Utopias
(has 6 batches)
Samuel Adams in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Strong Ale - American Special|
Score
8.10
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Truly the epitome of brewing's two thousand year evolution, Samuel Adams Utopias® offers a flavor not just unlike any other beer but unlike any other beverage in the world. Each release is a blend of batches, some having been aged up to 16 years in the barrel room of our Boston Brewery, in a variety of woods. We aged a portion of the beer in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery. Some of the latest batches also spent time in Portuguese muscatel finishing casks, as well as sherry, brandy and Cognac casks. This flavorful, slightly fruity brew has a sweet, malty flavor that is reminiscent of a deep, rich vintage port, fine cognac or aged sherry.
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8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Sampled at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer at Goose Island, Nov.11, 2005. Hazy red brown ale with no head. Deep sweet aroma of vanilla beans, alcohol, sweet apples, like a Pinot de Charente. In mouth, licorice malt with anis seed, alcohol wamth, vapour-like, vanilla and nuts. Wow. Rich intense body with discreet bitterness lingering in mouth. Noted the sample served would probably be around 30$ worth...
Tried
on 25 Dec 2005
at 14:19
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 10
Overall 6.5
[At GABF 2004, Denver] An amber beer with no head, but the liquid makes "curtains" on the glass like a strong wine or liquor. The aroma is woody with strong notes of alcohol, but also overripe fruits, sherry, and bourbon. The flavor is powerful with notes of plums, other overripe fruits, and loads of alcohol, that burns the throat, as a strong sherry. The end is dry woody. An experience - but to me, not a beer.
Tried
on 21 Feb 2005
at 17:36
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2012-04-01, at Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen, 9-5-8-4-17=43
Hazy dark amber color. The aroma is immensely rich, with malt, caramel, vanilla, light phenol, alcohol, light fruit. Very thick and viscous, sweet malt flavor, caramel, wood, vanilla, strong alcohol punch, raisins, figs; the mouthfeel then gets oily; late final oxidisation and astringency.
A very interesting beer.
2006-02-17, 8-5-8-3-16=40
Beautiful dark copper color. Still.
Phenolic malty aroma, with delicate notes of fruity Porto wine, alcohol, sweet oak.
Burning alcohol flaming on the tongue, leaving behind traces of toffee (strong), sugars, malt, caramel; salty and thick. Balanced flavors but unbalanced alcohol perception, killing.
Because of the alcohol, the final is too short, with some caramel and sweetness.
An experience, for sure, but yet not the state of the art.
2005-02-12, 9-4-9-5-19=46
Flat, amber color. Smells like cognac; some nuts and malt; mono-dimensional; but the nuttyness comes out later, and this is an improvement. Sweet alcoholic cognac with some malt and sweetness. Well, it’s a strange but very good beer! Thanks Jeppe for sharing this sample!
Tried
on 15 Feb 2005
at 04:07
5.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
1.5 oz sample at the Extreme Beer Fest, January 2005. Vibrant color in the glass; deep auburn hues mix with rusty orange tints and light mahogany browns. Thick looking, with no head, but plenty of haziness. A touch of white lace on the edges of the glass. Aroma, not surprisingly, was filled with a mix of intoxicating spirits. Brandy, cognac, dark rum, bourbon (of course) and add oak to all of this. Difficult to identify as beer, by the aroma, but perhaps some traces of sweet caramel. Flavor is immediately full of coconut, unrefined cane sugar, molasses, oak and a hint of yeast. Highly burning sensation from the alcohol begins midway through and climaxes on the finish. Some sticky caramel malt notes, and enough body from the malt to identify this as beer, but it’s borderline. Syrupy sweetness present to some degree, as the alcohol runs rampant. . . . . On the plus side, the hops aren’t overdone and the consistency was pretty agreeable.
Tried
from Can
on 31 Jan 2005
at 10:23
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Bottled. Reddish brown, thick, no head. Balsamic port like aroma. Very sweet and woody. Immensly malty and extremely rich. Warming and complex. Strong oak barrel character. More like cognac or madeira than beer, and even though I find it gimmicky and overly pricey I must admit that I really like it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Sep 2004
at 09:55
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 2
Overall 5.5
The second leg of our triple-legged Sam Adams journey. Thanks to thedm for providing this rather pricey beverage. Dirty copper appearance, and I did see a few bubbles! Aroma was whiskey-in-the-jarro, or, as I was told by connoisseurs of the hard stuff, tequila. I hate both. Also some vinousness and musty earthiness. Flavor was sweet with vanilla and maple syrup dominating the palate. Heavy alcohol too. Each swallow brought a quick chase of water (like I said, I'm not a liquor fan). Overall, this was too heavy on the alcohol, although I suppose that is part of its uniqueness. Not nearly as syrupy as the Triple Bock. Warms the belly, this here slow sipper!
Tried
on 19 Oct 2003
at 16:00
9.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Dark copper, like exotic honey, no head. Infinitely complex nose, with spikes of nuts, dried apples, plums, earthy. Taste is like a heavy, velvety rare liqueur based on exquisite brandy, fruits (plums again), all the esters, and - remarkably - maple syrup. Overfull body, immmensely warming, and amazingly velvety mouthfeel. This is truly superb and unique. It cut through a series of abbey-ales as a Cru Classé Pauillac through some Médoc villages.
Tried
on 02 Oct 2003
at 03:20
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
GABF 2002: A real treat. Hazy dark amber color, with a small head. Rich raisiny brandy aroma. Strong alcoholic presence in the nose. Strong and sweet flavor, but not at all cloying. Full syrupy body covers the whole palate with strong sweet fruity raisiny and alcoholic notes. Nice lingering sweetness is lip-smacking good. Some maple and molasses notes.
Tried
on 07 Oct 2002
at 08:16
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
fresh 2011: Bright fiery-amber brown and flat. The aroma is mapley and woody. Sweet with alcohol tingle, and the maple emerges later to make a contribution to the finish.
oxidized 2011: Muddy amber and flat. Mapley aroma with alcohol. Rich caramels. Soft and sticky. Rich malts and dates and maple with lots of alcohol tingling the tongue. Finishes sweet and with hints of wood and alcohol. 7-3-7-3-15
old 2002 rating: Fiery amber, still; Firm, alcoholic aroma w/ vanilla, bourbon, malt, nuts. Notably phenolic palate is sweet, very mapley, with a bracing slap of alcohol. Very smooth, oily palate; sweet, liqeurish finish. Big time dessert beer - tastes like it was brewed with maple sap instead of water.
oxidized 2011: Muddy amber and flat. Mapley aroma with alcohol. Rich caramels. Soft and sticky. Rich malts and dates and maple with lots of alcohol tingling the tongue. Finishes sweet and with hints of wood and alcohol. 7-3-7-3-15
old 2002 rating: Fiery amber, still; Firm, alcoholic aroma w/ vanilla, bourbon, malt, nuts. Notably phenolic palate is sweet, very mapley, with a bracing slap of alcohol. Very smooth, oily palate; sweet, liqeurish finish. Big time dessert beer - tastes like it was brewed with maple sap instead of water.
Tried
on 11 Apr 2002
at 00:11