Utopia
Utopia!
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 | Tasting Reviews | 2 Comments
Sam Adams Utopia was the hit of January Tasting
The January theme was beers from Presidential candidates home states, so we had a wide variety of beers and styles to choose from. And although there were some great selections, the overall winner was Mike, who brought us Samual Adams Utopias. This beer retailed at The Party Source (if you can find it) for $153.95 for 1 24 oz bottle and is 25% ABV. Very much a sipping beer, it had a warm, sweet, rich flavor.
Steve hosted this event and didn’t an excellent job with a variety of food choices. And congratulations for Todd, Jay and Mike for coming up with the answer to this month’s trivia question, “What 4 college/universities have produced both a US President and Super Bowl Quarterback (answer below).
Attendees (Sorry, I don’t have records of who brought what)
- Steve (Host) (Left Hand Imperial Stout & Mendocino White Hawk IPA)
- Mike (Utopias)
- Chuck (Southern Tier Porter)
- Dave H. (Shiner Hefeweizen)
- Dave S.(Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale)
- Zombie (Wooden Shoe Lager)
- Jay (Buckeye Brewing Hippie IPA & DAI Label)
- Todd (Brooklyn Chocolate Stout & Shorts Woodmaster)
- Andrew S. (Bells Expedition stout)
- Steve V. (Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale)
- Pete M (Stoudts American Pale Ale & Flying Dog Gonzo)
Our complete lineup for the night included. I’ve included rating from Beer Advocate and Rate Beer Websites (for the complete review, click on the rating). Not a bad night given the ratings, with no less than 6 beers with a score of 90 or better plus 1 89.
- Shiner Hefeweizen BA - B-, RB - 27
- Buckeye Brewing Hippie IPA BA - B+, RB - 89
- Mendocino White Hawk India Pale Ale BA - B-, RB - 63
- Stoudts American Pale Ale BA - B, RB - 80
- Wooden Shoe Lager Beer BA - B, RB - 52
- Oktoberfest 2007 (brewed for the Dayton Art Institute Oktoberfest) — N/A
- Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale BA - A-, RB - 93
- Southern Tier Porter BA - B , RB - 78
- Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter BA - A-, RB - 98
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout BA - A-, RB - 99
- Bells Expedition Stout BA - A, RB - 100
- Left Hand Imperial Stout BA - B+, RB - 94
- Short’s The Woodmaster BA - B+, RB - NR
- Samual Adams Utopias BA - A, RB - 98
Beside Utopias, I particularly enjoyed the Bell’s Expedition Stout, and was somewhat disappointed in Southern Tier’s Porter (it seemed a bit “thin”). I also didn’t particularly care for the Brooklyn, and was very surprised by it’s high rating.
Oh yes, and the answer to the trivia question….
- University of Michigan - Tom Brady (Patriots) and Gerald Ford
- Stanford University - John Elway (Broncos) & Jim Plunkett (Raiders) and Herbert Hoover
- United States Naval Academy — Roger Staubach (Cowboys) and Jimmy Carter
- Miami University of Ohio — Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) and Benjamin Harrison