Skip to main content

Brewing the Dream: Sam Adams Offers New Prize for LongShot Contest

sam adams longshot contest beer
If you’ve ever home-brewed anything (and, if you’re here reading this, it’s  safe bet to say you have), you’ve had the thought that someday—someday—you’d love to wake up every day and drive to work at your very own brewery. All that stainless steel, all the bags of grain just waiting to be milled. And the smell, oh that heavenly smell of beer in the making. Well, now you have the chance to make that dream a reality, at least for a week, with the Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest.

Over the last twenty-one years, Sam Adams‘ LongShot Contest has offered thousands of home brewers the opportunity to put their best brews to the test (which, for some, helped launched brewing careers such as 2015 winner Tim Thomssen, brewer at Boiler Brewing Company, 2013 winner Cesar Marron, brewer at Sketchbook Brewing Co., 2009 winner Mike Robinson, brewer at Newburyport Brewing Company, and 2006 winner Don Oliver, brewer at Dust Bowl Brewing Co.). This year, Sam Adams has doubled down on making a homebrewer’s dream come true—the winner of this year’s LongShot Contest will win a week-long brewing experience at the Samuel Adams brewery in Boston.

previous sam adams longshot winners

What does a week-long brewing experience? A whole hell of a lot of fun (and learning, of course).

The grand prize winner will have the chance to work alongside Sam Adams brewers in the nano brewery, the ten-barrel brew house, and the barrel room. While there, the winner will be able to pick the staff’s brain about everything from grain and hop sourcing to quality testing and beyond. Then, once you’ve got that all down, you’ll brew a limited release collaboration beer that will be available in two places—at the brewery and in your home town, thus making it a lot easier on your parents to explain what the hell you are doing with your life at parties.

Beyond the brewership the winner (and two runners-up) will all receive tickets to the Great American Beer Fest and a scholarship for an online course with The Siebel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy in partnership with Doemens Academy in Munich.

This isn’t the only way that Sam Adams has helped brewers around the country. Through the  Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, the company has provided direct assistance to startup craft brewers or those who aspire to go pro (totaling, at this point, over $1 million in loans for forty craft brewers).

To win, all you need to do is submit a two-minute video detailing why you should be the one to brew with Sam Adams (and a short statement to accompany the video). Simple, right? If you’ve got what it takes, it’ll be easy to spend two minutes showing off your home brew set up and get your passion for beer and homebrewing across. You can submit your video here.

Editors' Recommendations

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
The 10 best recipe apps to channel your inner chef
Looking for a great home-cooked meal? Download these recipe apps, and you'll be cooking it up in no time
Man using smartphone while preparing food in the kitchen

We now spend a lot of time on our cell phones searching for recipes. Our new normal has led us to get in touch with our inner chefs. We also learned that searching for recipes via the web on your mobile device can be a laborious task in and of itself. And nine times out of 10, when you find a recipe that looks good, you're directed to a food blog where you have to scroll through pages of the author's story about the dish's history, where they got the ingredients, what the food means to them, and other SEO filler. Not to mention the pop-up ads!

If you haven't realized it by now, this is where recipe apps come in very handy. In some instances, you'll have to endure ads (mostly in free apps), but in most cases, recipe apps are direct and to the point. They take you to the recipe, with a clear list of ingredients and how to prepare them. They have a photo with the finished product (which you hope you can match), and that's it. Some apps even have set-by-set video instructions to walk you through the cooking process. Unlike food blogs, you can choose to click on additional content. Plus, depending on the app, they have many other valuable features. Some apps are dedicated to your dietary restrictions (plant-based/vegan, keto, etc.).

Read more
The best drinking card games to beat the summer heat and boredom
Enjoy a beverage with friends while playing these great drinking card games
Friends playing drinking card game

Everyone loves a good drinking game, this much is true. The very best of them tend to be drinking card games. Makes sense, who wouldn't want to revisit those old college memories of playing King's Cup? Or learn a new game by gathering (safely) with friends to play a drinking card game or two? With a bit of ingenuity, some of these games could even be played virtually; for example, you could designate a dealer in each house to make sure all the cards line up and are the same for each player. Sure, it's a little more complicated, but a good game with your buddies is worth it.

We've got the rules for some of our favorite drinking card games, below, along with some more elaborate ones you can buy online. Cheers!

Read more
You’re probably making these 9 mistakes with asparagus
It's time to show this springtime favorite a little more respect
Oiled asparagus on a baking sheet

Spring is well underway, so it's time to put the rich, hearty winter meals on the back burner and resurrect all fresh, green, and vibrant things. Springtime means picnics among the budding flower gardens, with fresh vegetables bursting with life and sunshine.

One of our favorite vegetables is asparagus. When done right, this little weirdo of the vegetable world is one of the most delectable spring ingredients. Sadly, despite our best efforts, we often rob this little green stalk of all its goodness before it even gets to the picnic basket. We say; it's time to turn that around. To honor this springtime gem the way it should be marked, we've compiled a list of crimes against asparagus we vow never to commit again.
1. Not eating it in season
We live in a time when almost any ingredient can be purchased year-round at grocery stores without a second thought. No matter the month, you can have an array of out-of-season fresh fruits and vegetables on your table with no more than a trip to Safeway.

Read more