This beer has gotten a lot of beer geek buzz over the past few months. The chance to finally try this beer for yourself has arrived. Infinium is a very unique collaborative effort, and definitely one of the most elegant packages for a brew I’ve seen in a while. Read up on the story before you pop the cork. Pinky fingers up everyone.
Backstory:
Our brewers worked for two years with the world’s oldest brewery, Germany’s Weihenstephan, to create this unique new beer style. A groundbreaking brew, made with only the four traditional ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast, Infiniumâ„¢ is a crisp champagne-like beer with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma. The crisp clean malt character and delicate fruit notes in this beer are complemented by a slight citrus flavor from dry hopping with Bavarian Noble hops. Bottle conditioning adds another layer of complexity and light spice notes.
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. One time collaboration.
Cellar? Suggested to drink by June 2011
10.3% ABV
