NEW YORK - The maker of Samuel Adams beer did public penance Friday for his role in a sex stunt at St. Patrick's Cathedral here perpetrated by radio shock jocks “Opie and Anthony.”

        Jim Koch, founder and chairman of Boston Beer and a former Cincinnatian, ran newspaper ads in the Boston Herald and Boston Globe Friday, and was scheduled to run one in the New York Post today, to apologize to the Catholic Church and to consumers.

        The apology was also posted on the company's Web site. Boston Beer acquired the former Hudepohl-Schoenling brewery on Central Avenue in Cincinnati in 1997.

        The Aug. 15 incident, part of a sex contest on the national radio show out of WNEW-FM, prompted outrage and led to a boycott of Sam Adams by bar owners in Boston Beer's hometown.

        Mr. Koch was on the show during an on-air description of an apparent sex act taking place in the cathedral. Sam Adams is an advertiser, and the prizes for the “Sex for Sam” contest for having sex in public places include trips to Boston concerts sponsored by Sam Adams.

        “My presence on the show was a mistake. I made a mistake by not walking out,” Mr. Koch said.

Shock radio can hurt

        The resulting furor taught him a hard lesson in how reaching hard-to-get 20-something consumers with popular “shock radio” can backfire.

        “You can't control what the hosts are going to do,” Mr. Koch said. “The hosts need to shock people to get ratings. And you may get damaged in the aftershocks.”

        Infinity Broadcasting canceled the show with Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia a week later, and the Federal Communications Commission is investigating. The Virginia couple trying to win the contest were arrested.

Misguided wisdom?

        Mr. Koch has built his brewing career by going against the conventional wisdom.

        Although six generations of Mr. Koch's family have been brewmasters, he gave up a lucrative career as a management consultant in the early 1980s to start Boston Beer Co.

        Mr. Koch recalled in a 1996 Enquirer interview that his father, who had left the brewing business, “told me that was the dumbest thing he ever heard,” but still gave him an old family beer recipe which became the foundation for Samuel Adams. Still, Mr. Koch's public contrition might not appease the 27 Boston bars boycotting.

        “I will never allow (Koch's products) inside my door again,” said Jeremiah Foley, owner of three J.J. Foley bars in Boston. “He was involved; he sponsored it; and he gave prizes. You should never disrespect a person's place of worship.”

Risk can't be avoided

        Sam Adams is not the only brand to learn the danger of joining with edgy personalities to reach the 20-something market it needs.

        Pepsi on Thursday yanked a TV ad starring rapper Ludacris after Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly attacked the rapper's sexually explicit lyrics and urged consumers to call the company.

        “We clearly need to be more careful about how we select artists to represent our brands,” said Pepsi spokesman Bart Casabona.

        Mr. Koch sees there's danger the “media you use to reach your demographic may not reflect core values of your company.”

        But, he said, “If a big company like Pepsi and a small one like Sam Adams can get in trouble, the risk can't be avoided. If you're going to advertise on Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony or even Rush Limbaugh, you will offend people.”

        Enquirer reporter Mike Boyer contributed to this report.

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