh in America. That beer was Samuel Adams Boston Lager(r), and it helped catalyze what became known as the American craft beer revolution.

Today, the Company brews more than 21 styles of beer. The Company uses the traditional four-vessel brewing process and often takes extra steps like dry-hopping and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. It passionately pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of its classic beers by constantly searching for the world’s finest ingredients. While resurrecting traditional brewing methods, the Company has earned a reputation as a pioneer in another revolution, the “extreme beer” movement, where it seeks to challenge drinkers’ perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company strives to elevate the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions the world over, and in the past five years it has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. The Company remains independent, and brewing quality beer remains its single focus. While Samuel Adams is the country’s largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only about one-half of one percent of the U.S. beer market. For more information, please visit http://www.samueladams.com

The mission of The Leary Firefighters Foundation, is to provide funding and resources for Fire Departments to obtain the best available equipment, training and technology. The Foundation was established in 2000 by actor Denis Leary in response to a tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts that claimed the lives of Denis’ cousin, a childhoodfriend, and four other firefighters. The Leary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Code. Please visit us at http://www.learyfirefighters.org

Posted: 12|17|07 at 9:34 am. Filed under: Press Release.