Sam Adams Long Shot

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hoffie38

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Who has tried the new Long Shot beers from Sam Adams? Three styles brewed from the winning recipes of their annual home brew compitition, which includes an old ale, German alt and boysenberry wheat. I believe all of these are incredible brews and the old ale, which weighs in at 10.1%, in my opinion, is better than the Bell's Third Coast Old Ale at 10.2%. The Long Shot Old Ale has a great malty sweetness back up by a firm but certainly not overpowering hop presence. Excellent ballance in all. Buy all you can while it lasts.
 
I remember when the competition was running but haven't seen them out in the beer stores yet. Are they selling them seperately or in a combo 12 pack?
 
I just found a six pack this afternoon. I had the Dortmunder and the Old Ale. I didnt realize that it was 10%+... that explains the nap afterwards. They were both great beers. I will try the wheat later.

- magno
 
So far I've only seen them in six packs. I live in the Dallas area and found them at specialty grocer called Central Market. They have a great beer selection, but still don't come close to the midwest in beer availability. The midwest is pumping out some great micros, unfortunately, the limited production volumes prohibit the availabillity of them in the south. I was lucky to have worked in a liquor store in a Big Ten city when I was in college. We carried over 300 domestic and imported beers.
 
I saw one of the winners resumes out the other day. He is wanting to go pro now.
 
I saw them at Central Market in Dallas too. I couldnt find any in Austin when I looked, although I didnt look everywhere. I only saw the six packs.

Im drinking the wheat now. All three are good beers, but the old ale is the best. I would buy those alone.
 
The maker of the Old Ale ,Don Oliver. He is a member of the Modesto Mashers HBC. We got to try his beer before it was announced and we had samples of the beer from SA. All I can say is that they treated Don like the good person he is. A super friendly cool all around guy!
The samples we had according to Don were spot on what he had done.
BTW We had nothing to do with his sucess except encouragment and we drank his beer.
 
I saw the 12 pk sampler at the store tonight, ended up going with the Rock Art Brewery sampler instead (not bad overall, really good porter) but I guess the Sam will have to be next.....
 
So they're doing another competition for 2007. Does anyone have any plans to enter it? It's very intriguing; I wonder how many entries they get.
 
hoffie38 said:
I was lucky to have worked in a liquor store in a Big Ten city when I was in college. We carried over 300 domestic and imported beers.

Was it John's Grocery in Iowa City?
 
I picked up two 6ers at the Kappy's on Route 1 in Saugus a week or two back. I have to say, I was bummed.

The boisenberry (sp?) have an offensive, soapy/sweet/fruity fragrance and was completely over-the-top in the fruit flavor profile. The "beer" was trempled underfoot.

The old ale was similarly heavy-handed - WAY too "big" and klunky, over alcohol'd, over malted, under hopped.

The export was OK, but had a bit too much of a metallic taste to it. Somewhat acceptable to style, but still not well executed.

Overall, I think these beers represent most brewers tendencies to go over the top as opposed to doing defined, traditional styles well. Not my bag. :(
 
Fiery Sword said:
The export was OK, but had a bit too much of a metallic taste to it. Somewhat acceptable to style, but still not well executed.

See, this is interesting, because you would generally think of a metallic off-flavor as indicitive of a manufacturing flaw, not a problem with the recipe itself (unless the secret ingredient was aluminum shavings). I should try and find a sixer of this tonight.
 
the_bird said:
See, this is interesting, because you would generally think of a metallic off-flavor as indicitive of a manufacturing flaw, not a problem with the recipe itself (unless the secret ingredient was aluminum shavings). I should try and find a sixer of this tonight.
I think it has a lot to do with the water profile used. I would not be surprised at all if there were a high level of carbonates allowed/desired in this brew....as well as some iron or something. It just tasted "off" to me in a harsh, sharp, metallic kind of way. Some german pils type beers give me a little of this flavor and when properly balanced with hops it is actually good - but with this one it was just way too pronounced.....in the same way the other 2 beers were so exagerated. Definitely a bummer.

EDIT: Maybe Sam Adams used big, giant aluminum fermenters than they previously used oxy-clean on then scratched them up with brillo pads!??!!!! :D
 
Torchiest said:
So they're doing another competition for 2007. Does anyone have any plans to enter it? It's very intriguing; I wonder how many entries they get.

I'll give it a shot, sure. If nothing else, I'll get a score card out of it that tells me why my beer sucks. :)
 
It seems, on its face, that they may have been giving a greater weight to entrants in more-unusual categories. No IPAs or porters among the finalists, they were all styles that generally don't receive a lot of attention.

Incidentally, it appears that the deadline for the 2007 contest is not that far away

The four bottles of your brew along with the entry form must be received at the appropriate site between Sunday, April 15, 2007 and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, 2007.
 
How many of you that tasted these straight out of the bottle?

I was drinking Bass on Sunday. Popped the top on number one, drank about 3-4 sipps straight from the bottle and wasn't too pleased. I grabbed a pint glass poured the rest into it with a good headed pour. At least 1" Let the CO2 out....

It tasted much better. Mind you, this was my first of the day and my palate was not yet influenced by the food at the party.

Just curious if any of you have noticed this before....
 
I drank them all in a glass, I was actually splitting them with my buddy for analysis. I like most beers out of glasses, with a few exceptions. Namely Bud, which I like out of an old cross country running shoe.
 
For those of you who are even thinking of entering this contest you should first READ all the rules, including those under the subheading Prizes: which in a nutshell states that you give up ALL rights to your winning reciepe, and the use of your likeness to Sam Adams Brewing Co. Which means that should you win this contest you will:

Recieve $5000 and a trip to CO:

BUT: you give up all rights to your winning reciepe, and your ability to market your winning reciepe. So, for $5000 dollars you basicly sell your reciepe to Sam Adams for them to market and make a profit on........I would think twice before entering this, and GIVING AWAY your reciepe.:mad:
 
What else are you going to do with it, though? 99% of us harbor no illusions of ever turning our brewing into a profit-making venture, and even if we did - it takes a lot more than one recipe to be successful.

EDIT: In fact, I would posit that the specific beer recipe is probably the LEAST important element in running a successful brewpup, or microbrewery, or any other beer-related venture. With enough time and experimentation, any of us could develop many kick-ass recipes; the keys are distribution and marketing.
 
Hey, if any one wants to give me $5k for a recipe of mine they can have it and all my brew gear AND I'll brew them a batch.

Any offers?
 
Yup, easy to say that now, win the contest, and then share your feelings after they made 5 million on your reciepe.:confused:

The time to bargin is before you sign on the dotted line.
 
peggjam said:
Yup, easy to say that now, win the contest, and then share your feelings after they made 5 million on your reciepe.:confused:

The time to bargin is before you sign on the dotted line.

I guess if that bothers you a lot, don't enter. Like people have said, I don't think most of us really care. I could use $5K, would I love to have the capital to start my own micro and make the recipe myself, sure, but I'll never go through with it, so I'll take the $5K I didn't have before and a hell of a fun trip.
 
peggjam said:
Yup, easy to say that now, win the contest, and then share your feelings after they made 5 million on your reciepe.:confused:

The time to bargin is before you sign on the dotted line.

There's a new member, someone who signed up the other day, who is buddies with one of the winners. I would be interested in hearing whether or not he has any regrets (and would be willing to wager that the answer is "none") :D

Welcome to the forum, BTW. Not trying to be argumentative (well, a little), just disagreeing.
 
It's their contest!!!! Of course they'd own the rights to the recipe!!! If you are simply a contest participant, you have no upper hand to make any demands...you are simply 4 bottles among thousands. If I had a functioning micro that was about to take the world by storm with a particular recipe, then I wouldn't enter. But selling a recipe for $5000 in a spare-change basement operation/hobby? NO BRAINER!!!!! I'm with Orfy.....

(Oh an welcome also.....got any good recipes to share? ;) )
 
I don't know of any contest that requires you to give up the rights to the design, reciepe, or content of an item entered.....other than this one. Remember the space vechile design contest......the winner did not give up their design as a part of participating in the contest. I'm quite sure that when one realizes what they have lost as a result of entering a contest and winning, there will be some internal whining.....sorry, I feel Sam Adams is screwing every winner by not including some profit sharing as part of this contest. But that's just my HO:D .
 
peggjam said:
Because I think it's a screw deal.....is that answer enough for you? I also think Exxon/Mobile posting a 32 billion profit is also a screw deal...considering it's just my oppinion, and I have the right to express it who are you to question why?:D

I would happen to be a person who has the right to question why and what your motivation happens to be as much as you have the right to express your opinion.

On the topic of the contest, the rules are very similar if not identical to many other submit your song/recipe/design/whatever creative product contest. IMHO as long as the participants are aware of the rules and what they are agreeing to by participating, it is their choice...no one is forced to participate and assign these rights with out choice.
 
I'm going to submit a greasy beer with a clover logo and high ABV% and have them market it to Italian/Irish mutts.
 
"On the topic of the contest, the rules are very similar if not identical to many other submit your song/recipe/design/whatever creative product contest. IMHO as long as the participants are aware of the rules and what they are agreeing to by participating, it is their choice...no one is forced to participate and assign these rights with out choice."

I'm just not sure they understand what they are agreeing to. I see alot of comments about how great the contest is, but nothing about what you are actually agreeing too...so I thought a little clearification and conversation would help everybody understand that this may not be as good as it sounds.
 
peggjam said:
"On the topic of the contest, the rules are very similar if not identical to many other submit your song/recipe/design/whatever creative product contest. IMHO as long as the participants are aware of the rules and what they are agreeing to by participating, it is their choice...no one is forced to participate and assign these rights with out choice."

I'm just not sure they understand what they are agreeing to. I see alot of comments about how great the contest is, but nothing about what you are actually agreeing too...so I thought a little clearification and conversation would help everybody understand that this may not be as good as it sounds.

I have not seen the entrance paperwork but I do know that if SA attempted to slip this past folks without their understanding, they wouldn't have much defense legally. I have seen the entrance paperwork for other contests and it's pretty clear when you enter.

edit: it is pretty clearly spelled out right in the rules on the longshot site.
http://www.samueladams.com/promotions/LongShot/rules.aspx
 
I've never heard of anyone in the homebrewing community not understanding what it is they are agreeing to....

So, if your recipe is kick-ass enough where you KNOW it's your ticket to the high life (so to speak), forget the contest, start up a micro, and sell me some. If you're right, great! What I think you'll find, though, is that the specific recipe is a relatively minor factor in whether your venture is profitable or not; there's a reason that so many microbrewers are so open about their recipes with the homebrew community.
 
peggjam said:
"On the topic of the contest, the rules are very similar if not identical to many other submit your song/recipe/design/whatever creative product contest. IMHO as long as the participants are aware of the rules and what they are agreeing to by participating, it is their choice...no one is forced to participate and assign these rights with out choice."

I'm just not sure they understand what they are agreeing to. I see alot of comments about how great the contest is, but nothing about what you are actually agreeing too...so I thought a little clearification and conversation would help everybody understand that this may not be as good as it sounds.

Let's consider two scenarios: I enter and win, and I do not enter and clearly do not win.

By entering, you're already "signed on the dotted line," so there's no holding out on your recipe. You're legally bound to surrender it.

If I win, then I get $5000. Hooray. If I do not even enter, I get nothing. Take some time to consider which is better.

The way you act about your recipes is a little silly, IMHO. The point of this hobby (to me and many others) is to have an open community of brewers who share their recipes and experiences with one another. It's not a giant competition where we stash away what we create like the soup Nazi, hoping for financial gain from our "work." None of us own a brew pub, and if we did, we'd be disqualified for using said brew pub in creating our beer for the contest (see the rules).

Sam Adams is giving you a chance to get your beer out to thousands and thousands of people, and they're paying you at the same time. You didn't invent free energy; it's a beer recipe. Let it go. :drunk:
 
the_bird said:
I've never heard of anyone in the homebrewing community not understanding what it is they are agreeing to....

So, if your recipe is kick-ass enough where you KNOW it's your ticket to the high life (so to speak), forget the contest, start up a micro, and sell me some. If you're right, great! What I think you'll find, though, is that the specific recipe is a relatively minor factor in whether your venture is profitable or not; there's a reason that so many microbrewers are so open about their recipes with the homebrew community.


Your so right about the profitable aspect of starting a microbrewery. Granted not every beer is going to get you to the high life, it only takes one, and if you own all the rights to it your made. It's the research and development of a great beer that makes them so expensive to produce, but if you can get the homebrewers to do the research and development for you, uercka, you've hit the jackpot, so to speak of course.:mug:
 
So, answer me this... why do you feel the need to make this your personal cause? Do you think homebrewers aren't smart enough to read the agreement before they sign it? Do you have some kind of vendetta against Sam Adams, or corportations making a profit in general? If you don't like how the contest is set up, fine - but why join a bunch of forums for what appears to be the sole intent to disparage Sam Adams, not to be a member of the community?
 
peggjam said:
Your so right about the profitable aspect of starting a microbrewery. Granted not every beer is going to get you to the high life, it only takes one, and if you own all the rights to it your made. It's the research and development of a great beer that makes them so expensive to produce, but if you can get the homebrewers to do the research and development for you, uercka, you've hit the jackpot, so to speak of course.:mug:

But this is a case where everybody wins: Sam Adams employs a pretty slick scheme wherein they pay 5k to a winner and get a great new recipe, and the winner gets 5k and their face on a well-known beer. The average homebrewer (for whom this contest is intended) is not in it for financial gain, so giving up the recipe means precisely bunk.
 
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