The brand originally began with only one variety, Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The recipe for this beer was originally developed in Saint Louis, Missouri by Louis Koch in 1860 and sold under the name Louis Koch Lager until Prohibition, and again until the early 1950s.
In 1985, Louis Koch's great-great grandson, Jim Koch, opened a brewery in Boston, Massachusetts and in April of that year re-introduced the beer under the Samuel Adams name. It was an immediate commercial success, voted "Best Beer in America" at the Association of Brewers' "Great American Beer Festival."
As of 2003, the company produces eight varieties of beer year-round: Boston Lager, Boston Ale, Pale Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Triple Bock, Vienna Style, and Sam Adams Light. Additionally, the company brews five seasonal beers per year as follows:
The company also produced a 3,000-bottle limited run dubbed "Millennium."