Tonight’s (Superbowl) Tasting: Samuel Adams Infinium and CAO OSA Sol
Samuel Adams Infinium
For the past couple of years, the Boston Beer Company and Germany’s Weihenstephan Brewery have joined forces to create what they characterized as an entirely new style of beer, a champagne-like ale called Infinium. Infinium comes in a 750 ml champagne bottle, complete with foil, wire and cork.
The beer (champagne?) poured a medium amber with a small, lacy head. There was no significant nose, only a very slight dry, citrus smell.
The mouthfeel was very light like champagne, and dry to the point that you feel your teeth touching. The taste is very interesting, with a definite impression of a beer/champagne combination. The sense of grapes is there to be sure (even though there are no grapes in the process), but you also sense the hops and taste the malt.
Infinium is quite unique, and I really liked it. I seldom drink champagne, and I can’t imagine ever going to the fridge to pull out a bottle of champagne to enjoy with a cigar on the Lido Deck. But I can see pulling one of these out if I wanted something really light that wouldn’t compete with a mild cigar.
It’s hard to stack this up against anything else since it is so different, but for the taste and unique drinking experience, I’ll give it a 93 on The Morris Scale.
From the Samuel Adams website:
“Our brewers worked for two years with the world’s oldest brewery, Germany’s Weihenstephan, to create this unique new beer style. A groundbreaking brew, made with only the four traditional ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast, Infinium™ is a crisp champagne-like beer with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma. The crisp clean malt character and delicate fruit notes in this beer are complemented by a slight citrus flavor from dry hopping with Bavarian Noble hops. Bottle conditioning adds another layer of complexity and light spice notes.”
Flavor: Light and dry with a crisp clean malt character, and delicate fruit and spice notes
Color: Pale golden with a sparkling effervescence, 8 SRM
Original Gravity: 20.5° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 10.3%ABV – 8.1%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 278
IBUs: 10
Malt Varieties: Custom blend of two-row malted barley, malted spring white wheat, and malted oats
Hop Varieties: Hallertau Mittlefrueh, Spalt Spalter, Tettnang Tettnanger and Hersbrucker Noble Hops
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast, Belgian yeast
CAO OSA Sol
The OSA Sol is available in three sizes, the Lot 50 (5×50), Lot 54 (6×54), and Lot 58 (6 ½ x 58). I decided to pick a cigar at random from my humidor, and came out with the monster 58 ring size.
My initial impression as to taste was that the cigar was a little harsh with no complexity. As the cigar progressed, the harshness disappeared but the taste never surfaced. There’s really nothing else to say. There was just never any there there. I’ve had some great CAO cigars, but this isn’t one of them. A sad 71 on The Morris Scale.
From the Cigars International website:
“The secret between CAO OSA Sol is the wrapper. This exquisite leaf is grown in Olancho, San Agustin, a fertile valley of Honduras surrounded by tree covered mountains. This field is hugged by a crystal clear river, feeding the sun-nurtured tobaccos with pure spring waters and producing a uniquely robust and earth wrapper leaf. A sun-grown leaf, hence CAO OSA Sol.
CAO OSA Sol marks the first use of this rare, proprietary tobacco variety. A glorious presentation to see and burn, each cigar contains a flavorful OSA sun-grown wrapper chock full of Nicaraguan and Honduran long-fillers inside a hearty Connecticut Broadleaf binder. Medium in body, CAO OSA Sol gushes with rustic tobacco flavors enhanced by earthy undertones, subtle spices, and a touch of leather.”
Yeah, not so much. If this was the first use of this “rare, proprietary tobacco,” hopefully it will be the last. One bad cigar.
Posted on February 5th, 2012 by Aaron Morris
Filed under: Beer, Beer Facts, Cigar Facts, Cigars, Reviews
That’s a new one. I’m going to have to give this “champagne” a try.