Review Date 5/13/2012
Try? Re-buy?
Here’s an interesting notion. I’m either on the verge of senility, or I’ve just had so many beers I can’t remember them all. I say this because recently I stumbled upon a bottle of Samuel Adams Longshot Mile High Barleywine securely ensconced in the depths of my beer refrigerator. The bottle had been there for some time, and was actually part of the 2010 Longshot release. Indeed, the label is notched with a “best by” date of September, 2010 though such means little for a beer of this magnitude when properly stored.
Back to the question of my sanity. I was pretty darned sure that I had tasted and reviewed this beer. A quick check of my beers tasted spreadsheet revealed that yes, indeed I had tasted this beer. A quick check of my hard drive revealed that yes, I had also taken tasting notes, I just had never taken the time to formalize them into a review and post them to my website. Today, I am rectifying that, but I also can do so while comparing to notes taken on the beer almost two years later.
As previously mentioned, Mile High Barleywine Ale was part of the 2010 Longshot release. The beer is based upon the homebrew recipe of New Mexico’s Ben Miller, and two bottles were included in the sampler. Also featured were two bottles each of a Lemon Pepper Saison and Old Ben Ale, an old ale.
The back of the label says this about the beer:
Ben brewed this ale to mark his 100th batch of homebrew. The beer is rich and malty, with a hint of caramel and plum. Brewed with citrusy American hops and a blend of six varieties of malt, the sweet and dark fruit notes in this beer linger on the palate.
Here are my tasting notes from June 10th of 2010, not long after I bought my six-pack of Longshot for the year.
Samuel Adams Longshot Mile High Barleywine Ale pours to a deep chestnut color with a thin and creamy head formation of tightly packed bubbles and an absolutely enticing nose of dark fruit and sweet bready malt. Taking a sip, the tongue is treated to a bath of rich, luxuriant malt that slides over the plate with an almost decadent silky smooth texture. And then the flavors hit: sweet, bready, chewy caramel malt, raisin, candied citrus fruits, molasses, and plums. In the finish, the aroma is slightly perfumey, gently bitter, and warming with alcohol.
I love the fragrant aroma on this one, the thick luxuriant body, and the complex flavors.
Now, fast forward to April 18th, 2012 and here’s what I thought:
Samuel Adams Longshot Mile High Barleywine Ale pours to a deep chestnut color with a thick creamy head formation and a sweet bready malt nose. The same decadent dark sweet chocolaty malt is there, along with the chewy caramel and fresh bread, raisin, plum, molasses, and candied fruit. All the same wonderful traits I got almost two years ago are just as potent. The perfumey hop aroma is the only thing that seems to have mellowed a bit, and the beer is a little sweeter in the finish for that. This should not surprise, hop bitterness can often mellow over time and allow the malt and fruity esters to come out a bit more. There is still plenty of alcohol warmth in the finish to dry this one out.
This is a wonderful beer, and the most curious thing to me was the minimal head formation I got initially, and the decidedly prodigious one I got two years later. Indeed, a very, very thick layer of Brussels lace followed the liquid all the way down as I sipped (see photo).
Should you happen to still have a bottle of this beer, you’re in for a treat.
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