I have somehow been fortunate in my life. Maybe I’ve just been a good boy. I have had the opportunity to taste every vintage of Samuel Adams Utopias. The super-strong, cognac-like extreme beer has been released every odd-numbered year since 2002. It is constructed from a blend of different barrel-aged beers some of which date back to the original vintage of Triple Bock from 1994. The strongest, naturally-fermented beer in the world, it weighs in at a hefty 27% ABV.

I won’t say that I remember every vintage. That would be absurd. But a few do stand out. 2003 was especially good in my memory, as was 2009. But maybe that was just the circumstances in which I tasted them. At any rate, I sampled this year’s version last night. Do I like it? I’m undecided. I guess I’ll just have to try it again. Here’s my notes:

Samuel Adams Utopias 2011
Boston Beer Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Style: ?
Serving Style: 22 oz bottle

Aroma: Thick butterscotch and maple candy with faint chocolate in the background. Port wine-like. Caramelized prunes. Layers and layers of smells. A big enough whiff reveals nostril-burning alcohol.

Appearance: Dark mahogany with flashes of blackness. Clear. Still. Ample legs drip down the side of the glass when swirled.

Flavor: Rich and creamy. The same butterscotch and maple candy carries over from the aroma. Chocolate comes lingers behind. Glints of sour cherry toward the end. Caramelized dark fruits. Alcohol is prominent, perhaps a bit too much so. Not hot, but boozy. It tingles the tongue and numbs the lips. Finishes long and sweet. Complex.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy. Alcohol warms all the way down. Creamy. Still.

Overall Impression: The caramel, butterscotch and maple is nice, but then the tart cherry comes in underneath and upends it. It adds layers of complexity, but that isn’t always necessarily a good thing. My impression changed from sip to sip, some exceedingly enjoyable, some less so. It would be nice to let the alcohol tone down a bit. Perhaps some age will help. I’ll give it another try in a few months.