Samuel Adams Utopias 10th Anniversary (Boston Beer Co, Boston, MA)

I decided last time Utopias was released that whenever I could purchase a bottle, I would take the opportunity.  Last month when I saw a post, I called the Ale Jail; one was left, so I drove right there, but missed getting the last bottle by fifteen minutes.  Petschen's was my ticket to my own bottle of this unique beer and I got the last one.  Being that getting this gem released a month or so before my birthday on 12/12/12, it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate.  Not going to try to explain Utopias--here's the description from Sam Adams if not familiar. Be sure to check out the tasting video for the 2012 edition at the bottom of the page.

Dark brown with ruby highlights around the edges and served at room temperature, which is mid 60s in our house during winter.  Heavy, exquisite legs on the gratis Riedel glass from the 27% alcohol.  Complex nose of dried date, cherry, dark chocolate, fresh vanilla and spice.  All of which is subdued under a multifaceted, woody alcohol presence that somehow doesn't overwhelm in spite of it's sinus clearing strength.  Taste is lighter than expected from the nose with sweetness, dark fruits and alcohol blending together elegantly that drifts down lightly with no carbonation.

Happy Birthday to me.

1/27/13 update: Between hosting Christmas dinner, a trip to Copenhagen, and re-entry into school and the start of the speech season, I didn't get to the last pour until six weeks later.  I've read from other posts that one can simply seal the container and drink at your leisure.  That was true for the samples just after the 12.12.12 opening.  For the the early samples, including Christmas day with my nephew, I noticed no difference in quality.  However, tonight, there was clear oxidation and it had lost a step.  Since life made it inevitable anyway, it was a useful experiment.  In the future, when opening a Utopias, I'm going to plan to drink it within approximately two weeks.  Probably shorter than necessary, but I'm conservative—on beer quality anyway.

LongShot 2011 American Homebrew Contest (Boston Beer, Boston, MA)

I love the idea of Sam Adams LongShot contest.  Homebrewers duke it out for a major brewery to distribute their winning beer.  Sadly, I've never actually acquired any LongShot beers in the past.  Found the 2011 winners at MGM recently and finally getting to try them.  I've never entered the contest because, well, I'm not a very good brewer.  If I improve some day, I hope to develop the confidence to enter for my long shot chance.

Derf's Secret Alt: Dirty white head on a top of a dark copper alt bier.  Nose is not assertive, but I find it with a swirl: heavy dark malt and fruit, a bit of alcohol hotness from the 9.3% ABV and a hint of spice.  Luscious mouthfeel, silky malt, and dark fruit fill the palette that ends sweet.  A strong beer in a style that normally doesn't excite me.  Strong beer that I'm enjoying a lot.

A Dark Night in Munch:  Light brown head over an almost brown ale with ruby highlights.  Biscuit and toffee in the nose with a hint of spice underneath.  Very smooth dark lager in the mouth with a full nutty flavor with toffee.

Five Crown Imperial Stout: Brown head piled with vacuous bubbles and a heavy lace.  Chocolate and roast in the nose with strong malt, light fig, cherry and spice.  Opaque black body is velvety and thick on the tongue with an hint of acrid roast of the back end that counterpoints the slight slickness from the alcohol.

Nice assortment with Five Crown and Derf's in a virtual tie for me.  Glad that I was finally able to get a set of LongShot beers.

No! We're in Newark

"No! We're in Newark" was the impatient response to his little girl's question while walking along the concourse. Jersey jokes aside, Newark isn't my destination, but might as well enjoy it, if possible.

Brief research on the Concourse C map showed that the Samuel Adams Brew Club was just a gate from where I needed to be. Airport beer is notoriously bad, usually suffering from poorly cleaned lines; yet, I persist in trying to find good beer in bad places.

Like today, the excitement of starting a new trip overwhelms me and I want to log my first beer. Today it's Sam Adams Boston Ale, which, surprisingly, isn't listed as a draft in the database. And, when I saw they were serving in the specially designed Sam Adams glass (and that they have outlets to recharge the iPad), it was clear I was going to spend my down time in Newark here.

Surprisingly, the beer is fairly well served. Clean white head falls with a serious lace and bubbles nicely from the etching on the bottom. Smooth caramel malt with a supporting hop earthiness. Perfectly good pint of Sam Adams.

George noted that the booth I'm in smelled more than a little bit of spilled and spoiled beer, the nachos at the next table looked like melted cheese wiz, and the $10 (w/ tip) price was maybe a bit high. But, the Samuel Adams Brew Club makes for a nice stop between flights and a cute picture.

Iowa beer fests--now and then

Reading through my feeds, I came across this review of the Iowa Craft Beer Fest 2012.  Looks like a really good time and got me thinking of the only festival I've attended in my home state of Iowa.

Only a year into this hobby, my wife and I attended the Brewfest in Des Moines in 2002.  A small festival at that time, we sampled nearly as many new beers at Court Avenue Brewing as we did at the festival.  At least those I recorded.  I remember drinking  beers that I had already imbibed, even that early in my tasting career. The best samples of the fest were Rogue's Mocha Porter and Boston Beer's Octoberfest followed by Blue Cat's Hefeweizen, none of which are from Iowa.

The Brewfest is still going on and seems to have improved, slightly.  However, it's still mostly regionals and imports like Rogue and Unibroue with a few locals mixed in.  Less of a craft beer fest than beers distributed in an area, similar to the City Pages Beer Festival that I attended years ago.  I have since learned my lesson and I wouldn't go to either today, but we all make mistakes when we're learning.

So, it's been a decade since I've done a festival in Iowa.  Organized by the Iowa Brewers Guild, the ICBF looks like a very promising festival.  With this bit of information, inklings of improving Iowa beer quality from various articles that have crossed my path and a positive experience in 2008 for a day trip to Worth Brewing in Norwood, Iowa,  it's clear to me that Iowa deserves another chance.

Road trip, anyone?

Infinium (Boston Beer Co, Boston, MA)

Picked up a bottle of Infinium at Happy Harry's Bottle Shop while on a visit to my nephew in Grand Forks.  Odd place to pick up a bottle of Biere de Champagne, but I saw on the neck label that it is a collaboration brew between Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner, the oldest brewery in the world (if you haven't had their hefeweissbier, a draft is a must).  Pairing these two great breweries seemed like a must try, regardless of the outcome.

A bubbly white head dissipates quickly to a very thin film on top of a whiskey colored ale.  Light spice, heavily caramelized malt, dried raisins, figs and very apparent alcohol in the nose on top of a floral earthiness.  Syrupy sweet and oily on the tongue along with a distinct bubbly carbonation that tingles. Dark fruit, raisin, and yeast flavors expand as it warms.  Interesting and odd at the same time.

If you are expecting Deus from this champagne beer, you'll be disappointed.  Watching the video on the Boston Beer website made it clear that the goal was to create a beer style that had never brewed before, even in the 1000 year history of Weihenstephaner.  From my two samples, they accomplished their goal.  Infinium is both perplexing, challenging and defies any beer definition I have in my head.  If you're looking for a unique collaboration beer, drink a bottle--or two like me.  However, while I've enjoyed this beer, I doubt I'd pick up another if it crossed my path.

Alpine Spring (Boston Beer Co, Samuel Adams, Boston, MA)

Always like to pick up a Sam Adams beer after visiting the Boston Beer Co last summer, but wish I would've past up on this one. Bought from the single shelf of the local store, Alpine Spring might be a year late.  Or, seasonals are coming out even earlier now. 

Creamy nearly white head piles high and leaves a nice lace. Corn and mineral predominate in the nose with little of the promised citrus on the label. The hoppiness is earthy with a bit of spice in the nose and taste. Taste is sharp, malty and earthy with a light breadiness. Leaves a mineral aftertaste that's not pleasant. 

While I haven't had many of this style, this is not selling me on keller or zwickel beer,which isn't a surprise since I'm not a fan of the light German lagers in general. But, I keep trying new beers regardless of this knowledge. This one is just a swing and a miss. Maybe at the next at bat.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 02-20-2012 18:07:25

Tasman Red (Boston Beer Co, Samuel Adams, Boston, MA)

Billed as a Red IPA, Tasman Red is a dark maroon to almost an opaque brown in the glass.  Held high against the light, shimmering ruby highlights show up.  Pouring out of the bottle, it's a muddy copper.  Thick, creamy and rocky head the bubbles high and persists.  Nice malt nose, but the hops shine through very clearly like an IPA.  Looking at the beer, it defies expectations and is fun and surprising.  More malt in the taste, but the citrus hop bite doesn't back down a bit.  At 6.75%, it's not a beast but has some heft to it.  No alcohol apparent.  I like this beer, but it feels a bit muddled and not pulled together.  Clean and well brewed, just not a new favorite.

Third Voyage (Boston Brewing Co, Samuel Adams, Boston, MA)

Shimmering copper Double IPA with a thick, fluffy head and irregular bubbles.   Time to linger on the smell as the head takes time to recede--clean grapefruit punches up.  Side of the bottle lists Cascade hops from the UK and New Zealand with Simcoe hops from the US.  Third Voyage refers to Captain Cook's fatal but otherwise successful voyage by using ingredients from associated areas.  Very little malt, but a light caramel note with the citrus and floral hop.  Citrus and pine continues into the first sip through a moderate mouthfeel, but more robust that I would expect from the color.  The 8% alcohol suggests a fair amount of malt, which would explain the fuller mouthfeel. Smooth, oily taste that is lighter than I like, but pleasant.  Again, from the bottle, the malt bill lists Harrington, Metcalfe and Copeland pale malts, Caramalt and Honey malt. The effect is a full, sweet bready caramel and toffee base for the hops.   Of these, I'm only familiar with the later two malts, so not sure of the contribution.  As the beer warms up, the pine, resin and citrus really come out more.

The varied hop and malt bill lends the beer a complex but subtle flavor.  Not being over the top, this beer might suffer a bit with hop heads.  Hops are subdued by the body.   An elegant beer that's good, Third Voyage is well worth a try but I don't think I'll buy another bottle.  I would be interested in trying it on tap if it fell into my path.  Reading some of the BA reviews, I don't see much explanation for the lower ratings.  Lack of over the top hops and a clean balance may be the reason.  If the reviewer drank it too fast, some of the more interesting aspects of the beer may have been lost.  Or, maybe a little Sam Adams bias, and not giving enough respect to the big microbrewery.

I'm drinking the beer with the last Harry Potter playing in the background.  Paralleled death of Captain Cook and Harry, each who dies for the ultimate success of his path, is an interesting comparison.  A poetic stretch, even for me, I admit.  But, finding meaning in death and life is a desire as old as legend and time, a desire I have always pursued.

Samuel Adams Imperial Stout (Boston Beer Co, Boston, MA)

This one pours a jet black and a fluffy brown head that lingers for a long while. Especially as it warms, a clear alcohol hotness (9% so that makes sense) confirmed by legs when tilted to the side; a very strong oakiness in the nose over top of sherry and dark fruits. Bitter chocolate, stale coffee and dark molasses invades the entire mouth and lingers with a bit of hop. An extremely smooth but uncompromising version of a Russian Imperial Stout. Looking at other reviews, many seasoned drinkers seem to like it better—the flavors are strong, but mostly balanced, but may turn off those who aren't accustomed to an RIS but giving the Sam Adams a try on recognition. Boston Brewing Company is kicking it up a notch with its Imperial series, and this is one not to be missed.