Commitments to which the Company is legally obligated to pay.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	sam_
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- Definition

Service period for which the Company has commitments related to the acquisition.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of potential cash payments that could result from the contingent consideration arrangement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph f

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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- Definition

The total cost of the acquired entity including the cash paid to shareholders of acquired entities, fair value of debt and equity securities issued to shareholders of acquired entities, the fair value of the liabilities assumed, and direct costs of the acquisition.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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Brewery Acquisition - Additional Information (Detail) (Southern California Brewing Company, Inc., USD $)					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012	Jan. 04, 2012	Jan. 04, 2012 First Payment	Jan. 04, 2012 Second Payment	Dec. 29, 2012 Personal Services Agreement
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business acquisition, preliminary aggregate purchase price		$ 1,900,000
Remaining purchase price payments		200,000	150,000	200,000
Service agreement period					2 years
Minimum payments under personal services agreement and lease	$ 1,700,000