Samuel Adams LongShot Traditional Bock
2008. Created by homebrewer Alex Drobshoff. Alex’s Brew is a bright copper German inspired bock with a complex, full bodied mouthfeel. Hints of rich plum and cherry aromas paired with its toasty, malt flavor make this the perfect beer to linger over on a cool evening.
3.4
340 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at Papsø.
Clear orange red coloured with a small white head.
Sweet aroma of caramel and rye rbead with notes of caramel.
Sweet flavour of caramel, rye bread, dried fruits and dark chocolate with notes of alcohol.
Sweet and warming alcoholic finish.
12 fl oz bottle, courtesy of Papsoe. Pours clear and golden amber with a small white head. Aroma is mild spiced and herbal, dark malty too. Medium dry and roasted breadish malt flavoured. Bitter and dry finish.
I’m seriously confused by the previous ratings saying the pour is clear amber. Only one I noticed said dark copper, which is much more what I have here. Are people rating the wrong beer, are there major variations in the color of the beer, or do people not know what amber is? Nose is raisins and rum and vanilla. Taste is big fuzzy. Lots of smooth rich roasted malt. Thick. Long lingering flavors move around a lot. Aftertaste almost starts to resemble the aftertaste of blood. Interesting. Caramel and roastiness. Nice beer.
Tasting at Papsø
Hazy amber color. Light German esthers, caramel aroma, light straws. Medium bodied, tired caramel, some vegetables; slighlty oxidized. Not impressive.
Clear deep amber with a medium off white head. Sweet aroma with toasted malt, caramel and dark fruits. Sweet flavour with roasted malt, caramel, rye bread and toffee notes. Finished sweet and full.
Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of madmitch76. Pours a clear amber with an off-white head. Aroma of pumpernickel and burned caramel. Medium body with a good and solid base of roasted malts and pumpernickel. Subdued bitterness. Solid. 100410
I’ve never been a big fan of bocks no matter if they’re authentic imports or American [quasi] craft breweries’ take on the style. Bocks tend to be too mild, dry or heavy (or any combination thereof) for the average drinker to appreciate. But once in a while one will come along that shatters my perceptions like Samuel Adams 2008 Long Shot Traditional Bock. This beer was made by homebrewer Alex Drobshoff who probably wanted to make a niche style brew without the stigma of an acquired taste (that’s my theory, at least).
APPEARANCE AND AROMA
This beer pours to a mostly clear shade of medium brown. There’s a bit of haziness to the body but no sediment noticeable. Carbonation is minimal. The head is tan-colored and creamy/foamy in texture and proportional in size. It leaves a nice layer of lacing around the glass for every individual swig.
The aroma is slightly mild with a mostly sweet, malty scent. The label indicates notes of plum and cherry in the nose but I did not detect them. Perhaps there is a trace of dark fruit to be smelt here, but really only to the discerning drinker.
TASTE
I wish my previous experience with bocks was something more along the lines of Long Shot Traditional Bock because I’ve been so unsatisfied with the style in the past. This beer is most definitely not an acquired taste. Sure it’s very malty and sweet, but even a hophead like me could appreciate it.
The flavor starts out with a rich, malty sweetness with notes of toffee and caramel present. As the label indicates, there is indeed a toasted malt taste to behold. It’s slightly bready or doughy and just a hint of dark fruit as well. I don’t detect much, if any, hops to the palate but that’s okay because the taste is quite inviting. However, I did notice the flavor mellows the more I drink and I also notice a dry, almost chalky taste in the back end. It’s nothing off-putting, and I doubt the average drinker would even notice it, but it’s enough to draw my attention.
DRINKABILITY
While I would certainly describe the overall taste here sweet and delectable, what really sold me on Long Shot Traditional Bock was the mouthfeel. It’s thick and heavy, to be sure, but at the same time it’s velvety smooth like a stout. The dryness to the back end is limited to the palate and doesn’t effect the smooth finish.
WEIGHT
Sometimes a beer’s statistics will surprise me and I think it’s sometimes better to not pay attention to them because they tend to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I mistakenly assumed this beer was average in weight, but it wasn’t until I had finished it that I bothered to look at the bottle. It certainly doesn’t feel or drink like a 6.8% ABV beer. Even though it’s thick in the palate, it’s not heavy on the constitution and there’s certainly not alcohol noticeable in the taste. It’s one of the few beers with such a high ABV that I would consider session worthy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wasn’t expecting to like Long Shot Traditional Bock as much as I did (if at all), which makes it all the more pleasant in retrospect. As sometime that doesn’t usually like beers of the style, take it from me – this is a very drinker-friendly brew (as are all the beers in the 2008 Long Shot winners six-pack).
NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6XvuNe37Ck
Bottle - Purchased as a single. Pours a dark copper color. Large off white head. Good lacing. Mild carmal aroma. Flavor of burnt carmal. Rich creamy and full bodied. I really enjoyed this. Will buy again if I see it.
bottle - Pours clear amber with a small off-white head that leaves some lacing. It smells of caramel malt, a little alcohol, and a trace of fruit. The flavor is really sweet with toasted caramel malt. It’s medium bodied and overall an alright brew.
Bottle to Samuel Adams glass. Pours dark amber with thin head, but it continues to lace. Cherries, bread. Nice coffee, chocolate with a bit of bitter finish. Alcohol is present and accounted for, could be a little sweeter. Very nice full palate with ample carbonation. A very good bock, nice to find this one.
Brown with a nice off white head. Aroma is lightly malty, crystal malt, toasty. Taste is mollases, caramel, light smoke, light chocolate.
Nice smooth and creamy/malty beer. only slightly metallic taste. great rich color and aroma
Pours brown/red, thin off white head. Malty aroma, caramelly and bock-ish... Full bodied, malty flavour - very nice. Not something I usually go for but very good.
Toffee, caramel and plum scents. Appearance is well carbonated medium brown with creamy head. Flavor matches the nose well, with more of an emphasis on the caramel. Palate is creamy. Good.
Dark coppery brown color with a film of a head. Spicy roasted malt aroma. Sweet malt flavor with a bitter sweet finish that lasts. Medium with an almost sticky mouthfeel. This is a very easy drinking, satisfying beer.
I must say I really enjoyed this one. Very good bock. Nice dark coper color. Getting lots of malt, but a nice balance, not a total malt bomb or anything....I would buy this again!
This is a really solid bock. I enjoyed this more than most Sam Adams brews. Nice malty taste with just a touch of sweetness. Some bread type notes in it as well.
Pours amber brown with a tan head. Aroma is caramel malts with hints of chocolate. Flavor is nice and malty with caramel, brown sugar and hints of chocolate coming through. Not bad.
Pours clear deep amber/copper. Aroma of toasted cereal and fruit. Taste is the same. I found this to be an easy drinker. Good stuff
Bottle ( 12oz ). Clear copper-amber, very large fluffy beige lasting head, thick lace remnants. Decent, if light aroma - toasty cereal malt, dry cocoa, slight sour, as from a hint of unripe fruit. Taste is syrupy, thick cereal grain, quite pungently floral, a decent bitter/sweet balance - a little fruitiness around the edges. Light, watery mouthfeel, but a bit sticky - adequately carbonated, quick-finishing, quite crisp. Not bad.
Bright amber aroma - sweet bready aroma. Flavours of xmas fruit. Sweet and punchy.Soft carbonation. Drinkable, but I’d only have 1.
Aroma is caramel, bready, simple and enjoyable. The beer is a nice ruby brown color, tan head. The flavor is sweet, caramel, bread, again simple and enjoyable. The finish is slightly astringent, a mild but noticeable hop bittering. The body is medium, creamy. Very nice beer overall, nothing crazy, just a good solid performer.
Amber almost red with white head and lace. Aroma of wet paper. Caramel malt flavor with a very light bitter. Medium bodied and a bit fizzy.
Pours clear red amber with a thick beige head. Aroma is caramel apple and nut. Taste is lightly roasted caramel malt and some fruit. Well made beer, very smooth and easy to drink.
Amber my red haired ass. This is cola brown with iced tea notes. Thick and creamy beige head. Wonderful butter toffee nose with a syrupy feel on the palate. Toasted malt and barley with more hops than most bock’s have. Lots of hoppy bitter aftertaste. But even after all my praise it’s not really great. Good, not great.
Bottle split with Tony. Pours a dark amber body. Aroma is wheat and "toasty" malt.... the bottle says it’s toasty, its not. The taste is
12 ounce best before 9/09 bottle in Sam Adams glass. Brown with ring head. Nice toasty brown sugar aroma with a little wood. Toasted brown sugar with sweet dark fruit and slightly medicinal lingering bittersweet finish. Starts off great, finishes...meh, Still, pretty good overall. Difficult style, I would say, as a non-brewer.
Clear copper with a slowly dissipating puffy moon crater lacemaker of an off-white topper. Aroma of grains, sweet malt, toffee, must, light cherry and fruit. Taste of mild cherry and dark fruit, diacetyl, toasted malt, toffee with a fruity and buttery finish. Finishes up dry with some coagulation.
2008 bottle sold in a box set. thanks Toby. Pours out a brown topped with a sand head. Aroma was of sweet roast malts and bread. Taste a very nice malt and bread. A little sweet and a touch of bitterness. Pretty tasty.
Bottle. Poured a darker brownish color with a white foamy head. Aroma was sweet malts, yeast, and sugar. Flavor was bread, fruits, sugar, and cherry. Very well balanced. Very nice offering from sam adams.