OK. I admit it. I love companies gushing cash. Show me the money!

The CEO at Boston Beer Company (NYSE:SAM) should revive the desk sign Harry Truman made famous -- "The buck stops here." In fact, 62.4 million of those bucks have piled up in the bank without any debt for Boston Beer.

Skeptics will say, "Hey, Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) (NYSE:BRKb), just reported a big stake in Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD), and that company has a net debt, debt minus cash, of $8.4 billion." (The company reported earnings before interest and taxes of 8.9 times that of interest expense, meaning it could cover interest expenditures 8.9 times with income available to debt holders, according to its most recent 10-K). Right! But Buffett said at his shareholders meeting that although he found the beer industry fascinating, overall U.S. sales are flat, and he didn't expect Anheuser-Busch's earnings to do much for some time. Hey, to each his own, but look at what Boston Beer has to offer.

Last night, the company reported that first-quarter net revenue, compared with last year's comparable quarter, increased 9.1% -- driven by a 6.5% increase in volume (who was that talking about flat sales?) and a 2.5% price and package-mix-related increase (ah, firm growth and firm pricing too). Oh, and the quarter's $53.6 million in sales is dwarfed by that $62.4 million parked in the bank.

Net income shot up $2.7 million over what was earned in last year's first quarter -- that's a whopping (or is that frothy?) 212% increase. While $1.7 million of that gain is related to a reduction in advertising spending, that's still money on the bottom line.

The company reconfirmed that it expects earnings per share to increase from $0.86 in 2004 to $0.94 to $1.00 in 2005 (that's a jump of 9.3% to 16.3%). The stock is currently priced at roughly 19 times estimated 2006 earnings.

For comparison, Anheuser-Busch stock currently sports a P/E of 16 times estimated 2006 earnings (and its U.S. beer volume fell 2.7% in the latest quarter). Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE:TAP) stock is priced at 12 times estimated 2006 earnings, but a net debt of $2.78 billion (EBIT at 5.3 times interest expense, according to the most recent 10K), falling worldwide beer volume, and an unexpected first-quarter loss may cause analysts to sharply revise their earnings estimates downward.

Don't venture too close to the hot wine market if gobs of debt bother you. Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) stock prices at 15 times fiscal year 2006 earnings. That looks cheap until you see the $3.3 billion net debt (EBIT at 3.4 times interest expense, and, yup, from the most recent 10-K).

Boston Beer, besides being based close to the current Super Bowl and World Series champions, is a champion in its own right. It has mastered the art of organic growth that puts money in the bank. That success has caused its stock to be priced higher than its peers, but that premium is justified as long as the company continues to grow at historic rates.

Fool contributor W.D. Crotty owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Click here to see The Motley Fool's disclosure policy.