Samuel Adams LongShot Weizenbock

This weizen bock pours a somewhat cloudy brown color form a 12oz bottle. Small to medium sized beige foamy head, with quickly dissipating lacing. Aroma is malty and fruity, lots of caramel and sweetness with a touch of banana and clove. A medium bodied weizen bock. The malts are caramel and dark fruit, with more than a hint of banana and clove. Yet, there is still some wheatness to it. The hops are kind of mild, but floral. Nicely balanced with good carbonation. There is also a hint of smoke and nuttiness. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

12-oz bottle. Pours brown with an average, rocky, light brown head, somewhat diminishing with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, straw, nutty), light hops (grass), average yeast (dough, earth) with notes of banana and date. Full bodied, alcoholic texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

Hats off to Boston Beer for their Longshot concept - taking winners of their homebrew contest, brewing them up and releasing them in limited quantities - very cool! And kudos to brewer Rodney Kibzey too. This has a full, bubbly head, and full, fruity, malty aroma. Smooth mouthfeel and a rich, smoky taste - pumpernickel, malt, a little nutmeg, and the right amount of sweetness. Peppy hops in the finish. Like Sam Adams’s Double Bock, this is a solid Yankee version of a bock style.

Pours like liquid caramel cream with a thick 1 inch white/tan head that slowly and reluctantly recedes. Heavy malt and flower smells with a sweet bitterness and mild hop aroma. First sip is creamy, malty then bitter with a slight taste of fresh baked salmon…Wow did I say salmon? As it warms, the wheat emerges and the sweetness somewhat fades. It stays crisp and complex.

Brown, cloudy, frothy. smells pretty good, like caramel, some fruit. Taste is banana, malt, some clove. Very tasty, and pretty impressive. I can gush about how this beer is the best I’ve had from sam adam’s, and I’m a big sam adam’s fan, but the beer speaks for itself. Try it.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is cloudy dark brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (caramel, popcorn, cookie), with notes of banana/gum, clove, butter, hint of cinnamon. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter, slightly husky. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Fairly drinkable for something out of the BBC factory, but nothing special. Buttery caramel corn and bananas for the nose, very watery palate, on the sweet side, a little rough. Can do in a pinch, but it’s mostly average for the style.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a darker cloudy brown with a nice-sized tan head. The aroma is the banana/cloves that you expect out of a Weissbier. The taste is the same, with the flavors supurbly balanced and yet very pronounced. To me this is a perfect imitation of a German Weissbier. The color is actually misleading, I’ve had German Dunkelweiss, and this is more like a normal weiss with a different color. Altogether very enjoyable and very well-done. On a side-note, props to Boston Beer Company for supporting homebrewing!

Firstly, I must say I love the Long Shot concept that Sam Adams came up with. SA continues to impress me with the quality and breadth of their products and their innovation. This brew clearly has the banana esters down. Doesn’t have any roasted malt aspect in the nose that you might expect from a Weizenbock. Murky blackish brown. Looks not too dissimilar to a black and tan, with the darker hues toward the top of the glass. Thin, creamyt tan head. You know, so often people describe weissbiers as having banana and clove in the aroma, and I always had trouble detecting the clove. Hey, I smoked clove cigarettes when I was a teen, so I should know what clove is. This is the first brew where I can distinctly TASTE clove. For that, and for an eminently drinkable and worthy representation of the weizenbock style, I salute and salud Rodney Kibzey. Excellent lace. Absolutely no flaws, lots of flavor and a pleasure to drink. I bought this beer at the suggestion of tennisjoel and he steered me the right direction. Well rated, but underrated IMO.