BOSTON, April 29 - Adam Walsh just won "the big one" at Gillette Stadium without ever having to suit up, and, rather than the standard eleven opponents, Adam triumphed over nearly 200 of them. Football? No. Adam Walsh is a homebrewer from Massachusetts whose recipe for an IPA (India Pale Ale) beat out entries from all over New England to win the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Contest hosted by The Boston Beer Company, brewers of Samuel Adams(R) beers.

"Adam's IPA is terrific," said Samuel Adams Brewer and Founder Jim Koch. "It's not easy to brew an IPA that has a lot of flavor and maintains its balance, but Adam got it just right." New England Patriots' ticket holders won't have to take Jim's word for it. With Adam's help, Samuel Adams will brew his Patriot Homebrew IPA at its Boston Brewery to be served at the Samuel Adams Brewhouse in Gillette Stadium during the entire 2008-2009 football season.

The Boston Beer Company has long been a champion of homebrewing, and has helped homebrewers across the country realize their dreams with programs like the Samuel Adams(R) American Homebrew Contest(R) making winning recipes available to beer drinkers nationwide. The Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest kicked off in August 2007 encouraging football fans who live in the six New England states to brew their own beers and submit them to the contest. The preliminary judging of all entries took place at Gillette Stadium, where five finalists advanced to the final judging, hosted by Jim Koch on February 7, 2008 at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. The judges included Mike Adams of WEEI-AM, Wally Brine and Brian Bell of WROR-FM, Gail Ciampa, of The Providence Journal, Carolyn Faye Fox of The Improper Bostonian, Dan Hausle of WHDH-TV, and Norman Miller of the MetroWest Daily News.

Before submitting his IPA to the Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest, Adam tested seven batches before entering. "I knew we were in the midst of a hops shortage and didn't think an IPA had the chance to win," Adam admitted. "At the last second I decided, why not?" Luckily for Adam, Samuel Adams was able to source the hops needed for his recipe.

In addition to bragging rights and the opportunity to pour his own beer for friends and fans at Gillette Stadium, Adam wins a cash prize of $2,000.

The 2007 Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest drew entrants from all six New England States. The finalists were from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It's impressive to note that homebrewer Michael Robinson of New Hampshire brewed two out of the five beers that made it to the finals. The 2008 Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest will kick off on August 8th. Interested homebrewers can visit www.samueladams.com for more details.

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, 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 www.samueladams.com.