Samuel Adams Utopias
sampled from the bottle at the coles rare beer festival, jan 24/09. bottle #4260, 2007 vintage. pours beautiful crystal clear deep red-brown with no trace of carbonation or head. great legs though! aroma is intense. big rich caramel and toffee, but that just doesn't begin to touch the depth. big fruity component too - date, raisin, dried cranberry, fig. there's also no mistaking the alcohol in this one - it's there and it's proud. notes of chocolate, coffee, wood, earth, licorice, and smoke. wow, i could just keep smelling this all day. taste is excellent. everything from the aroma and then some. nice light sweetness too. it makes me think of port or cognac, but even more drinkable. damn, i am truly in love with this beer. mouthfeel is great. about medium body and with no carbonation, but honestly it isn't needed or missed. drinkability is excellent. this beer is amazing. the alcohol is always there, but silky smooth and so good. the complexity and depth of character are just so amazing that you're constantly wanting more and picking out other little nuances in it. i was a little skeptical going in to this one. i really wanted to try it, but expected something boozy and very obviously not "beer". however, i was very pleasantly surprised. even with the higher alcohol, it never loses its "beer" character. sure, there are comparisons to be drawn, but this is more like a strong finely-aged barleywine or strong ale than a port or cognac. even at the high bottle cost, i honestly want a bottle of this so i can just spend a day sipping on it. so good. huge thanks go out to mike for pulling this from his personal stash for the event.