Berlbrew
Well-Known Member
I suppose I'm one of the luckiest HBTers out there!
I work at the Sam Adams Boston Brewery (where all Utopias is made, none is made in the OH and PA breweries) so I've had a chance to sample Utopias from different years on multiple occasions and here is my honest opinion:
Utopias is cool because it really pushes the limits of beer. The fact that it's 27.5% ABV (for the 2009 batch) is pretty much astounding. Of course it doesn't taste much like a beer, at BBC we always let people know that it competes in Port and Cognac categories. Also, it's brewed with maple syrup to gain added sugars needed to push the yeast to that point. Also, I saw someone saying they would rather make a clone- that's impossible, BBC has a proprietary yeast for Utopias that you could never buy at any LHBS. $150 is a crazy price for 1 bottle of anything, but Utopias actually sells at-cost. We make $0 profit from Utopias. If you see a bottle marked for under $150 then BUY IT because that's an amazing price. Lots of stores sell it for $180 or more.
As far as taste, it's a really enjoyable malt beverage. It's only meant to be drunk 1-2 oz. at a time and it has an indefinite shelf life because of the high ABV. In fact, it ages reeeally well- I had a taste of the 2005 batch a couple weeks ago and it was awesome. I had some of the 2009 batch last week and it's excellent, slightly different, but sure to improve with age. And the bottle is really cool, it's modeled after our mash tuns at the Boston Brewery (the same copper vessels you see behind Bob & Dean the brewers in our TV commercials). Lastly, if you do get a bottle, you MUST try this- take a cup of clam chowder and top it off with a tiny bit (literally, just a drop) of Utopias. It's ridiculous, clam chowder is great on its own, but with Utopias it's just out of this world.
Also, as for the last comment before this- Triple Bock is crazy, we know. It tastes weird especially if it's been improperly stored. But you should know, every release of Utopias is a blend of different years' batches as well as some Triple Bock aging in our barrel room from 1994 and 1997. Utopias wouldn't be as tasty as it is without a little Triple Bock in there. If you can get a bottle and you can afford it, then get one. There were only about 12,000 bottles released and it is hard to find in a store. Some of our biggest suppliers here in MA asked for upwards of 40 bottles and were granted 3. It's a fun, rare, tasty beer (it IS a beer) and it's worth trying at least once.
P.S. The 2009 batch has been released already, so this is not jumping the gun.
I work at the Sam Adams Boston Brewery (where all Utopias is made, none is made in the OH and PA breweries) so I've had a chance to sample Utopias from different years on multiple occasions and here is my honest opinion:
Utopias is cool because it really pushes the limits of beer. The fact that it's 27.5% ABV (for the 2009 batch) is pretty much astounding. Of course it doesn't taste much like a beer, at BBC we always let people know that it competes in Port and Cognac categories. Also, it's brewed with maple syrup to gain added sugars needed to push the yeast to that point. Also, I saw someone saying they would rather make a clone- that's impossible, BBC has a proprietary yeast for Utopias that you could never buy at any LHBS. $150 is a crazy price for 1 bottle of anything, but Utopias actually sells at-cost. We make $0 profit from Utopias. If you see a bottle marked for under $150 then BUY IT because that's an amazing price. Lots of stores sell it for $180 or more.
As far as taste, it's a really enjoyable malt beverage. It's only meant to be drunk 1-2 oz. at a time and it has an indefinite shelf life because of the high ABV. In fact, it ages reeeally well- I had a taste of the 2005 batch a couple weeks ago and it was awesome. I had some of the 2009 batch last week and it's excellent, slightly different, but sure to improve with age. And the bottle is really cool, it's modeled after our mash tuns at the Boston Brewery (the same copper vessels you see behind Bob & Dean the brewers in our TV commercials). Lastly, if you do get a bottle, you MUST try this- take a cup of clam chowder and top it off with a tiny bit (literally, just a drop) of Utopias. It's ridiculous, clam chowder is great on its own, but with Utopias it's just out of this world.
Also, as for the last comment before this- Triple Bock is crazy, we know. It tastes weird especially if it's been improperly stored. But you should know, every release of Utopias is a blend of different years' batches as well as some Triple Bock aging in our barrel room from 1994 and 1997. Utopias wouldn't be as tasty as it is without a little Triple Bock in there. If you can get a bottle and you can afford it, then get one. There were only about 12,000 bottles released and it is hard to find in a store. Some of our biggest suppliers here in MA asked for upwards of 40 bottles and were granted 3. It's a fun, rare, tasty beer (it IS a beer) and it's worth trying at least once.
P.S. The 2009 batch has been released already, so this is not jumping the gun.