What if Facebook users designed a beer?
Through February 5, drinkers can visit the Samuel Adams Facebook page to share their thoughts on the new brew. They will be able to weigh in on all aspects of the beer, including: Color, Clarity, Body (mouth feel), Malt (sweetness), Hops (bitterness), and Yeast (finish/complex flavors).
At the close of the crowd-sourcing period, the Samuel Adams brewers will take the fan favorites from each category and use them to develop the recipe for the collaborative ale, which will be brewed during the month of February. Then, the crowd crafted beer will make its debut at Guy Kawasaki's Girl + Guy party in Austin on March 10.
The beer will be on tap in select bars throughout Austin and at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. Samuel Adams will of course announce when this beer will hit new markets on Facebook.
"I think it's still up in the air as to which is the better social networking tool - Facebook or beer," Bert Boyce, Samuel Adams Brewer, said in a statement. "My love of beer is something I share with the Samuel Adams drinkers - I'm sure that their choices will collectively create a great tasting brew. We can't wait to see what they come up with!"
"I'm a total believer in crowd-sourcing," Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple and New York Times best-selling author, said in a statement. "It brings great minds together that might not collaborate otherwise. The Samuel Adams Crowd Craft Project is exciting because it's not only asking for input, but its educating people about what it takes to make a great beer. These brewers are extremely passionate about crafting something special and we are all going to help them do it."
Samuel Adams has 135,000 Likes on its Facebook Page. Unfortunately it is rather annoyingly designed right now as it automatically redirects users to the Crowd Craft Project, so if you're not interested in installing it, you can't visit the company's Page.