From Long Shots to Pros

All About Beer Magazine - Volume 35, Issue 2

April 9, 2014 By John Holl

For the past eight years Samuel Adams has been running its LongShot American Homebrew Contest, giving amateurs a chance to have their cherished recipes brewed commercially and sold nationally. One of this year’s winners, Cesar Marron, recently did what only a handful of others have in the past: He went pro. He brewed a grätzer that will be available this April via LongShot and just launched the Sketchbook Brewing Co., a nano brewery, in Evanston, IL. Marron joins a small list of others who won the contest and then went pro, including:

• Bob Gordash, 1996 winner, brewer at Holy Mackerel Beers

• Don Oliver, 2006 winner, head brewmaster at Dust Bowl Brewing

• Michael Robinson, 2009 winner, brewer at Newburyport Brewing

• Ben Miller, 2009 winner, brewer at ABQ Brewpub

• Rob North, 2010 Patriot Homebrew Competition winner, assistant brewer at Newburyport Brewing

LongShot Gratzer — Cesar Marron’s Grätzer is a smoked wheat beer brewed with Saaz hops. Photo by Jon Page

John Holl
John is the editor of All About Beer Magazine and the author of three books, including The American Craft Beer Cookbook. Find him on Twitter @John_Holl.