How is Utopias Aging?

We drank some of the 2007 on Saturday and it was really, really good. I don't think it really changes much with age though.

 

I think it is rough for the first couple of years. I had a 1 or 2 year old sample and it was rough around the edges, to say the least. Once it get past 3-5 years or so, I think you will probably find little difference, since it is in a bottle.

 

I opened my bottle of 10th Anniversary when I bought it in January. I didn't notice any differences between then and when I had some last week.

 

From my experience Utopias does not age. It is more like a liquor, once out of the barrels, as long as it is stored properly with minimal exposure to oxygen, it stays constant. The constant is great IMO, but it will not develop like a beer no matter how long you age.

 

From my personal experience it ages quite nicely. I've had it multiple times, and think it really needs a few years to balance out. A bar down the street from me has had multiple years, and even does vertical pours. Over the summer I had the 2011 and the 10th anniversary back to back. I thought the 11 was smoother, and 2009 I had over the winter was fantastic.

 

I think it gets better after it has been opened. Like a good wine, it really needs to breathe...for weeks.

 

On a related note, we had bottles of Atomic Penguin and Sink The Bismarck probably a year ago, well some of the bottles. They tasted great but smelled pretty damn rough. Many months later, with a pump cork in it, they still tasted great but the overly powerful smell was gone. They're much better now.