Sam Adams Infinium

[Richard]

Got given a bottle of this today, was told I had to drink it soon because the "best-before" is nigh. Not wanting to disappoint, here goes:

Appearance: Light amber, semi-opaque. Massive initial head formation from all the carbonation, dissipating quickly to almost no head retention with a few spots of lacing.
Smell: Somewhat typical array of belgian yeast esters and phenols, with a very slight mustiness that may have come from the age of the bottle (corking). Very well balanced and not in any way overwhelming. No real maltiness or hoppiness to speak of.
Taste: Very dry, with an almost overwhelming (but extremely refreshing) tartness up front. Kinda reminds me of a dry white wine, but with a much more diverse fruity flavour. Apricot is the main thing that springs to mind, along with some orange. Finishes so clean you can hardly taste it after a few moments, just the lingering bite of the esters sitting on your palate.
Mouthfeel: Dry as the Sahara; this would make an excellent beer for sipping whilst gazing out over a dry summer day; very refreshing.
Drinkability: For 10.3% this is incredibly quaffable beer. I'd take this over champagne any day; great stuff.

Rating: 8/10.

[Kyle]

The big bottle of beer we drank on your cottage porch was also Sam Adams Infinium. The best before date is right to be heeded, as that one had lost much of its characher at 7 months old. There was a significant peach aroma and champagne-like flavour, but nothing like when it's fresh. I had several bottles, and they do not improve with age.

[Richard]

Yup; I recall. This one was not quite so bad.

[sdixon]

Sounds like an interesting beer. I'll have to get my hands on a bottle.