Samuel Adams LongShot Blackened Hops
This enigmatic ale is a surprise for the senses, with its black color hinting at roasted malt and coffee notes, but its big hop character really stealing the show. Packed with citrusy and piney American hops for a big flavor and clean bitterness, this brew will keep you on your toes through to the last sip.
3.6
233 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Poured a dark brown with minimal tan head. Aroma had dark malt with a little bit of the hops. More of that in the flavor with a bit more of the hops coming thru. Not bad.
I wish I could brew this because I would.Pours black with med tan head.aroma is cool hoppy,sweet ,malty,citrus and coffee.Flavors of hops,malt and cool coffee.Long shot my ass very good black ipa.
10/15/11. 12oz bottle thanks to PorterPounder! Congrats Rodney and UKG!! I had this beer right after the Chicago regional (my brother is also in UKG) and it was damn good, so here goes. Black pour, brown edges under the light, with a nice, fluffy tan head that sticks forever and laces a ton. Light citrusy aroma, a bit of lemon peel, with nice roast and coffee. Nice roasted character in the flavor as well with a bit of fresh green hops. This is like a very hoppy porter, and I’m sure the hop character was even better when fresh. Not quite as good at the original, but still nice!
Kind of like a dark ipa but reminds me more of what an ipa and stout would taste like if they mixed as the malts have a sweet cloying black licoriche drop which seems to mix well with the citrus with the hops. This guy should be their new brewmaster!!! This is delish! A bit too much licoriche for me but i could give this to my friends who are maltheads. Palatte is medium and a bit wet for me too but a good drinking beer.
12oz bottle from Pick’s poured into a shaker. Pours black with about a finger of tan head. Aroma of citrus and pine hops with a nice roasted malt scent. Taste is medium bitter. Strong taste of pine hops and burnt toast. Long coffee aftertaste. Medium bodied with a thick and creamy texture. Lively carbonation and a long bitter coffee finish. Overall, very good. I would drink this again.
Dark and roasty with a malty base that has hints of coffee and smokiness. Full flavored with a bit of hoppy bitterness, but not very floral.
(12oz bottle best by Sep 2011 thanks to Dixonian) clear ruby/brown with a fine creamy tan head. Nose of chocolate, pine, rhubarb, and fudge. Taste of fudge, pine, grapefruit. Smooth and creamy body. Nice linger on the palate also. Well done Black IPA.
12 oz. bottle. Settling for a long night of blogging my beer calendar with this souvenir of Rodney pouring at the Category 23 debut at Famous Liquors. I’d forgotten how deeply black this is, with a foamy stout colored head. While this bottle has been sitting since March, the citrus hop aroma stayed around. Warm malty smell, more for a schwarzbier than a grainy stout. Taste is thick and chewy in texture. Aging has offered some glimpses of bourbon barrel stout, which of course this ain’t. Probably some phenol from the aging bottle, but I would count this more as the alcohol mellowing out. American hop flavor swirls past my taste buds before I can react to them. Does have some roasty stout in the taste. This is only my 4th Black IPA, but I like this particular mix of hop and roast.
black body, fluffy tan head, quite lacy. roasty maltiness and mild graininess in the nose. flavor of roasty malt, hint of licorice, suggestion of hops. some fruity notes. full bodied, dry finish. although there is a slight hop bitterness, it isw not obvious enough. although it is worth drinking for many reasons, it seems much too dry for hot summer days.
Pours black as night with a 2 finger tan head and lots of lace coating the glass. Really big malt aroma with hops like a pine forest. Easy drinking flavor, nice sweetness, roasted flavors, with a good bit of a citrus bite floating on a creamy mouthfeel. Kudos for this.
Hoppy aroma. The hops blend nicely with roasted malts leaving a strong yet very smooth beer. Citrus from the hops is very detectable at first then turnover to a chocolaty finish. Really good.
Black color, this pours with a thick fluffy tan head that yields quite a bit of sticky lacing. The aroma is mostly a combination of pine and citrus, but with some caramel and burnt malty notes as well. Sweet roasty caramel and toffee flavors with some pine kicking in shortly after and gritty grain notes mixing in. Slightly dry in the finish with some lingering toasted bread. This isn’t quite as hoppy as the aroma had me thinking it would be but it’s not lacking in that department either. I’m not a huge fan of the Black IPA but this is a pretty damn solid beer. Kudos to the brewer.
Bottle. Pours black with a large dark tan head. Big piney hop aroma. Flavor of burnt pine. Medium to thick palate. Big dry bitter finish. Wow this is good stuff. Hats off to Rodney, the originator of this fanstastic black IPA. The only downside of this is that I only have one more bottle. Sam Adams should reward this homebrewer and add this to its imperial series.
Aroma: lots of roast, chocolate, coffee, also plenty of floral and spicy hop aromatics. Pours black, basically opaque, with a thick and creamy tan head, great retention and lots of thick lacing. Big roasty and chocolate flavor, strong bitterness both from the hops and roast, coffee and some caramel sweetness. Citrusy and spicy hops meld fairly well with the dark malts, and don’t leave a bitter aftertaste. Medium body and carbonation, smooth on the palate.
12 ounce bottle opened 4/11/11. Pours an opaque dark brown color with a large frothy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, bitter leafy hops. The taste is bitter leafy, earthy, resiny hops with a roasted malt finish. Medium bodied.
Black pour with a frothy tan head. Lots of resinous pine and citrus with hints of chocolate roast, earth, and a bit of oxidation. The hop character is pretty tasty, but there are a few flaws. Medium body with lively carbonation.
Poured from an 12 ounce bottle into a chalice.
Appearance: Pours a dark cola brown, almost black, with a 2 finger creamy light tan head consisting of very fine carbonation bubbles. Excellent head retention and perfect lacing. I don’t see how it could look any better.
Smell: Piney hops with a touch of citrus and a hint of malt in the background.
Taste: Pine and sweat cream-like malt up front followed by toasted malt the middle before ending with lemon zest and burnt toast at the finish. Aftertaste is a mix of burnt toast and hoppy bitterness. Very well-balanced.
Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied with a fairly high amount of carbonation. Goes down smooth.
Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. I could see myself drinking several of these in one sitting. The slightly elevated ABV% is well-masked.
Overall: Excellent beer overall. While I admit I haven’t had more than a handful of American Black Ales, this one is the best I’ve had. This is easily one of the best Sam Adams products I’ve tasted and think they could do well by releasing this full-time. If you can still find one, give it a shot.
Aroma is heavy pine resin grapefruit hops as well as roast. Appearance is dark brown almost black with small tan head. Poured slowly, you can tell this will be a thick beer. Taste is very malt forward. Hops pine grapefruit aroma just behind. Some nuttiness. Hops and roast bitterness comes in just before this becomes cloying. Roast and resin bitterness linger nicely. Palate is full. Flavors dont come together quite as well as I would like and it falls a little flat. Overall a nice beer, but lacking something needed to take it to the next level.
Denver, Co. - Tower Liquors - 12 oz bottle - part of the Longshot Homebrew mixer six pack. Jet black, viscous pour, light khaki colored head. Faint spruce-like aroma with some traces of licorice. Flavor is pleasantly bitter with some strong citrus notes, some licorice, a bit of brown sugar. Full bodied and rib sticking. Mouthfeel is nice and sticky. Best of the three in the six pack.
My bottle [12oz] shared with garthicus & HogTownHarry. Pours black with a large lasting frothy light-brown head. Aroma: Yep, that smells like a Black IPA, with toasted dark malt, resiny leafy hops and coffee. Flavour of roasted malt, light leafy hops, a hint of coffee and an average bitter finish. Average to medium bodied. Pretty good.
This was great. Dark pour, deep flavor and an really nice complex palate. Hops, malt, everything....its all in there.
12oz bottle shared by blankboy with me and garthicus. Deep ruby-brown pour, minimal off-white frothy head. Black IPA aroma - light roast, resin hops. Taste same. Average body, mild carbonation, surprisingly bitter finish.
Thanks to Blankboy. Appearance: Cola black, small brown head. Aroma: Hops, citrus, leafs, quite bitter too. Flavour: Burnt malt, hoppy, a little chocolate nip, great big hop bang at the end. Nice!
Dark brown with brown lowlights and a large creamy brown head that fades moderately leaving an interesting lace pattern. Aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee, pine, light citrus and a hint of chocolate. Taste is full bodies and acidic with coffee and plenty of toasted dark malt, mild citrus and resinous hops. A touchy grainy with a moderate bitter and acidic finish.
Poured from bottle. Piney hops and molasses dominate aroma. Solid black and tan head resemble stout. Flavors of molasses, dry cocoa, licorice, toasted malt, banana accompany the big pine hop flavor. It’s like a porter / IPA hybrid. Lacing. Mellow finish. This could be a new favorite style for me.
12oz bottle. Rodney Kibzey won it again? I liked his weizenbock a few years back a lot. Let’s see if he can rekindle the magic with this Black IPA. Very dark brown in color with a two finger tan head and thick lacing. The aroma is very nice, with roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, and piney hops. The flavor is great too. Big roasty and chocolatey base with some caramel malts evident, mild sweetness, and a solid level of citrusy and piney hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and silky with medium-full body and a solid hoppy bite. The Well, Rodney did it again. A tasty and very drinkable beer.
2011-07-02. Black body with a large beige head. Nice aroma, dark roast with modest hop character. Flavour is similar with dry and roast green hops throughout. Pleasant bitterness to it. 7+ Smooth average plus palate. Pretty solid, not super complex but well executed. Bottle from Premier Gourmet, GG’s Bachelor Party
Bottle. Poured a black color with a tan head, left a sticky hop lacing. Aroma was heavy on the roasted, dark malts with deep chocolate and caramel notes, earthy hops. Flavor is deep, dark chocolate, earthy hops. Bitter. Alcohol is well hidden. Pretty solid.
Chocolate malt, grapefruit and pine in nose. Dark with billowing head. Chocolate milkshake to start, burnt malt and hops to finish. It works and it doesn’t always seem to be integrated in this style. Nice.
Bottle. Moderate malt and hop notes of toasted, pine and resin, light meat smell for the yeast , with charcoal and licorice in the background. Head is large, frothy, light brown with good lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is very dark brown. Flavor starts lightly sweet and acidic, then finishes lightly acidic and moderately bitter. Palate is medium, oily almost creamy, with a lively carbonation and a lightly chalky and dry finish. This is a full and nicely rounded Black IPA that ends up pretty easy drinking, even as it warms.