Samuel Adams Utopias 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 Adams Utopias weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume. The average beer is around 5 percent.
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 Adams Utopias 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.
