Samuel Adams LongShot Double IPA

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Didn’t expect to say this without trying the Utopias, but I am truly impressed by Sam Adams. Citrus and fruity hops dominate the profile and the resiny oils give it a great mouthfeel. The menagerie of hops create a fantastic and unique flavor. It is lacking in malt balance, but that’s just how I like ’em. Mike McDole, I have never met you, but one taste and I can tell you are the man! Thanks for this one, and thank you Sam Adams for not bitching out on brewing (and acquiring the hops for) this massive and awesome beer.

pours a cloudy deep amber with a tint of orange, a medium size egg-shell head, and some lacing. smell of grapefruit, some citrus, light malt, a touch floral, a little pine, and roasted nuts. taste is refreshing, grapefruit, caramel, some lemon, pine, and nuts, ends bitter.

12oz bottle from Liquor Depot (Tampa, FL). Pours a hazy dark amber color with one finger tan head. Aroma is sweet and floral with a big bouquet of citrus, pine, grassy, floral hops, some caramel and honey. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of caramel, citrus, grapefruit, floral hops, honey, some pine and spice notes. Generally medium body with a pleasing floral hop finish.

Color is a deep golden brown with just a hint of amber. Carbonation is good with a thin off white head. Aroma is a strong grassy hop scent. Taste is hoppy and rich. Starting with medium body it goes down with a rich creamy feel. Finish comes in sweet with a hay like citrus taste then a little floral hops show and ends with a nice bitterness. After taste has the citrus coming out a little more and the bitterness leaving a nice dry feel. Overall this is a nice Double IPA.

Copper color with a large head. Strong grassy, floral and citrus aroma. Huge hop taste. This has been a big complaint of mine recently about DIPAs. There’s too much bitterness, and that’s all that’s there. This one actually tastes like I’m drinking hops. Still quite bitter. Monster citrus and grass flavor. A little light on the malt body, but a minor complaint. Pretty kick ass.

12oz. Bottle: Aroma of hops, hop juice, slight grapefruit, light toasted malts, slight resin, slight herbs, and pine. Poured orange/amber in color with a large, creamy, off-white head that lasted throughout. Cloudy. Slightly sparkling. Full of tiny particles throughout. Excellent lacing. Flavor is medium to heavily bitter and lightly sweet. Tastes of hops, hop juice, pine, grapefruit, slight malt, slight resin, and slight herbs. Medium body. Smooth, oily texture is slightly dry. Soft to average carbonation. Hoppy, herbal, slight toasted malt finish. 9%ABV is totally hidden.

bottle. Supposedly a Pliny the Elder clone? Heh. OK. Pours a hazy orange-amber color, thin off white head that sticks around well, and plenty of lacing. Aroma is chock full of sticky piney and citrus hops. Simcoe-ish on the nose- very dank, heavy, and sticky. Heavy notes of pine needles, earthy sticky resin, oranges, limes. Some floral sweetness. Flavor... wow, shows those seven hop varieties. Sticky, dank hops. Resinous pine notes. Sharp tangy citrus. Aggressive bitterness sticks on the palate thoughout. Hops. Lots of them. Not much in the way of malt sweetness for balance (as a DIPA should be). Booze is well hidden- sneaks up on ya pretty quick. Palate is thick and oily, but not inappropriate for the style. Overall- not really getting the Pliny clone aspect, but this is a solid DIPA, no doubt.

Bottle. Pours an orangish gold with a big head and sharp aromas of citrus, juniper (or some pine-like thing that I can’t quite place... my other guess is skunk cabbage.) Flavor has a sharp hops presence with a sweet malt segue to a crisp finish. This has a strange bite to it that isn’t very pleasing.