Samuel Adams Utopias

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Barley Wine
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Snifter

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I rated this a bit different for one reason...this is not beer! More of a cognac which while I loved it if a beer I was to open smelled like this I’d really have to think again. So my notes are as follows. Golden brown with no head. Smells a bit like tawny port w/hints of scotch and brandy. Heavey w/burning finish. Not beer, lots of nuts, banilla, very rich. And sherry like notes of salt air. Awesome substance...not beer!

2003 Vintage. Obisbeer arranged to acquire this and seven of us split the cost of this "beer". Classified as a barleywine, and perhaps that is the closest beer style to it, but I’m not sure any beer style can adequately define it. Incredible nose. Nuts, bourbon, mead, port, hazelnut, brandy. Flavor is more like cognac, scotch, bourbon and port than it is beer. However, there are definitely malty notes that continually remind you this is NOT one of those other liquors. A truly unique beverage without an equal. Worth $100? I don’t know. A slick piece of marketing by putting it in such an attractive copper brew kettle package. I would imagine that the kettle adds significantly to the cost and perception of value. If you can do it like we did, and split it between a bunch of people, or if you are independently wealthy, go for it. You wont be sorry.

2003 Vintage; Tasted October 30, 2004: Sweet mother of mercy... Clear, mahogany color with no head. Swirll it around; it’s got legs! Aromas of vanilla, brandy and Scotch. Oh man, the flavors just keep rolling out of the glass: malt, raw barley, honey, caramel, whisky, finished off with an almost herbalness. Good gravy. I concur that this pushes the boundary of what can be considered beer, but I’d drink this any time.

2003.Clear and the color of scotch.Very complex nose as you are going to say shit this smells like port or is it cognac or maybe it is bourbon.anyway this really is a "beer" that one could sniff and not even need to drink.Or is it a "beer".This is actually very nice and very flavorfull.All the different Barrell-agings are prevalent.Not bad but not a lot of beer qualities.

egajdzis also hooked me up with a sample of Utopia. Had this one near the end of our sampling session. My notes on it read, "Butter scotch schnapps...whiskey...I can’t drink this...". Just too complicated of a barleywine for me. I sampled it with hopdog and I think his rating is close to mine.

Big thanks to egajdzis for giving me a sample of this one! Poured a medium to dark amber color with no head. Strong alcohol aroma and tastes. Whiskey like. Sweet with fruits. I probably knocked up some of the numbers a little just because of how hard and expensive it is. Good after dinner sipping beer.

UPDATED: JAN 10, 2008 Rerating January 9 2008. Aroma from port, metanol, plum, wood, vanilla. Syrupy mouthfeel, yet balance and light on its feet. Raisins, plum compote, undertones of soy sauce. Biting alcohol. Bottled, Stockholm Beer Festival. Dark amber colour, no head. Alcohol nose, like whiskey? Vineous I believe, is it Calvados? Little appley. It really bites me in the palate. Finishes richly salty.

No, no, no, no, no. A cool bottle does not make a great beer. Blowing the ABV up does not make a great beer. Taste makes a good beer. This is bad stuff. Tastes like unripened fruit and rubbing alcohol. A barley wine shoud be enjoyable, not harsh and offending like this stuff is. No, no, no, no, no.

hazey dark yellowish brown. aroma is dry green raisins and alcohol. very unsettling. burning alcohol taste that is hard to get past. pepper and woody tastes are also present.too much alcohol and not enough flavor. this was not a pleasant beer experience.

I struggled a little with this at first. Is this really a beer? Anyway ,it is good... Malty whisky-aroma with some cognac. Flavor is vinous, salty licorice and fruity from apricot and apples. The body is incredible.