Infinium: The New Champagne of Beer

If you haven’t heard the buzz about Sam Adams’ collaboration with Germany’s Weihenstephan brewery, you better run to the closest liquor store and pick up a bottle of Infinium before it’s too late. It is a champagne-like, limited edition beer for the 2010 holiday season, and they expect to be sold out not long after New Years, if not before.

The Beer Traveler gang was lucky enough to taste the final prototype before production at Weihenstephan during our Oktoberfest visit, so we eagerly picked up a nice supply last Wednesday to see if it lived up to our recollection. First, I love the packaging. We’ve decided that the logo makes it look like an old Western remedy bottle that is used to cure any and all ailments, which probably isn’t too far off from the truth. The beer itself was created under the “Reinheitsgebot,” or German Beer Purity Law, which states that the only 4 ingredients to be used to make beer are water, malt, hops, and yeast. We found that the Sam Adams version was more bitter than the sweeter, fruitier Weinhenstephan prototype we had tasted, which makes us wonder how much of a difference there is between what Sam Adams is brewing for the American consumer as opposed to the European flavor. I have to admit, I think I preferred the German counterpart, because the champagne carbonation and taste were more prominent, as opposed to a Sam Adams beer with a hint of champagne in it. Either way, we thoroughly enjoy this tasty hybrid and love the collaborative work that the breweries did. It was amazing to get to experience it while in the making, and I’m glad with my decision to stock up and have the beer much longer after they’re all sold out (unless New Years ends up being more exciting than anticipated). Has anyone tasted it? We’d love to hear your thoughts, love it or hate it!

If you’d like to learn more about it, and find out where you can purchase it, go to Sam Adams’ official website here!

written by Ursula