Samuel Adams Imperial White (Imperial Series)

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Witbier, 10.3%

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EDIT: 

So I had another one of these last night, and I'm really surprised that Sam Adams is calling this an Imperial White. This beer is straight up malty as fuck, and it is incredibly fruity and sugary.

While drinking a bottle last night, I was getting huge Doppelbock-esque malts. I was pulling out giant Twizzler notes, and licorice, and maybe even a pull towards that sweet soy sauce note. I was also pulling out huge cherry notes, and I was reminded quite a bit of Ommegang's Three Philosophers, minus any tartness.

This is quite a strange beer, and it's really heavy and dense. It's a sipper, and maybe a sipper you don't want very often. But it is intriguing, and very hard to categorize. But Imperial White? WTF. 
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An Imperial Witbier? Whatever you say, Sam Adams. A Witbier, or "white beer," is the Belgium version of a wheat beer. This style of beer was traditionally not brewed with hops, but instead used spices to preserve the beer. The style is known for having coriander profiles, as well as zesty orange notes. It's a style that is supposed to be fairly refreshing and easy-going. But at 10.3% ABV, tonight's beer is anything but. Before we dive in:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Tonight's beer is weird. If you check out the Imperial White page, you can get a sense of what to expect with this beer. Sam Adams states that: "Witbiers are normally light and refreshing with a fruity finish." This version is not that. This beer is supposed to be a "wine substitute," and is meant to be sipped. This beer is brewed with malted wheat, and two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale malts; it also uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble Hops. Clocking in at a stupid-big 10.3% ABV, and packing 15 IBUs, this beer will cost you ~320 calories per 12oz bottle. I'm kind of excited, so let's get this into a glass and see how it tastes.

Samuel Adams Imperial White

The beer hardly pours like a Witbier, which you kind of expect at this crazy ABV. The beer pours with 3-fingers of yellow/bronze-tinted head. The head quickly faded down into a nice cauldron effect. There are huge alcohol legs on this beer, and some lacing is being left as the head pulls on the glass. The body of the beer is a copper/caramel color in low light. In bright light this is a hazy, orange beer, with golden/copper tones. There is some sediment floating around in my beer, and there appears to be a decent amount of carbonation. This is atypical for a Witbier in that it is fairly dark. Cool stuff.

The aroma reminds me of the Sam Adams Wee Heavy, so I'm guessing the two beers share the same yeast or use similar malts. The aroma is heavy and dense. I'm smelling eggnog, cream soda (that artificial vanilla flavor), peppery alcohol, coriander, booze, some hints of clove, some hints of wheat malt, and some elusive fruitiness. There's actually quite a lot going on with the aroma, and I'm reminded of a complex Belgian style ale (like a Tripel or a Belgian Ale). 

Wow, the taste....you get a huge, sticky, boozy blast of beer up front. This rolls into some peppery spice and coriander. Then you get more sticky booze, and the finish is warm and spicy. I don't know how old this bottle is, but there's a lot of booze in this, and it's all fairly mellow; the alcohol is subtle and subdued, and not hot. I'm picking up a range of boozy fruits: raisins, overripe bananas, banana bread, some hints of caramel/sugar, a smack of clove and wheat, and pepper and coriander. Somewhere deep in here are some oranges, but they are coming across as candied oranges. There's also some vanilla in here. This is really fucking interesting.

Holy warming, batman. And holy full mouthfeel. This is a giant beer, with a sticky, dense and creamy mouthfeel. At 10.3% ABV, and with a mouthfeel like this...you want to sip this beer. Palate depth is astronomical, as this beer grabs hold of your tongue and doesn't let go. Complexity is pretty damn high as well. This is moderately carbonated, and it is welcomed. Up front I'm getting orange, fruit, sugars, sticky booze; the middle is rolling into some spices like coriander and peppery alcohol; the back end is wheat, malts, fruits; the finish is lingering spice and giant warming. There's a lot of sugars in this, but somehow it doesn't overwhelm you.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average rating on this "thing." I mean, what the fuck is this shit? Seriously...is this really a Witbier? This drinks like a complex, boozy, Belgian Ale or Tripel brewed with wheat. I'm pretty sure they added sugar to this, and the typical spices and orange you get in a Witbier are absolutely subdued. But it's fairly tasty. Somehow, Sam Adams has managed to keep this drinkable despite the density and sugars. This is a lot more intriguing than their Wee Heavy, I'll just say that. This beer is subject to a lot of controversy...it seems like most people hate this beer. I would treat this beer like a wine, or a liquor. And I would hardly compare this to a Witbier. All that aside, whatever we have here, I enjoyed it. I may have to pick up a 4-pack of this stuff come winter.