Samuel Adams Imperial Series (Beer)

My favorite brand of beer is Samuel Adams, hands down.  I have tried dozens of different flavors of Sam Adams and only have good things to say about most of them.  This year the Boston based beer company released a series of high test beers which they dub the "Imperial Series."  

Label art complexity is directly proportional to alcohol content.

After trying all four brews, its funny how easily I could place these on a scale of preference.  My favorite one of the four is the "Double Boch."  Wow.  It is surprisingly smooth for a beer with such a high alcohol content.  I hate to use the same words they use on the label without adding anything else to it, but the "Double Boch" really has a pleasant velvety taste.  The next brew in line for preference is the "Wee Heavy."  As described on the bottle you could easily recognize a roasted sort of flavor to it.  I detected a bit of a nutty flavor as well; however, my pallet could be underdeveloped and I may be mistaken.  Its a stronger heavier taste but its still a beer that I could drink all night.

The "Imperial Stout" still has a smooth taste but an odd combination of aftertastes.  The label describes chocolate and coffee; however, I could not really taste any chocolate.  I really do not like coffee, perhaps thats why I really did not enjoy this beer as much as the other two.  Its still a good brew though.  Finally, the "Imperial White" is the strongest of the "Imperial Series."  At 10.3% alcohol, you could taste the fact that it is a high test brew.  I generally tend to really like wheat beers; but. this beer has a spicy aftertaste to it that really kicks in hard.  Although it totes the fanciest of the four labels, I feel that this beer does not deliver.  I probably would not recommend this beer to anyone else, especially if you have the choice of trying any of the other three instead.

In addition to the "Imperial Series," I am also going to share my experience drinking the Samuel Adams "Infinium" Ale.  This beer is only distributed once every one or two years apparently, and only in a limited quantity.  It is a Bavarian style of champaign-like beer that was brewed in collaboration with the Weihenstephan Brewery (the oldest operating brewery in the world, licensed in 1040) in Germany.  In my opinion, "Infinium" a bit more like champaign and not so much like beer.  It is very carbonated, very fruity, and not very hoppy (something I come to expect from Sam Adams).  This is something that would be really cool to toast with at like a wedding or New Years Day.  As for sitting down to spend a night watching your favorite movie or sporting event, I would purchase a different style from the Samuel Adams line. 

A fancy bottle for tastes too fancy for me.