Ok, so by know it seems everyone should know about the recall Boston Beer has issued on certain Samuel Adams Beer brands. Apparently, their bottle vendor supplied them with brittle bottles that may have flaked bits of glass in them, and thus in your beer. Boston Beer is not the only brewer to buy bottles from this company, Owens Illinois, so other companies may be affected. To my knowledge, however, Boston Beer has been the only company to come forward about this, and they deserve much credit for the fact that they have.

If this is the first you’re hearing about this, don’t panic. Only about 1% of Samuel Adams beers are said to be affected, and all of the Samuel Adams beers of several styles in my beer fridge checked out just fine. If you have some of any kind in your fridge, you can check the bottle code (not the freshness dating) on a site Boston Beer has set up at:

http://www.samueladams.com/Consumer/default.aspx.

What scares me most about this is that, at least here in Atlanta, I can’t find Samuel Adams Beer anywhere. After visiting several supermarkets and liquor stores, it appears that all Samuel Adams beers have been pulled from the shelves, not just the affected lots. I’m hoping this is merely a precaution so that the Boston Beer representatives can come and inspect the bottle codes before returning the product not affected to store shelves.

But an overreaction by retailers returning all of their Samuel Adams beers (not to mention wary consumers avoiding the beer when it returns) could be very damaging to Boston Beer.

I’ve always been a big fan of Boston Beer, and I’ve made no secret of that. Boston Beer did the right thing in announcing a recall that will certainly cost them enormously. The problem wasn’t one they were responsible for, but that of one of their suppliers. Their rigid quality control managed to pick up the problem quickly, and they’re erring on the side of caution for the safety of their customers.

Let’s not punish them for doing the right thing. I don’t know about you, but I plan to purchase a few six-packs of Sam Adams when it’s back, Hopefully, it’ll be back soon.

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