Sam Adams Longshot Beering: Mike McDole

Ok. In theory, the Sam Adams Longshot beer should be much much better than any other homebrew competition. Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve is basically a city/southeast Texas wide homebrew competition decided at the Dixie Cup. Sam Adams Longshot is a nationwide homebrew competition decided at the Great American Beer Festival. Let's do a prelim...

Summit Extra Pale Ale
I just cooked up a batch of my spicy spaghetti sauce with spinach and shrimp (or skrimp if you're from Georgia). I put so much Cayenne and Red Pepper in that son of a gun it could make you cry. I even put about 12 ounces of my homebrewed India Pale Ale in the sauce and steamed the shrimp with my homebrew blonde ale I've been trying to get rid of. So an Pale Ale is in order to drink. Summit has a light malt and orange nose coming off a clear amber colored beer with an offwhite lasting head. (Basically I couldn't find any of my IPA). The taste is some light malt and hops, like a lighter American Pale Ale, with a metallic flavor effing it all up about 3/4 back of the tongue. The hop is kind of funky with an icky aftertaste. Maybe it sat in the store for too long. It was in one of those party packs. Low 3 Star. Tasted much better with the spaghetti sauce but couldn't hold its own.

After a glass of my homebrewed Pale Ale (my IPA just ran out), I'm ready


Beer Log: Right NOW
State: Not eating a damn thing, typing on my computer

Sam Adams Longshot Double IPA
Look at that color, smell that smell. No alcohol on the nose, just old fashioned caramel malt and strong hops (probably some cascade). Hop nose is floral and citrus. Color is a very regular orange crayon orange. Tinged orange head. Oh wow, that's a lot of hops. Just lots of different hops going on in there, citrus, grassy, you name it. The aftertaste has some hop presence. And although it's a very smooth beer, it has a nice tingly sensation on the tongue after drinking it. I'll say damn near full bodied with a nice caramel malt that somehow balances all that hops. Take Dogfish Head 120 Minute and take out all the absurdity. I don't know if I've ever had anything this hoppy before in my whole experience of beering.

Word on the street is that McDole's beer won a former Longshot Competition, but b/c he used so much hops during a hop shortage, they had to put this beer on hold. Oh it's true.

I recall the same thing being a bit of an issue with Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve Number 5 which was an American Barleywine. That was one was superloaded with hops but not like this baby.

As far as food suggestions, forget your local wing joints attempts as spicing up some wings. There is a place near Cape Canaveral, Florida that sells these hot wings called "Screamers". I haven't been there in 10 years but that is the hottest spiciest food I've ever had next straight downing a jalepeno pepper laced with blow. Maybe those would stand up to this Double IPA for food pairing. Everything else would taste like chicken salad.

I'm tempted to give this one a 4 Star b/c it is SO hopped up, but that's be like saying a woman too fine to be a dime. 5 Stars all the way for Mike McDole and the Sam Adams boys. Well done.