Seems like 2011 is the year for pumpkin ales. Sam Adams already has a pumpkin beer in their lineup, launched last year and available seasonally in their harvest pack. Sammy looks to be adding an imperial pumpkin offering – “Double Continue Reading →
Those of you that didn’t get a shot or taste of the $20 a bottle Sam Adams/Weihenstephan collaboration will get another shot at it this November. According to a Sam Adams sale rep. More of these bottles will Continue Reading →
The most expensive beer produced by Sam Adams has been released for 2011. Utopias is legendary in the beer world, not only because of the price, but because of how it’s made.
Dogfish Head have the world a sneak preview of the “Savor Flowers” bottle today. Flowers is a collaboration brew between Sam Adams’s Jim Koch & Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head. Flowers will only be available at Savor in Washington Continue Reading →
A new edition to Sam Adam’s Barrel Room collection is 13th Hour Stout. Sam Adams Barrel Room series features small-batch, experimental brews. Each of the beers tout the use of an experimental yeast/bacteria strain that the brewery developed called “Kosmic Continue Reading →
Seems like 2011 is the year for pumpkin ales. Sam Adams already has a pumpkin beer in their lineup, launched last year and available seasonally in their harvest pack. Sammy looks to be adding an imperial pumpkin offering – “Double Pumpkin” in draft approval only at the moment.
Those of you that didn’t get a shot or taste of the $20 a bottle Sam Adams/Weihenstephan collaboration will get another shot at it this November. According to a Sam Adams sale rep. More of these bottles will hit shelves again this year.
Refresher Course:
The challenge was to create a new one-of-a-kind, champagne-style beer, while operating within the confines of Reinheitsgebot; the German Beer Purity Law dating back to 1560 which allows the use of only water, malt, hops & yeast. Using these four classic ingredients and the traditional brewing process to reach their end goal would require the brewers ofSamuel Adams and Weihenstephan to innovate like never before. Combining their 1,000 years of brewing expertise and creativity, the two brewers created a groundbreaking brew that’s crisp and champagne-like. It’s light and dry yet complex, with a sparkling effervescence.
Our brewers rearranged the brewing process to create this ground-breaking beer, reintroducing the mash process into the brew kettle and the fermenter. The process used to brew Infinium is patent pending, and allowed our brewers to create a beer unlike any ever brewed under the Reinheitsgebot. Infinium is dry-hopped with Bavarian Noble hops for a light citrus flavor. Its then bottle-conditioned with a traditional Belgian yeast and fermented in the champagne-method to add another layer of flavor complexity, a bright clarity, and a fine carbonation to the beer.
Style: Biere de Champagne/ Biere Brut Hops: Hallertau Mittlefrueh, Spalt Spalter, Tettnang Tettnanger and Hersbrucker Noble Hops Malts: Custom blend of two-row malted barley, malted spring white wheat, and malted oats Yeast: Samuel Adams ale yeast, Belgian yeast
Taste Expectations: Effervescent, slightly hoppy with a touch of earth. Bready, bit of sweet malt. Very dry. Availability: 750 ML, Corked/Caged.
Smoked Bone in short ribs, Crispy Pork Belly with Tomato Jam, Barley and Pistachio Stuffed Georgia Quail, Chilled Lentil salad and summer ale Reduction
4th Course — Sam Adams Cream Stout
Beer Batter Apple Beignet, Stout Ice Cream
$45 per person
Call 404.745.5745 for reservations.
Loews Hotel Atlanta 1065 Peachtree Street Northeast Atlanta, GA 30309
The most expensive beer produced by Sam Adams has been released for 2011. Utopias is legendary in the beer world, not only because of the price, but because of how it’s made.
Stylistically, Utopias is an American strong ale. It’s more than just a single brew, it’s a blend of beers that have been aged in wood casks for up to 18 years. There are even a range of casks, including sherry casks from Portugal & Spain, port casks, & Madeira casks. (Madeira is a Portuguese wine from the Madeira islands.) The blend adds massive complexity to the beer. 53 barrels used in all.
With a specialty beer this unique you wouldn’t do something as mundane as bottle it. It comes in a decanter. Suggested serving size is 2oz, served in a snifter. The beer weighs in at 27%, so a little goes a long way.
Flavors:
[quote]The 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias is a blend of liquids which have been aged in a variety of wood casks for up to 18 years. This complex aging process enhances the beer’s distinct vanilla, maple and cocoa notes, and it offers an aroma of ginger and cinnamon. Sherry casks from Spain and Portugal add nutty oak, toffee and honey notes, while Madeira and port casks offer a slightly more elegant, dark fruit aroma, imparting earthy flavors inherent to fine European spirits. The complex flavors intensify individually over time, making Samuel Adams Utopias a very special brew that becomes even better with age.Availability: Very limited release. 2011 is the 6th release of Utopias. $150 dollars a bottle.[/quote]
Style: American Strong Ale Hops: 3 Noble hops – Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Tettnang Tettnang Yeast: Ale Yeast, & proprietary champagne yeast
27% ABV
Full Press Release
(Boston, MA) — Craft beer pioneer Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams beer, invites drinkers to explore the most extreme beer with the unveiling of the 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias®, available this May. Meant to be savored like vintage fortified wine or fine cognac, this strong, rich, uncarbonated dark beer is best served as a two-ounce pour at room temperature in a snifter glass. Samuel AdamsUtopias is brewed in small batches, blended, and aged in the Barrel Room at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. Following its first release in 2002, Utopias received the coveted title of world’s ‘strongest beer commercially available’ in the Guinness Book of World Records. The 2011 offering of Samuel AdamsUtopias weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume. The average beer is around 5 percent.
“Each time we begin the process of crafting our next evolution of Samuel Adams Utopias, we strive to make the new vintage more unique than the last, and the 2011 brew is no exception. The brewers and I spent years perfecting it, experimenting with different barrels and aging techniques until we felt it lived up to the long-standing heritage of Samuel Adams Utopias – a quest to push the boundaries of beer,” said Koch. ”Since I first brewed Samuel Adams Boston Lager in my kitchen, I’ve made it my life’s work to elevate beer and make people rethink the possibilities of what beer can be.”
The 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias is a blend of liquids which have been aged in a variety of wood casks for up to 18 years. This complex aging process enhances the beer’s distinct vanilla, maple and cocoa notes, and it offers an aroma of ginger and cinnamon. Sherry casks from Spain and Portugal add nutty oak, toffee and honey notes, while Madeira and port casks offer a slightly more elegant, dark fruit aroma, imparting earthy flavors inherent to fine European spirits. The complex flavors intensify individually over time, making Samuel Adams Utopias a very special brew that becomes even better with age.
Samuel AdamsUtopias is brewed with both ale yeast and a variety typically reserved for champagne. A unique blend of several malts gives the beer its rich ruby color and three varieties of Noble hops – Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Tettnang Tettnanger – give the beer its floral character and spicy note.
The limited edition 2011 Samuel AdamsUtopias comes from just 53 barrels, all brewed, blended and aged at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. This limited distribution brew is hand-bottled in numbered, ceramic brew kettle-shaped decanters, available at select specialty beer and liquor stores this May in honor of American Craft Beer Week. Hitting shelves just in time for Father’s Day, Samuel Adams Utopias is sold at a suggested retail price of $150.00 per bottle. For more information, visit www.samueladams.com.
Dogfish Head have the world a sneak preview of the “Savor Flowers” bottle today. Flowers is a collaboration brew between Sam Adams’s Jim Koch & Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head. Flowers will only be available at Savor in Washington D.C. in June.
Savor Flowers is brewed with dried red & white rose petals, plus 2 other kinds of roses. The hops are experimental, known only by a name “369.” As if the beer needed to be a bit MORE unique, this floral offering is aged in a special whiskey barrel dear to Jim Koch, one he aged a triple bock in back in the ’90s.
A new edition to Sam Adam’s Barrel Room collection is 13th Hour Stout. Sam Adams Barrel Room series features small-batch, experimental brews. Each of the beers tout the use of an experimental yeast/bacteria strain that the brewery developed called “Kosmic Mother Funk.” The beer is then aged in Eastern European barrels used for making brandy. There are currently 3 beers in the series – New World Tripel, American Kriek, and Stony Brook Red.
Label: The 13th Hour is the Witching Hour, AND A TIME WHEN STRANGE BREWS CAN OCCUR.
With 13 ingredients, we combined the roasted chocolate and coffee notes of a stout with the complex spicy character of a Belgian-Style ale aged in oak for a dark, robust, and bewitching brew.
One of our brewers’ favorite places to experiment is in the barrel room at our Boston Brewery. It’s here that each of our Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection brews was born.
