Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2017	Apr. 21, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 01, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	SAM
Entity Registrant Name	BOSTON BEER CO INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000949870
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Common Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		9,243,992
Common Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		3,097,355