I was in my local Ingles on "Lee-chester" Highway and spied a pile of Longshot mixed sixers in the aisle near the beer cooler. These beers are the winners of the 2006 home brewing contest sponsored by the brewery. The whole thing has generated some controversy in the beer blog world since the recipes produced by Boston Beer Company are allegedly not completely true to the submitted entries. As the price was right at $6.99 I decided to see for myself.
The six-pack contained two bottles each of three brews: the Dort, an old ale and a boysenberry wheat. The winning brewer's picture was on each label along with his name and hometown.
The Dort poured a medium-yellow color with average head and good carbonation. The aroma was a bit like freshly-mown grass with a hint of malt. The taste was malty with a hoppy finish, well balanced, and a medium body that was heavier than I expected. The hops are readily apparent as the bitterness lingered on the tongue. Overall, it's not bad but not outstanding. I'm looking forward to trying the other two beers in this box.
I thought the Dortmunder was pretty good. Its not often that you get a nice clean German Style lager. I also enjoyed the Old Ale. The Boysenberry Wheat was about what I thought it would be. Not a big fan of the fruit wheat style.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the Longshot competition, Asheville's very own Alex Buerckholtz won the Southeast region of this and was in the running for the finals, having brewed a Saison. He manages Asheville Brewing Supply downtown.