Samuel Adams Utopias
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

2017 vintage - shared with me from a friend. Small 2oz pour for each of us. Served in a small 4oz snifter tasting glass.

Appearance: Clear dark amber-copper color. No lacing (there wouldn't be at this ABV).

Smell: Boozy - bourbon barrel notes, honey, toffee. Rich.

Taste: Lots going on. Definitely some barleywine notes, with some bourbon, oak, vanilla, toffee, honey, orange, raisin, and some bitter notes at the finish as well.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly smooth for something this high in alcohol. Good thickness, no carbonation, dry finish, and only a little warming.

Overall / Drinkability: I can see why some people describe this a more like a brandy than a beer, and I almost want to call it a Barleybrandy. It's got aspects of a Barleywine, but so much more. Glad I got a taste of it. Not sure I could finish a large glass of this though - definitely a slow sipping and savoring beer. Unique and quite tasty.

 

I opened a 2015 bottle about a month ago, this is my third pour. Time for a review.

I love how hybridized this is, it finds such a lovely grey area between beer and liquor. I can see calling this barleywine on steroids. Beautiful cogn/armagnac notes are most prominent but there is room for plenty more. Smokey wood and tobacco, raisin/plum schnapps?, plenty of brown liquor, hints of vanilla and honey, plus...just so much more. The body is wonderfully sticky and viscous.

Damn I wish I didn't like this as much as I do. There is just no way to justify buying another bottle, but this is absolutely worth trying once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 vintage

Pours a still dark mahogany amber red brown with notes of rich toasted nuts, warm roasted malts, sweet maple syrup, pecans, walnut, dark dessert wines, port, sherry, madeira, some cognac liquor, cherry, toffee, caramel, bourbon, oaky char, hints of baking chocolate, red grape, mild bitter herbs, caraway, subtle spice, raisins, dark dried fruit, brown bread, fruitcake, and a touch of vanilla. Feels medium-full bodied, slick, oily, strong and smooth. Overall a real great and unique barrel-aged sipper.

 

Had multiple years. Very unique and a must try for beer lovers just nothing like a beer. More like an after dinner port than a good scotch but really enjoyable.
Great conversation beer for a holiday party although quite costly.

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure it's worth the price tag, but the 2021 vintage really did live up to the appropriate hype. It's super solid, and the caramel and sherry notes remind me a little of a barleywine - but it's its own animal. Definitely glad to tick this.

 

 

 

 

This is my review of the 2021 edition of Utopias. I regret missing missing the previous editions, this is my first. With much anticipation I waited for my local Total Wine to show it in stock & rushed over to hesitantly with $240. I’m more than a bit thrifty but I wanted to try this legendary brew. I ordered proper glassware to serve this ‘“beer”. Poured into a Glencairn whiskey glass, the headless, reddish liquid was a perfect match of the mahogany trim on my Stressless recliner. Aroma, I can’t imagine anything prettier, it would make a great perfume: bourbon, sherry, wine, caramel, maple & an abundance of barrel aromas. Flavor: far more complex flavors than my meeker palate can discern but here are few I can pick out, bourbon, wine, caramel, ripe fruit, vanilla with maple & tart cherries at the finish. There is no carbonation but plenty of alcohol, this definitely a sipper. It is delicious & it’s aroma is heavenly. Is it worth the high price? Probably not. Will I try another in future? Probably, at least one more. Besides, it matches my furniture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a beer? Convince me! I bit the bullet when my local brew shop procured a trio of these for customers with more cash than sense. I've still got the bottle here on my desk, and it's a good way to start conversations with fellow hop heads.

Zero head, zero carbonation. A dark amber color that smells like a strong port. It tastes kind of like a port that was made from raisins and maple syrup instead of grapes. The mouthfeel is weirdly oily, probably due to the use of maple syrup in the brewing process. Best enjoyed in moderation, because it's gone before you know it.

I'm glad I had the experience, but I can't see myself getting it again. It's just way too expensive for what you get. The oily character was a little off-putting to me, and while I liked the strong raisin flavor, I wasn't as fond of the maple. And in no way is it experienced like something you'd call "beer." You take careful shots, there's no carbonation, and it's stronger than many cocktails.

It's probably not fair for me to call it "overrated," and given the expense of brewing it, I can't quite say it's overpriced. But the experience was more costly than it was worth for me.

2021 with cherries. Total meh.