Samuel Adams Crowns 2013 Homebrew Champions

BOSTON, Oct. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Samuel Adams is proud to reveal the latest class of LongShot American Homebrew winners at The Great American Beer Festival in Denver – craft beer's biggest stage. Besting more than 1,000 entries – this year's winners include Tamarac, Florida resident Russ Brunner's American Stout, Evanston, Illinois resident Cesar Marron's Gratzer and Samuel Adams employee Teresa Bury's Pineapple IPA. Winners will receive the ultimate honor in beer – for their homebrew recipes to be enjoyed by drinkers across the country.  These winning brews will be bottled and made available nationwide next year in the 2014 Samuel Adams LongShot variety six-pack.          

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Jim Koch, Samuel Adams founder and brewer, hosts the annual LongShot homebrew contest to recognize the most talented homebrewers in the country – those who continue to push boundaries and elevate the possibilities of craft beer as Koch did in 1984 with Samuel Adams Boston Lager. America's interest in homebrewing and craft beer is at an all time high and the craft beer landscape has exploded into more than 2,500 craft breweries, compared to the 83 that existed during the 1980s. This growth is due to resilient craft brewers like Koch and the 2013 LongShot winners, who lead with a passion for quality craft beer and drive to experiment and push the boundaries of brewing. To date, Bob Gordash, winner of the 1996 LongShot Homebrew Contest, and Don Oliver, winner of the 2006 Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest, have gone on to become professional brewers, turning their homebrewing hobby into a career.

"When I started Samuel Adams in my kitchen almost 30 years ago, I made it my mission to change the American beer drinkers' perception of what beer can be and challenge myself as a brewer," said Jim Koch. "I'm proud to see these LongShot winners continuing to push boundaries, challenge themselves and show a real passion for brewing. When you start brewing, you're guaranteed one thing - a very messy kitchen, but there's always the hope that your beer will be enjoyed by drinkers everywhere one day. Russ Brunner's American Stout, Cesar Marron's Gratzer and Theresa Bury's Pineapple IPA are remarkable brews and deserve such an opportunity."

Samuel Adams also recognizes the inherent brewing passions of their own employees and chooses an annual employee homebrew winner to include in the LongShot variety six-pack alongside two consumer winners. This year's employee winner is Teresa Bury's Pineapple IPA. Teresa works at the Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery as a Brewing Operations Specialist.

A panel of industry judges including Bob Townsend of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tony Forder of Ale Street News, John Holl of All About Beer Magazine, Norman Miller "The Beer Nut" from Wickedlocal.com, and beer writers Christian DeBenedetti, and Marty Nachel, joined Jim Koch in selecting the consumer winners. Together, they selected the winning brews based on the American Homebrewers Association Beer Judge Certificate Program guidelines. Each beer was carefully evaluated on the aroma, appearance, flavor and mouthfeel according to the style category under which it was submitted.

The 2014 Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest variety six-pack will be available nationwide in select retail stores in the spring of 2014 for a suggested retail price of $7.99 – $9.99 (price varies by market).  The variety pack will include two bottles each of Russ Brunner's American Stout, Cesar Marron's Gratzer and Teresa Bury's Pineapple IPA.

About the winners: 
Russ Brunner's American Stout is a big malty Stout with notes of chocolate and coffee that carry through to a velvety finish with notes of roasted cocoa. The richness is balanced by hints of citrus and pine from the American hops that add a subtle bitterness to this deep and satisfying brew. Russ has been brewing for three years, but this was the first recipe Russ created from scratch.

Cesar Marron's Gratzer is a light, Polish smoked wheat beer that packs a punch of smoky sweet flavor from the heirloom smoked malt used and spicy and herbal notes from Saaz hops. This beer draws its inspiration from Cesar's fond interest in the unusual, yet traditional, Polish smoked style.

Teresa Bury's Pineapple IPA is brewed with four different American hops that showcases grapefruit character mellowed and complemented by the tropical fruit notes from the pineapple. Theresa made it a personal challenge to create a beer with a strong hop flavor that was balanced with her favorite fruit, pineapple.

Learn more:

• For Samuel Adams recipes and pairing suggestions visit www.samueladams.com
• For additional information and to locate a retailer visit www.samueladams.com

Samuel Adams, LongShot, and American Homebrew Contest are registered trademarks of The Boston Beer Company.

ABOUT THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY:
The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen.  Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America.  That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager®, in recognition of one of our nation's great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit.  Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager would soon become a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 50 styles of beer.  It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients.  Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening.  The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the 'extreme beer' movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker's perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and in the past five years has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its single focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America's largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market.  The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

SOURCE Samuel Adams