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As you can tell by the title of this article this review is about Infinium.  And you probably know the story regarding this beer already but I will try to give some background on it anyway.

Infinium is the creation of a collaboration between Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) and the legendary German brewery Weihenstephan.  The beer is an attempt to push the boundaries of brewing while still only using the four key ingredients in beer making; water, malts, hops, yeast.  But for this particular beer the use of Champagne yeast is a big difference.

Apparently it took the two breweries many years of brainstorming to decide on the recipe for Infinium.  Will it pay off?  Will it break down walls?  I don’t know but I can at least attest to my opinion.

I found the cork on this bottle to be much more difficult than other corked beers and even most Champagnes I have had.  Once I finally was able to remove the cork I poured the beer into my pilsner glass as I don’t have any flutes.  It arrived in the glass a clear orangish color with a big bubbly white head.  I was surprised by how quickly the head subsided.

The nose was very fruity.  Banana is the overpowering scent I pick up but I can also get some hints of pear and passion fruit in there.  Other than the fruit I don’t really get anything else.

The banana is again very present in the taste.  Again a little bit of pear in there with some buttery notes.  I am also getting a fair amount of alcohol in the taste.

The body and mouth feel of the beer is not as bubbly as I would have thought with the Champagne yeast in use.  A matter of fact the mouth feel felt a bit flat despite the bubbly head when poured.

So is it changing brewing?  I’m still not sure.  It is definitely different from any other beer I have had but I can’t really say I like it.  I’m glad I got to try it but the banana taste is way too strong and the body and mouth feel just don’t seem right for what they seemed to be going for.

I had a sampling of DeuS last year and remember that being more like a Champagne than this particular beer.  It was bubbly all the way through.

Sorry Sam and Weihenstephan, this one just wasn’t up my alley.

Grade - D+

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People in the craft beer community rant and rave about collaborations between breweries.  I review one recently that was a gigantic hype machine around the collaboration.  Now this particular collaboration is slightly different in that it happens more often than just once.

Every year Left Hand and Terrapin get together for what they call the Midnight Project series.  Last year their espresso milk stout called Depth Charge was a smash hit with many.  This year they decided to do something a little different.

They brewed and IPA but used a lager yeast instead of an ale yeast.  So we have hear a bottom fermented IPL I guess you could say.  So how was it you might ask.  Let us see.

It pours into my pint glass a very clear orangish/amber color.  There is a decent slightly off white head that does leave some lacing on the glass as it dissipates.

Woah the nose is very floral.  Kind of like being in nursery surrounded by tons and tons of pollen.  I was thinking my allergies were going to start acting up.  I get some hints of caramel sweetness in there as well.

So the first sip.  Is it good?  In a word.  No.  The floral taste in this was so strong I might as well blend up dandelions and throw them in water with some hops and call it a day.  The bitterness in this is so intense I think I had a layer of plaque and enamel removed from my teeth.  And it wasn’t necessarily hop bitterness but that floral and an earthy taste just irked me.

I’ll admit I had this on draft at Left Hand’s tasting room last month and thought it was good.  But to be fair I was sampling a lot of beers in that sitting.  Also since this was a bottle compared to a fresh keg there may have been something there.

A few people mentioned on Twitter last night how they did not like this beer at all.  And they eagerly awaited my weighing in on the subject.  Well folks, I hope you have more room on your boat for me.

Sorry Left Hand and Terrapin.  I love you guys and you make some good stuff but this one was just not my cup of tea.  Interesting idea but I look forward to what you do next year.

Grade - D

Appearance – Poured an absolutely clear orange color.  There was a super thin white head but it was gone before I could even snap a picture.

Smell – Honey and booze is pretty much all I get in the nose.  Kind of smells like rubbing alcohol.

Taste – Super sweet honey flavor with a really strong alcohol backing through out.  The booze gets even more intense as it warms up.

I’ll admit I was hooked into buying this because of the box it came in (no pic sorry) and now kind of regret it.  I’ve only had one other braggot before and that was Brooklyn Buzz Bomb.  That beer wasn’t nearly as intense as this one.  This was just honey and alcohol.  It was rough to drink cold and close to undrinkable when it warmed up.  I don’t know which one I got a more classic braggot out of but if this is what the style is like I might pass on future braggots.  I’m sorry Widmer Brothers.  I like your Drifter Pale Ale and the Hefe is solid but this just wasn’t good at all to me.

Overall Grade – D-