Samuel Adams LongShot Double IPA

While there is a great malty foundation to this brew, Mike’s Double IPA showcases his appreciate for hops. In fact, he included seven different varieties of American hops, totaling over six pounds of hops per barrel. The hops add an intense floral and citrus aroma to this brew.

3.7

372 reviews

Boston, United States

Community reviews

3.3 12 fl oz bottle, courtesy of Papsoe. Pours cloudy dark orange with a small white head. Spiced and herbal aroma. Vague sweetness, distinct herbal dryness and spiced. Bitter and dry finish.

3.5 Tasting at Papsø Hazy light amber color; medium sized creamy head. Large hop aroma, but strange, with a vein of of butter, cream, phenols, sweat. Quite strong body, but the mouthfeel is rather oily; sweetish toffee flavor, with oily hops, powerful. Not refined, but satisfying when looking for hops.

3.1 Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of madmitch76. Pours a cloudy amber with a dense off-white head. Aroma is massive hops - getting too astringent. Solid body, fruity and sweet, but it’s al just really a base for a massive and unrefined hop soup. Really crude and way too much. 100410

4.1 I’ve never attempted any home brewing because I think certain things should be left to the professionals. Well, Jim Koch, the inventor of the Samuel Adams line of beers (who also started out as a home brewer) has constantly encouraged more “lunatics” like him to get into the beer-brewing game. Mike McDole of California heeded that call with his Double IPA, one of the 2008 winners of the Samuel Adams “Long Shot” line of beers. What’s particularly interesting about this beer is not only is it an India Pale Ale, but a double IPA at that. Samuel Adams has never, to my knowledge, brewed an IPA and that they would brew a homemade imperial version of the style is quite a leap for them. Perhaps they can take a cue from their contest winner and brew some beers catering to hop heads like me. APPEARANCE AND AROMA This beer pours smoothly to a color which could best be described as “dirty orange.” There is no sediment noticeable per se, but the body is not transparent. It produces an off-white, creamy/foamy head which leaves a ring of lacing around the inside of the glass for every individual swig. The aroma is very strong with a heavy citrus component as well as a thick, sweet maltiness. Alcohol is noticeable, but it takes a back seat to the genuine scents here. TASTE I have no idea how difficult it is to brew an IPA, much less a double IPA, but Mike McDole has made it look easy. The label indicates that the beer is made with seven varieties of hops and has a “great malty foundation” – both descriptions which are deadly accurate upon the first swig. I was immediately reminded of Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA as I took my first taste of Long Shot Double IPA. A thick, rich, grapefruit-like taste is immediately noticeable with a rich malty finish. There is a very bitter undertone to this palate, but it is not crisp due to the heavy body. In fact, the flavor is so strong it borders on an all-out syrup quality. This is a beer for hop heads as it really is a mélange of tart bitterness. The label does not indicate which type of hops were used in the brewing of this beer, but IPA fans will find the taste familiar (I’m thinking cascade, fuggles and Mt. Hood?). Unfortunately, the pedestrian drinker will likely find it too bitter and intense to appreciate (a reviewer on YouTube described it as tasting like unsweetened grapefruit juice and hated it). This is an acquired taste, but that’s the point I suppose. DRINKABILITY If the drinker can appreciate the strong citrusy flavor to Long Shot Double IPA they’ll be equally impressed with the beer’s drinkability. Although it does have a thick, almost chewy-like mouthfeel, this beer is extremely smooth. Because the bitterness is so intense (I’d estimated the IBU rating at about 80) there really is no bite. I did notice a bit of a dry finish due to the alcohol content and a slightly salty aftertaste, but overall I think this is a surprisingly drinker-friendly brew, BODY While the label clearly indicates a potency of 9% ABV, I would describe the perceived weight of the beer to be much lower. As thick as the mouthfeel is and as intense as the taste is, Long Shot Double IPA does not feel nearly as heavy as its statistics would indicate. I was able to drink two bottles back-to-back and felt only buzzed and certainly not overwhelmed or bloated. I think if this beer was paired with food, it would be a different story, though. FINAL THOUGHTS I’ve been waiting for the Boston Beer Company to brew an IPA for years and that they would finally do so with a home brewed Double IPA really impresses me. This beer could easily contend with some of the bigger name imperial IPAs from the better craft brews. Many of the Samuel Adams beers are acquired tastes, as is this beer, but once you acquire said taste your appreciation for the craftsmanship is all the more intensified. NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDUtURBwRRc

2.2 Bottle and served in my GI IPA tulip: Hazy and murky unfiltered light amber hue with a solid creamy head and good lace. The aroma has notes of dank, cheesy, resiny and catty hops, pineapple and what can only be described as Kumquat. Some biscuity and crystal malts, earthy and weedy yeast esters, and a hint of white pepper. The taste is harsh dank hops, abrasive bitterness, strange acidic fruitiness and light allspice and curry powder finish. This is one weird arse beer if you ask me. Oh, there is some metallic. mineral and sulfur character as well. The mouth feel actually is not sharp nor lively enough for what the heck happened on the palate. Perhaps this bottle is too old or that the hop combination just does not sit right with me today but I really dislike this beer. Some catty and dank character is great but when overdone I find it abrasive, harsh and simply off-putting. I hate writing this review for I love that homebrewers get to have a recipe done on a commercial level but I must call it like I see it.

3.8 Bottle. Earthy aroma. Pours a dark carmal color with a medium sized creamy white head. Flavor of grapefruit and other citrus. Extremely thick and rich palate. Intense bitter mouthfeel. This is my idea of what a douple IPA should be. Its a huge beer, not easy drinking by any means, but overall an excellent beer for hop lover. Thank you Mike for coming up with this and thank you Sam Adams for giving us the opportunity to sample it.

4.0 Bottle. Pours a rich amber with a foamy white head. Aroma is heavy on the citrus, grapefruit and lemon. Rich malty body, good bit of spice, lots of citrusy hops. Great beer for true hop heads.

4.0 bottle - Pours very hazy copper with a large off-white head that leaves heavy lacing. There’s a big, very grapefruit heavy hop aroma. The big citrus hops flavor has a good, solid malt body backing it up. Very nice brew.

3.5 Orange pour with white head and lace. Resiny hops, apples and bread. Sweet malt, perfume, with a nice resiny bitter. Medium bodied with aggressive carbonation.

3.8 Pours like a dirty citrus colored drink. Off copper with tons of floaters. No head at all on my pour. Aroma is of course hoppy with hints of flowers and citrus. Lots of carbonation that tingles the tongue with up front bitterness. Nice hop flavor. This tastes exactly like something else I have had but can’t place it right now.

3.4 Aroma of some ripe citrus, candied malts and spruce. Appearance is translucent golden brown with tan creamy head. Flavor matches the nose, with an emphasis on the candied elements of this beer up front. The finish is spruce and floral-like, with some alcohol present. Palate is nice and bubbly. A decent DIPA.

3.4 Pours an amber orange. Off white head. Light lacing. Aroma light hops some citrus. Malt with some hops rather balanced. Many have called this the Pliny homebrew... mmm I’m not sure about that. Maybe my hopes were too high.... I’ve had this several times and it’s OK, and probably much better than that. but definitely maltier than Pliny. Cheaper tho.

3.5 Bottle: Pale orange, a little dirty and muddy, moderate white frothy head, itty bits of lacing. Strong citrus nose, hoppy, hints of alcohol. Lots of heat on first sip, hoppy, biting citrus peel, with a thick mouthfeel. Decent malt base, but this one certainly needs some time. A little astringent on the finish. Certainly biting, and alcohol rich. Wow, yeah, 9% on this bad boy. Decent beer, but I bet this one would stand to be better with some age on it.

3.6 Red amber color with a good sized, pillowy head. Fruity, spicy slightly musky aroma. Flavor is a load of citrus and spicy hops with the malt peeking through in the background. The malt comes through a bit more as it warms but it’s the hops that really make their presence known through to the finish.

3.3 This is a really well balanced IPA. It is almost as if west coast meets east coast. Good almost spicy hop presence that doesn’t overwhelm the malt flavor.

3.6 Pours light amber with an off white head. Aroma is bit citrusy spicy, body odor like centennial hop aroma. Flavor is also huge citrusy spicy hops, with lots of centennial coming through. Not bad.

3.3 Overall a pretty enjoyable beer! Didn’t get a lot of aroma...but I have a cold...so I bet it was there and I just can’t say. Looks good, Nice amber color, not hazy. Tastes great, I’m a fan of hops, and this does not disapoint.

3.4 Pours deep deep orange/amber with a nice citrus hop and malt aroma. Very bitter upfront and lasts. Thick malty backbone with a cloying malt or hop juice. Lots of simcoe or similar hops?

3.1 ( 12oz bottle) Pours dark amber color, darker than expected. The head simply will NOT go away the entire time. It’s left a thick blanket of head atop the beer for a good 30 minutes until I finished it. Nose is nothing too special. The bittering hops are pleasant, and you can tell it has no real identifiable hop as they used 6 different varieties when brewing this so I’m not sure I liked it a lot, but decent and clean. Some malt is here too but not enough. Taste is really lacking. Very bitter both up front, and on the finish. The bitter on the finish lasted 30+ minutes after I hadn’t drank anything else. No malt to support the bitterness, and doesn’t seem well balanced. If you are a hardcore IPA drinker then maybe you’ll enjoy this but coming from a guy who only seems to enjoy the very best IPAs/DIPAs this isn’t great. This is by no means a Pliny clone as I’ve read elsewhere as it doesn’t smell, feel, or taste anything like PtE. A little under-carbonated and thick. I couldn’t drink more than one. Way too bitter that stayed with me a long time.

3.0 Bottle split with Dallas. This was the final sample of the evening so I don’t expect it to be very accurate. Pours a darker body then one would predict.. dark brown with a reddish hue, and minimum head. The taste is nothing horrible. However, this beer really cannot stack up to the other BIG DOUBLE IPAs out there. Flavor suggests notes of bitter hop, pine hop, and some alcohol bite. I’ll try this a third time to see if it falls or rises from its current total score (3).

3.5 Hazy orange-red pour with a sticky white head. The nose does have a bright orange and pine character although the hops do seem to be getting a little bit lost in this one as it ages. Grapefruity flavour with a fairly assertive resiny bitterness. A little bit of oxidized character. The malt is sweet but not cloying and it does back up the hoppiness pretty nicely. It’s lost a lot of the brighter aromatics, but it’s still a decent IIPA.

3.8 2008 bottle sold in a box set. thanks Toby. Pours out a cloudy orange topped with a nice head. Aroma was of pine and floral hop mix a lot of sweet caramel. Taste was more of the sweetness and a nice malt. I wish I could have had this one fresh. Even after a year it is still pretty good. Well done Mike.

3.4 In bottle, West Coast pale ale. SLight drawback with the helter skelter bitterness finish. Otherwise a very nice effort. I can’t see enjoying multiple bottles, but one was great.

3.5 Very cloudy; orange-amber color. When opened, the bottle started to foam over (slowly). Good, tight-bubbled head with lasting power. Leaves good ring lace. Predictable high-hop aroma. Floral bitterness with a soft dryish malt in the background. Welcome to a hop bomb. Far more hoppy than the smell suggests. Hop lovers rejoice--lots of bitter grapefruit rind. The malt is simply the delivery system of this beer. Above average body with a moderate level of carbonation. The bitterness covers the alcohol level which only shows up in the swallow. Loonnggg lasting aftertaste--like sucking a hop pellet. I’m a hophead, so I am enjoying this. But it is borderline extreme (especially after the well-rounded Longshot Bock). Beware.

3.5 Poured from bottle into Nonic Imperial Pint. Dark hazy orange with persistent (but small) head and lacing. Aroma of grapefruit, dry malt and pine. Nice hop taste of grapefruit, pine and orange, countered by semi-dry malts that remind me of an English Bitter. Very strong bitterness at the end and aftertaste. Bitterness seems too strong in comparison to the actual hop taste. Too unbalanced. It actually reminds me of Bigfoot, but without the nice malt complexity. Can’t really detect the alcohol. Please note, I did not drink this too cold, probably around 50 to 55 degrees for most of the glass. Full bodied, slightly chewy, not quite as smooth as some other DIPAs. Nice, slow sipping DIPA. However, I can’t really imagine having a second one on the same night. Once the beer really warmed up (65+ degrees), the unbalanced bitterness subsided somewhat, but then it did taste like alcohol (and grapefruit). Still not that great.

3.8 Bottle from a while back, Thanks Toby! - Pours kinda thick orange with a medium frothy head...aroma is dank even with a year on it, sticky pine, grapefruit and caramel...flavour is similar, biting hop bitterness, grapefruit and tangerine, sweet malt tries to balance, but this one was all about the hops...finish was lingering pine, wow...

3.8 Pours a deep cloudy medium dark bodied amber with a slight off white head that just doesn’t seem to go down easy. Somewhat strong aromas of citrus/pine hop combo with some caramel coming through and other hard to place malts. Flavors come though with a strong punch of the citrus/fruity/pine hops, then has a decent malt backing of caramel and slight plum. Sweet, bitter, slightly rich, and semi dry. A tasty IIPA at best.

3.7 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.

3.8 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.

2.6 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.