Thursday 29 December 2011

December 27, 2011

395)  Home:  Utopias 2011 by Samuel Adams Brewery of Massachusetts, U.S.A.:  **; I found the nose to be a combination of fruitcake (my brother-in-law's wonderfully boozy fruitcake in particular) and brown sugar;  tastes of brandy and dried apricot;  my wife, who I think likes this more than I do, said it reminds her of sherry;

I am advised that this is best served at room temperature.  It comes in a beautiful ceramic decanter.   A label on the decanter points out that Utopias 2011 is brewed with maple syrup.  The yeast is a strain normally used for champagne.  This edition is a blend of batches, as many as eighteen years old, aged in a variety of woods.  The casks used once stored bourbon, Spanish sherry, madiera, brandy, cognac and port.  It makes for very complex sipping.  Of the spate of "strong" beers from the last year or two, Stephen Beaumont opines that this is the strongest of the lot that is actually brewed in the manner of a beer - the others are made by a process more akin to distilling.  One reference advised to consider this a beer liqueur.  At 27% (not to mention $114.95 for 710ml) I am treating this as I would a spirit with one ounce servings.

I really should give this a couple more spins before forming an opinion but I don't want to get too far behind in publishing either.

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