LongShot Double IPA - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Reaper16

Alabama

3.78/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

served from a 12oz. bottle (best by Sept. 09) into a tulip glass

Pours a toasted orange with a two-finger head that looks thick and creamy but is actually quite yielding and soft.

This smells like a suitable hop-bomb, for sure. The hops hit like line leaves drug through a river of mango and lemon juice. Caramel malt sweetness and west-coast style yeast can be detected but if the aroma is any indicator of the taste, this beer's malt profile isn't going to be very assertive.

The citrus profile has heft to it; it reminds me more of eating fruit pulp than drinking fruit juice. The progression of flavors is enjoyable in its linearity: the earthiness hits first, then giving way to floral qualities before ending with the fruit overload. Somewhere along the way the caramel malts lend a sweet quality to wash away the earthiness, but let's not kid ourselves about this beer being balanced in any way. My favorite part of this beer is the finish: for a few seconds it tastes just like you've swallowed fresh juice... then the pine bitterness suddenly creeps back to linger on the sides of the tongue. That all sounds great, I'm sure, but one can argue that the hop profile is muddled. Unlike, say, Bell's HopSlam, this beer does not do one thing really well. Instead, it takes a jack-of-all-trades approach to the double IPA. Regardless, this tastes pretty darn good to me.

The malt profile may not assert itself on the tastebuds, but I'm thankful for the relatively thick, luscious mouthfeel that they lend this beer. It feels good and it helps make this beer a sipper, which it deserves to be if you want to enjoy the roots-to-fruits taste journey that this beer provides.

This beer is a master of no single element of the double IPA experience. It attempts to do it all, and it definitely succeeds on the merits. This isn't going to replace Pliny or HopSlam on most people's shortlists, but its a good beer in its own right. Sam Adams would do well to put this recipe out every year as a fully-branded seasonal.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2009 04:03:39 | More by Reaper16

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1.75/5  rDev -55%

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4/5  rDev +2.8%

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4.25/5  rDev +9.3%

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4/5  rDev +2.8%

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4/5  rDev +2.8%

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