Samuel Adams 2014 Longshot Winners – First Sampling

I brought you the news of the winning entries in the 2014 Samuel Adams Longshot Homebrewing contest winner back in Oct 2014.  I followed that up with the actual packaging approvals in Jan 2015, so I’m excited to bring you an early first sampling of this year’s three winners:  Matthew Knott’s Smokehouse Rauchbier, Greg Rasmussen’s Raspy’s Robust Porter and John Marra’s Dark Night In Brooklyn.

We decided to start with John Marra’s Dark Night In Brooklyn Dunkelweiss.  This beer uses traditional Bavarian yeast and that is obvious in the aromas and flavors.  We found spicy and citrusy aromas and a bready and slightly yeast flavors.  In the end we agreed on banana flavors being more prominent (in a good way) and the finish had some nutmeg and even traditional clove flavors you’d expect.  A really nicely balance beer with flavors that belie it’s color.

Up next we sampled Greg Rasmussen’s Raspy’s Robust Porter, partially because I love a good Baltic porter and partially because I knew the third beer flavors needed to go last.  This beer is not as big as I expected for a robust porter (6.8%-AbV), but it is so loaded with flavors, you won’t mind.  We found sweet caramel mixed with coffee, chocolate and even a sweetness we likened to vanilla in the flavors.  The finish is roasty and slightly smoky (very slight) and the sweetness at the end made us want to drink even more.

Finally we hit Matthew Knott’s Smokehouse Rauchbier.  I’ll admit I’m usually not a fan of this style so I’m probably a terrible judge, but I thought it was a really well balanced beer.  It leads and finishes with smoky (as you would expect) but there is a food-like savory flavor we liked a lot.  This beer hits 5%-AbV and if you like Rachbiers, then this one is for you.

All three of these darker-styled beers came out really good and once again they highlight just how good a home-brewed beer can be.  Be sure to try these beers, and if you haven’t tried it already, check out homebrewing for yourself.

A big thank you to Samuel Adams for sending the early samples!
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