Folks, my life is a nightmare! The unthinkable has happened! My world is shattered! What’s wrong you ask? I missed a Longshot Homebrew Contest sampler six-pack from Samuel Adams! It was the 2015 release of the 2014 winners that I lost out on, because I just couldn’t find them anywhere. They sounded so good, too: a robust porter, a classic rauchbier, and a dunkelweizen. Other than this miss, I’ve had them all, all the way back to 1996.
Every cloud has a silver lining though, or so they say, and the good news here is that that didn’t happen again with the 2016 Longshot sampler. I got an alert from Boston Beer that it should be hitting store shelves, and when I checked my local Total Wine’s website, they did indeed have it. Well, a little of it. When I got there I snatched up one of the two six-packs they had. The salesman told me they had only ordered a case, which seemed strange to me.
Anyway, the sampler included 2 bottles each of the following:
· Nanzer’s Belgian Golden Ale
· Neighborino Flanders Red Ale
It’s the Longshot Nanzer's Belgian Golden Ale that I’m here to talk about today, and I’ll let Boston beer do the initial talking. From the label:
This Belgian Golden Ale has notes of fruit, clove and pepper in the aroma, balanced by subtle malt character, with a clean citrus taste and bitterness from the hops...this beer should be sipped slowly to savor the delicious flavors.
Samuel Adams Longshot Nanzer's Belgian Golden Ale has an alcohol content of 9.1% by volume,quite the contrast to the 4% Longshot Raspberry Berliner Weisse I drank first from the sampler. The beer has just 18 IBUs and I paid $9.99 for my six-pack sampler. The bottle is notched as best before September of 2016.
Samuel Adams Longshot Nanzer's Belgian Golden Ale pours to a beautiful bright golden color with a thick creamy head of foam and a light spicy nose of clove and pepper. Taking a sip, the beer is smooth dry malty up front with notes of rich rock candy, cloves, and subtle funky yeast. Soft hints of pineapple lead into the spicy dry, warm alcohol finish.
What did I like about this very nicely done beer? It's a true sipper as they say on the label, delicate yet complex, with a delightful sweetness mid body. Yet the beer still finishes with an appetizing dryness.
I enjoyed this beer very much, and congrats to Kevin Nanzer of California for his winning recipe of a spicy Belgian Golden Ale. The 2016 competition marks the 20th anniversary of Boston beer’s commitment to homebrewers. Interested in entering? You can get the details on the Longshot website.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft