Samuel Adams Longshot Pack Now in Stores

Samuel Adams Longshot Pack
Samuel Adams Longshot Pack

Samuel Adams has released the Longshot Pack, which are the commercial versions of the beers the winners of their annual homebrewing competition.  The competition is an homage to Sam Adams’ homebrewing roots. This year’s mix pack salutes Category 23 beers, or beers that don’t fit into a standard beer style. In the pack are two bottles each of:

  • Blackened Hops Ale
  • Honey B’s Lavender Ale
  • Friar Hop Ale

Check back soon for reviews of these interesting beers.

Have you had the Longshot 23 Pack from Sam Adams?  What did you think?

Samuel Adams Longshot Mile High Barley Wine Ale

Samuel Adams Mile High Barley Wine Ale
Samuel Adams Mile High Barley Wine Ale

I had the chance to try the final of the three Samuel Adams Longshot Beers: Mile High Barley Wine Ale.  Just like the name states, it’s a barley wine, which is a strong, malty ale.

Initially, it smells like caramel and plums.  It was very smooth, and had a very heavy mouthfeel.  Coming in at 9.8%, it is a nice potent ale.  It finishes with a strong caramel flavor and was slightly hoppy, and had a nice balance. It was created by Ben Miller from New Mexico.

What did you think of the Mile High Barley Wine?

Samuel Adams Longshot Old Ben Ale

Samuel Adams Old Ben Ale
Samuel Adams Old Ben Ale

The second of the Samuel Adams Longshot pack that I tried was the Old Ben Ale.

It was a nice strong English-style ale.  It was a 9% ale brewed by Michael Robinson of New Hampshire.

At first scent, it smells like plums or raisins but was pretty difficult to pick out.  It was a thick beer and had a strong caramel flavor. It was very smooth but strong.

Have you had the Old Ben Ale?  What did you think?

Samuel Adams Longshot Lemon Pepper Saison

Samuel Adams Lemon Pepper Saison
Samuel Adams Lemon Pepper Saison

I’m on the East coast again.  This time I was able to pick up the Samuel Adams Longshot 6-pack.  Over the next few days, I’ll be reviewing the three different beers available in this pack.

If you don’t know what the Longshot pack is, every year Samuel Adams hosts a homebrew competition, and the top two homebrewed beers are featured as two of the three beers in the six-pack.  The other featured beer is homebrewed by a Samuel Adams employee.  All three beers are converted to commercial recipes and are distributed.

The first one I tried as part of this six-pack was made by Samuel Adams employee Jeremy White, the Lemon Pepper Saison.  It was a light saison that tasted light and citrusy.  It had a fairly clean finish that had a slight pepper aftertaste.

I’m glad Samuel Adams chose this beer because I enjoy saisons, and this is a good example.

Is the Longshot pack available in your area?  Have you tried the Lemon Pepper Saison?