Magnificently Balanced

Brewer- Boston Brewing Company (Sam Adams)

Beer- Long Shot- Magnificent Seven

Style- Imperial/Double IPA

ABV- 7.80%

What’s a “Long Shot”? - Every year the Boston Brewing Company hosts a homebrewing competition where brewers from around the nation can enter their favorite homebrewed beer.  The winner of the competition will have his/her beer brewed on large scale using Boston Brewing Company equipment and they also get to see the beer bottled and distributed nationwide.  I personally think it is a great competition that shows the huge amount of great homebrewed beer that we have in this country.

Description- Magnificent Seven pours a fine-looking clear golden amber color with a creamy white head that has a fairly good retention but leaves an impressive lacing on the glass.  The aroma is dominated by what you would imagine with an imperial IPA, hops!  The hop aroma that dominates here is citrus, more on the lemon side, with a fair amount of hop resin as well and just a hint of sweet malt.  The hop aroma is certainly strong, but not overpowering as with many of today’s imperial IPA’s.  The taste is surprisingly sweet with the malt hitting the palate first, followed by hops which have that familiar citrus taste and some pine as well, and finishes up with a nice dry finish.  This is a very smooth and drinkable IPA that has a medium body with excellent balance against the carbonation.  I would say that this double IPA is more balanced than most that lean towards the aggressively hoppy side of the flavor spectrum.  All in all a great double IPA, it really is a shame that this is a one off beer, but really does show the great beer someone can make at home!

Food pairing – As with most IPA’s, try this one with Mexican food.  The citrus notes will meld perfectly with your favorite fajita dish and the malty sweetness will accentuate the meat and the hops will be a match made in heaven for the spices.  Another great dish with this beer would be a pizza with some good pepperoni on top; the characteristics of this beer just crave this dish, and who doesn’t love pizza and beer?

Is it worth trying? – YES! However, finding it may be a bit more difficult now, but do yourself a favor and search for this one!  Homebrewing has long been said to be the hobby that pushed the industry forward out of the “dark ages’ of macro-brewing and the hobby is still pushing the industry forward.  Many breweries are collaborating with homebrewers now to produce beer with fantastic results.  If you are unable to find this beer though, the recipe is fairly easy to find online if you are so inclined to try making this one yourself, so however you try it, just try it!

Rating-

Where can I get it? -  I purchased a few bottles from Wegman’s in Dickson City, PA, but be sure to check around at any establishment that sells Sam Adams beer.  This beer did receive a national release as well, so get hunting!