Days of the Beer, September 28

The beer for today is Sam Adams Boston Lager.

On September 28, 1941, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox finished the season with a batting average of .406. This would be the last time that anyone has hit over 400.

Ted played baseball for 19 years, but would have been more, but he twice was in the Armed Forces during baseball.

Ted has the highest career batting average for anyone who has hit 500 or more home runs; with an average of 344 and 521 home runs.

After his death, Ted's son had his head removed and placed in cryonic suspension.

As to the beer:

Samuel Adams Boston Lager® is the best example of the fundamental characteristics of a great beer, offering a full, rich flavor that is both balanced and complex. It is brewed using a decoction mash, a time consuming, traditional four vessel brewing process discarded by many contemporary brewers. This process brings forth a rich sweetness from the malt that makes it well worth the effort. Samuel Adams Boston Lager® also uses only the finest of ingredients including two row barley, as well as German Noble aroma hops. The exclusive use of two row barley not only imparts a full, smooth body but also gives the beer a wide spectrum of malt flavor ranging from slightly sweet to caramel to slightly roasted. The Noble hops varieties, Hallertau Mittelfruh and Tettnang Tettnanger, add a wide range of floral, piney and citrus notes, which are present from the aroma, through the flavor, to the lingering smooth finish. We take great pride in the Noble hops used in our beers. They are hand selected by Jim Koch and our other brewers from the world's oldest hops growing area. Among the world's most expensive, they cost twenty times as much as other hops.

So, for the last batter to hit 400, raise your glass of Boston Lager to Ted Williams. Make sure that there's a good amount of head on the glass.