Sam Adams Utopias

Let's face it, the main reason to write a beer blog is to find an excuse to drink crazy beers. Some beers are crazy concepts, some are in crazy locations, some have crazy prices. This is the last category.


Sam Adams Utopias

Price: $114.95 for 710mL

25.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Despite being exceedingly expensive, this beer is actually quite hard to buy. They only shipped a small number to Ontario, so the LCBO sold it over the phone, and it was sold out in about 15 minutes. Fortunately, I was one of the fools who got through.

This beer is best thought of as something like a scotch, something to sip, not chug. Consider:

We aged a portion of the beer in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery. The latest batch also spent time in Portuguese muscatel finishing casks, as well as sherry, brandy and Cognac casks.

I don't know what a Portuguese muscatel is, but I'm eager to try the beer.

Drinking impression: Unlike any other drink I've ever tried. No real comparison to a beer or scotch. The mouthfeel is vaguely thick, but not syrupy. The taste is complex, and goes through multiple layers. There are chocolate flavours, and some hints of a port or sherry. This isn't a drink I find myself craving, but I really enjoyed the experience.

Would you buy it again? For myself? No. For someone else who would really appreciate the gift? Absolutely. Any real beer nut would love to try this. It's not that it is fantastic, rather that it is so unique.

Would you drink two in a row? Seems like a waste. There are no bubbles, so this beer can be recapped and saved to savour again later.

Best time and place to drink it: With 8-10 good friends at the start of a sophisticated stag party.

Out of ten: A ten. This is something you should go out of your way to try. The price isn't as bad as it looks: for a 2oz drink, which is the right amount, it'll cost you $10, or the cost of two domestic bottles at a bar. Get some friends together and make it happen.