Longshot American Stout
Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company)

I may actually participate in NBS (Week 615) since I plan to run through as much of my remaining Samuel Adams Bottle Backlog as possible today! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

From the bottle: "Notes of chocolate and coffee carry through to a velvety finish in this big malty stout. The richness is balanced by hints of citrus and pine from the Columbus and Cascade hops.": "Created by: Russ Brunner".

I Pop!ped the cap, looked at Russ for his approval and let loose with a heavy-handed pour. Not only did I get a pseudo-cascade, but the head rose to the very lip of the glass before beginning to subside. It became two-plus fingers of dense, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with great retention. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44) with garnet highlights only at the edges. Nose smelled strongly of dark chocolate with a light smokiness. Mouthfeel was medium, but I would have preferred a fuller creaminess, especially in this style. The taste was very different, kind of treacle, a pine mintiness, dark chocolate, lightly roasted coffee adding up to an ersatz Peppermint Patty flavor with slight variations. Finish was semi-dry and lingering with a slightly smoky chocolatiness.

 

Jet black body
roasty malt aroma and coffee notes
very tasty average stout

12oz bottle, poured into snifter

A- pours pitch black in color with a small creamy khaki-colred head that reduces to a f ilm floating on top, leaving some lacing behind

S- smoky and roasted malt aroma with notes of hickory, charcoal & roasted walnut. Assertive coffee aroma gives some fruit berry-like notes. It closes out with some hoppy notes of citrus rind, pine needle and fresh cut grass

T- creamy roasted chocolate malt gives flavors of cocoa, coffee, campfire ash and toasted bread crust. Mid palate- becomes immediately dry, as citrus hop notes provide a tart bite, followed by piney hops. Fruity finish with more smoky malt on a dry linger

M- medium body with medium-low carbonation leads to a creamy-chewy mouthfeel and a silky smooth finish, high drinkability

O- assertive hop notes give this a bit of a twist from your standard stout. Overall quite enjoyable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked this up in the mixed sixpack, enjoyed in a stout glass chilled.

The color is black with opaque clarity and thick beige cream with very fine bead webbing of lace sticks. The smell is light with woody and slight roasted coffee with mild caramel scent and gentle earthy yeast and dry wheat-like toast with an almost buckwheat biscuit smell. The feel is decent with nice malt body and moderate carbonation with low sweetness and mild bitterness alcohol is mild with semi-dry finish.

The flavor has a light roasted malt flavor with subtle yeast and mild caramel malt with some dry earthen qualities of coffee and subtle pine in the hop flavor with alcohol low in the flavor with mild toasted character with a slight creaminess from the yeast throughout. Overall this is a pretty good stout, not great but pretty drinkable as far as the style goes.