Will the Real Sam Adams Please Stand Up?

When you think of Sam Adams, what comes to mind? If you’re a historian, you may think of the Founding Father from Boston. If you’re like Boston Daily, you probably think of a brown bottle of beer sitting in a tub of ice. If you’re a mayoral candidate in Portland, Oregon you may be a little mad with your mother for naming you Sam.

Portland’s City Commissioner, Sam Adams, is running for mayor. Some local talk radio hosts bought some Sam Adams-related domain names for the candidate, which led to a cease and desist order from the Boston-based beer brewer of the same name.

The letter from Boston Beer Co. came to [talk radio host Dave] Anderson last week.

“Boston Beer has used the trademarks SAM ADAMS and SAMUEL ADAMS since 1984,” said the letter, which asked Anderson to surrender the Web sites.

The candidate’s retort makes us want to vote for him.

“They say they’ve been using this trademark since 1984,” Adams said. “I’ve been using it since 1963.”

The Boston Beer Company apparently thought the websites were hoaxes and have since taken a gentler tone with the Oregonian Adams. However, he may not be able to remain master of his domain after the election.

[Boston Beer Co. spokesperson Helen] Bornemann said she’s willing to discuss Adams’ use of his name on his Web sites “probably for the length of the time the election is being held.”

We think it would be pretty clear to anyone who landed on mayorsamadams.com that it wasn’t affiliated with the brewing company. Let’s hope Portland’s Sam Adams has the spirit of Boston’s patriot and tells the company he’s keeping his URL.