Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

High on Hops: Samuel Adams Utopias 2015

Lee Heidel
By

high on hops samuel adams utopias 2015 sam
Image used with permission by copyright holder
As the market for craft beer has continued to expand, new breweries with cutting-edge reputations have come to the fore. Many of these companies stake their claim by producing extreme ales that push the limits of how we interpret beer and its respective slate of styles. With the onslaught of the new, it’s easy to let the old guard fade into memory.

You can’t get any bigger in the world of craft beer than first-wave mainstay Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams. Until the 2014 craft beer designations change that allowed beers brewed with certain heritage adjuncts to be included in the list (the current chart-topper Yuengling uses corn), they were consistently the global leader in craft beer production, sales and mindshare.

Recommended Videos

Related Post: Experimental Hop Guide

While Samuel Adams’ flagship Boston Lager continues to be produced and consumed in large quantities, it’s difficult for the hard-core nerds of the hobby to get excited about a beer that’s so easily accessible and safe, even if it is consistently high quality and a quintessential arbiter of the style. To placate those discerning fans as well as the world-class brewers that Boston Beer Co. employs, the brand is continually experimenting and producing interesting new beers like the recent canned Nitro series, the full-flavored line of Rebel IPAs and the annual LongShot American Homebrew Competition.

But perhaps no beer in Samuel Adams storied history is as important to its legacy among beer geeks as the elusive Utopias.

utopias-transProduced in limited numbers and encased in a gorgeous ceramic decanter that mimics a copper brewing fermenter, this American Strong Ale clocks in at an intense 28% alcohol by volume. Utopias has a suggested retail price of around $200 per bottle however many stores apply their own upcharges that can easily take the price to $300 or beyond, especially for a cellared previous vintage. That makes Utopias one of the most expensive beers available in the US. The fact that it comes from a major brewery best known for an affordable crisp lager makes it all the more interesting.

After opening the individually packed shipping carton, the metallic-sheened bottle is removed and the weight of it is immediate and gratifying. It looks and feels like a special object, with an individual number on the bottom along with information specific to that year’s batch as the recipe changes for each edition. Every detail has been thought out and the windows on the “fermenter” actually slide open to reveal the classic mugging visage of Samuel Adams.

The cap screws off to reveal the signature Samuel Adams bottle cap clamped onto the ceramic, an unexpected surprise that gives you the opportunity to pop the cap like any other longneck.

Once the 2015 bottle is opened, the smell immediately fills your nose with a rich alcohol burn accompanied by chocolate and dark fruits and just a bit of burned toast. It pours a clean dark caramel color and effortlessly glides into the tasting glass, preferably the branded $20 taster commissioned by Boston Beer Co. just for this beer (or available as a free mail away requiring a code included with each bottle).

Served at room temperature, the beverage is still, without any carbonation, and designed for enjoying in slow sips. Utopias is crafted by brewing a very sweet wort with maple syrup and a variety of grains which are later blended with previous years’ vintages and aged in a series of scotch, bourbon, cognac and port casks. True to the American Strong Ale style, that amalgamation is a bit of a mess, but it is a delicious one.

The experience of drinking Utopias is very similar to that of drinking a top shelf liquor of the highest pedigree. It’s complex from its soy sauce-like introduction to the rolling ebb and flow of raisins and toffee with toasted notes and exotic spices leading to the satisfying, warm conclusion as it sears down your throat. It’s technically a beer, but in reality it is so much more than that simple qualification denotes.

Samuel Adams Utopias is not an easy or inexpensive beer to acquire. But for connoisseurs, it’s a keystone beer from a stalwart brewery that should be on any beer lover’s bucket list.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel is the managing editor of Brew/Drink/Run, a website and podcast that promotes brewing your own beer, consuming the…
How to Host a Bottle Share: 5 Tips for Planning Your First Beer Tasting
Beer flight tasting types

With thousands of amazing breweries spread across the globe already open (with more on the horizon) and a constantly expanding range of styles from which to choose, it’s impossible to drink all of the world’s great beers. Attending beer festivals or ordering flights from breweries are great ways to expand your knowledge and palate. These opportunities provide several small pours of beer instead of the traditional method of ordering full-size glasses. More variety for the same quantity, if you will.

An alternative to festivals and flights is organizing a bottle share, otherwise known as your own mini beer festival.

Read more
Sam Adams Brewer Boston Beer Co. and Dogfish Head Merge to Create ‘Formidable’ Portfolio
Jim Koch Boston Beer Sam Calagione Dogfish Head

Two of the most influential craft beer companies are now under the same ownership as Boston Beer Company and Dogfish Head Brewery announced their merger this week.
The merger creates a powerhouse of sorts as it slots the Dogfish Head brand within the impressive portfolio of Boston Beer, makers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick will lead the company, while Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione joins the board of directors of Boston Beer, a publicly traded company under the symbol SAM.
“We believe we are creating the most dynamic and diverse American-owned platform for craft beer and beyond,” said Jim Koch, Boston Beer founder and chairman. “Dogfish Head has a proud history as a craft beer pioneer with a brand that is beloved by American consumers and highly respected by the industry.”
Sam and Mariah Calagione, the Dogfish Head co-founders, took nearly all their merger consideration in SAM stock, becoming the second largest non-institutional stockholders, behind Koch. The Calagiones received approximately 406,000 shares of SAM valued at $314.60 per share, while Dogfish Head shareholders received $173 million in cash.
Sam Calagione will remain at the head of the Dogfish Head brand.

Jim Koch of Boston Beer (left) and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head (right) Image used with permission by copyright holder
"This merger better positions Dogfish Head and our co-workers to continue growing within this definition for many years to come,” Calagione said. “In fact, Mariah and I believe so much in the future of our merged companies that we are all in, and personally we're reinvesting nearly all of the proceeds back into the combined entity. We're also proud to announce that we intend to devote a percentage of the Boston Beer stock that we receive to establishing a foundation and funding various local charitable programs."
"We believe we are creating the most dynamic and diverse American-owned platform for craft beer and beyond."

Read more
5 of the Craziest Collaboration Beers with Bands
best music band collaboration craft beers dogfish brewing dragons packaging 1

A musician’s reputation for partying becomes a vital part of their mythos. The stories of debauchery told by acquaintances of Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and Motley Crue are legendary. But if you’re really good at partying, you can apparently have your own line of booze.
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan and Dave Matthews each own their own wineries. Sammy Hagar brought the world Cabo Wabo Tequila.  But the largest number of music and alcohol collaborations are in the world of beer. For every beer and music project that makes sense (The Hold Steady’s IPA brewed with Hanging Hills called Massive Nights), there is a real head scratcher (Rick Astley’s Northern Hop Lager from Mikkeller).
Here are a handful of the weirdest (and best) beer and music collaborations.

Kiss: Destroyer

Read more