By Matthew Juul, Globe Correspondent
Wish you could sip on an ice cold Samuel Adams on your next cross country flight? Well, now you can.
CNBC reported on Tuesday that the Boston Beer Company will be partnering with JetBlue Airways in order to bring its newly canned beer, dubbed the “Sam Can” by fans, to JetBlue flights nationwide.
The latest addition to the Samuel Adams line was revealed in May after the company’s founder and Chairman Jim Koch had a change of heart over his opinion that beer should only be served in bottles. Koch claims that Boston Beer invested two years and $1 million into designing the new beer can.
"Cans have gotten quite good today. (Ours) has a unique shape and a different lid, which means you get noticeably more flavor," Koch told CNBC. "It's not huge. I would call it a slight but noticeable difference, but it was an improvement over the standard beer can."
Since canned beers made up about 53 percent of the market last year, the addition of the “Sam Can” will open up the brand to new opportunities for increased sales as well as grant the company access to areas where bottles are prohibited, such as airlines.
"We were purists about the can and we were shut out of a lot of places where people wanted to drink Sam Adams," said Koch. "Finally finding a can that I can be happy with means that beer drinkers get Sam Adams in occasions where they never could before."
Koch revealed that JetBlue officials contacted them to discuss a possible partnership after reading about the release of the “Sam Can.”
"They've been very innovative in upgrading the customer experience. So they were enthusiastic and committed and when you have a partner like that, you then know it's going to last," Koch continued. "I'm looking forward to this as something that will be available to passengers in the coming years."
Koch went on to say that he is willing to work with other airlines to get the Sam Adams brand back into the skies.
"I appreciate an airline that tends to the details of the consumer experience," he said. "They all get you from point A to point B safely and efficiently. It's just nice to get there safely and efficiently with a good beer in your hand."
