Congratulations, Dave Anderson! Not only did your homebrew recipe make it into the 2013 Samuel Adams Longshot sampler as Samuel Adams Longshot Strawberry Lager, but it also just happened to be the best beer in the assortment, at least in the opinion of this seasoned old beer reviewer. Longshot Strawberry Lager was definitely much tastier than the chalky Beerflower Wheat (yuck), and I think a bit more balanced than Magnificent Seven, a double/imperial IPA.
Ohio’s Dave Anderson just happens to be a Boston Beer employee it should be noted, and each year one employee’s recipe is selected for inclusion in the Longshot 6-pack. Boston Beer says of Longshot Strawberry Lager on the bottle neck label:
Dave wanted to create a refreshing summertime beer, something that he could enjoy after a round of golf on a hot day. This lager has a bright and fresh strawberry character balanced with toffee and citrus notes.
The Longshot sampler showed up around May in my area and I can confirm that the first bottle did go well in the warm spring weather. My second and last bottle that I drank for the purposes of this review held up nicely, carefully preserved in the depths of my beer fridge. The bottle has a best by date of August 2013, and though I’m a few months past that it seems just fine.
The 2013 Longshot sampler ran me $9.99, about the same as it has the past few years. Strawberry Lager has an alcohol content of 5.5% by volume. The bottle says that the beer is brewed with natural flavor added, while the Longshot blog on the Boston Beer website further describes that natural flavor as fresh strawberries.
Longshot Strawberry Lager pours to a light golden color with a thick creamy head formation and a slightly sweet, slightly tart nose that smacks of real fresh strawberries. Taking a sip, there’s a light biscuit malt component up front that’s quickly overpowered by the fresh fruity strawberry. This beer really does taste like biting a ripe fresh berry, in all its glorious tart-sweet character. The finish is not at all cloying as can happen with fruit beers, instead it’s dried by just the right amount of hop bitterness. Hop aroma is not really apparent, though.
This is a dangerously more-ish brew, and as I said I think the best beer in the 2013 Longshot sampler. That’s no small feat for a fruit beer, but there you go. Certainly a beer that I would buy again. And again. And again.
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