Samuel Adams LongShot Double IPA

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

Bottle ( 12oz ). Clear amber, huge fizzy-foamy lasting tan head - lacing, even. Solid malty IPA aroma - alcohol, sweet juicy roast malt, zesty, somewhat resin bitterness - very malty, almost acidic. Taste - VERY bitter, dry pine needles and less alcohol - so bitter in fact, it tastes sour; solid, if characterless malt backing. Thick, decently carbonated, a-acidic mouthfeel - pretty long bitter linger. Solid - a real grapefruit zest finish.

Pours a nice golden color with a big head and plenty of lace. Aroma is fruity hops with some floral notes but mostly some melon and lots of citrus, a little bit of malty sweetness sneaks in there as well. Flavor is fruity and brusingly bitter with plenty of grapefruit, some very very mild melon, and of course citrus. There is just that hint of fruity maltiness peaking through to. This is an pretty tasty.

In the bottle at the 2009 Crescent Moon Summer Beer Festival. Pours hazy gold to light amber with an off white head. Has a floral honesuckle aroma. Lousy flavor because the hopes are woefully unbalanced. Yuck.

Hazy orange copper pour into thick foamy off white head that melts into sticky lacing on the side of the glass. Aroma of flowery hops and sweet malty bread. Initial flavor of of citrus and hops that slowly fades to a sweet caramel finish.

12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a creamy head. Aroma of citrus and floral as the commericial description indicates. Flavor is similiar with a sweet malty base. Grapefruit punch. Light alcohol burn and a long bitter finish. It is a bit too sweet and somewhat overpowers the hopiness. Still a decent iipa.

Pours a cloudy orange-amber with a sizable, creamy, beige head that leaves behind a sticky web of lace. The nose is a big, wonderful blend of floral and citric hop notes dancing in harmony with a solid, sweet malt backing; very nice. While the aroma left me anticipating the first sip, the mouthfeel and flavor were a bit of a let down. On the light side of medium-bodied and slick, it seems a bit thin for a 9% IIPA. And the big, bitter, tongue squeezing finish also seems to shout "where’s the malt?" If you’re wanting hops, this beer brings them in spades: on the nose, in the flavor and in the huge bitter finish. The problem is that the malt backbone that one would expect to be present, to help tame these flowery beasts, just isn’t up to the task. It hides behind a frontal assault of citrus, floral and resinous hop notes that obliterate any thought I was having of rating another beer this evening. This is a beer that only a true hop head (among whose numbers most of the raters on this site are included) can love. Give this beer to anyone that doesn’t know and love the sensory attack that is a seriously hopped beer, and they will hate it. For that reason, I think it falls short of being a truly great beer. Is it a satisfying hop fix? Undoubtedly. Is it a great IIPA? Not even close. You can call it a "Pliny clone" if you wish, but it’s not nearly as well constructed as the original. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do I know?

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a off-white head. Aroma of piney hops, caramel and some citrus. Flavor was pine resin, caramel, sweet malts, citrus and some grapefruit with a very bitter finish.

Cloudy and rusty-orange with a great head. Earthy, wholesome, cozy and tasty. Strong malty base is filled with chalky cocoa and bread dough. Hops are balancing, bold and rich, with notes of grapefruit and juicy citrus. Slight alcohol nip. Nice amount of bitterness, along with some rind in the finish.