World's Strongest (and Spendiest) Beer
Sam Adams recently announced Sam Adams Utopias--beer with an alcohol content of 25% by volume. Marketed as an ideal after-dinner tipple, the strong, rich, dark drink is not carbonated and features four types of hops which give it an earthy, spicy, herbal taste. Carmel, Vienna, Moravian, and Bavarian smoked malts add an amber color, and a variety of yeast were used during fermentation, including the same yeast used in champagne. As a result, the slightly fruity brew has a sweet, malty flavor that resembles the deep, rich grape taste of a vintage Port, fine Cognac, or old Sherry. The limited-edition ale has been aged in Scotch, Cognac, and Port barrels and comes packaged in a collectible copper-finished brew kettle decanter reminiscent of the brew kettles used by brewmasters for hundreds of years. Oh, and it costs about $300.
--AndreaLeigh
on October 28, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Er... recently announced? It's been around for five and a half years.
Anyway, it's every bit as good as it sounds. I got maybe a 1 oz sample one time, and I made it last a good ten minutes. :)
BD on October 28, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Oops. Six and a half years.
MMMM, beer... on October 29, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I tried some of this at a Draft Magazine tasting- phenomenal stuff- we were tasting it alongside some amazing cognac and port, and it blew them out of the water. Of course, it doesn't really taste like beer... but all beer is good beer!
redsox fan on October 29, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Was this the product called triple bock - if so it's been around for 10+ years - they just couldn't figure out how to sell it.
It's good and it STRONG.
MayorOmalleySuxs on October 29, 2008 at 12:31 PM
... but all beer is good beer!
Yup, just like pizza and sex. There is better and great, but there is no bad pizza, beer or sex.
I thought there was an alcohol threshold somewhere south of 25% for naturally fermented beverages. Something about the alcohol level getting high enough that it starts to kill off all of the yeast.
TW Andrews on October 29, 2008 at 01:08 PM
Something about the alcohol level getting high enough that it starts to kill off all of the yeast.
IIRC, they use multiple fermentations to get the alcohol so high, and in the later ones use champagne yeast instead of brewers yeast.
jtb-in-texas on October 29, 2008 at 01:41 PM
How many beers does one need to drink before thinking a $300.00 beer is a good idea?
BlacquesJacquesShellacqes on October 29, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Worlds strongest you say. Must be like the 'World Series', which does not include the world.
Vetters brewery in Heidelberg Germany has been brewing 'Vetter 33' for years and years. 33.19% by weight and 37.91% by volume.
Ze Krauts have old Sam Adams beat by nearly 13% by volume.
Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I cannot remember how much it costs, but it wasn't much.
Pseudolus on October 29, 2008 at 02:36 PM
Everywhere I've found online puts Vetter 33 at ~10.5% ABV, much lower than SA Utopias. I think it may start with an original gravity (measure of the amount of sugar it starts off with pre-fermentation) of 33 Plato), which would be where the name comes from not it's ABV or ABW.
I see claims of 33% alcohol beer (Mikkeller) and 29% alcohol beer (Hair of the Dog Dave), but it appears that both of these beers were "freeze distilled" after fermentation, preferentially removing water and leaving a more alcohol-concentrated liquid behind. As far as I can tell, Utopias is the strongest (ABV-wise) beer that has not been altered once the yeast have gotten done with it.
Hucbald on October 29, 2008 at 03:35 PM
"How many beers does one need to drink before thinking a $300.00 beer is a good idea?"
I'm sure you'd buy it to share with that coyote who has gotten better and better looking all night.
I love beer - one of only two coffee table books I have is michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer - but I don't care for these super-strong triple Bock type concoctions at all. Beer to me must be frothy, otherwise it isn't beer at all, it's something else. When I want something with more than the usual kick, I'll drink a Duvel, but my favorite will always be Chimay.
I'm definitely not in the target market for this. It seems an exercise in conceited insanity to me.
Quilly Mammoth on October 29, 2008 at 04:16 PM
Or you could take a pull from a bottle of Lowenbrau Dark and pour in a shot of 90 proof Valu-Rite vodka....cheaper and after a couple no one willcare.
Alexander D. Mitchell IV on October 29, 2008 at 06:06 PM
As others have noted, this beer has been around for a while. As I recall, the original wholesale price of this beer to retailers was >$100, and I remember entertaining some offers to supply this--from friendly retailers, mind you--for $125 a bottle. I understand that the "current" price is highly variable, depending on whether the owner wants to be a nice bloke or take advantage of the dollar signs in your eyeballs or the smoke arising from your wallet pocket. My biggest qualm with parting with any money for this product is that we estimated that perhaps a third or more of the cost of the product went into the packaging, i.e. the unique bottle.
I was fortunate enough to sample some courtesy of a private tasting at the Brickskeller in Washington, DC (home of the largest selection of beer in a bar, according to the Guinness Book of World Records). The flavor reminded me, according to my notes, of a Drambuie heavily laced with malty butterscotch notes.......
If you are looking for a comparable--but equally hard to obtain--product, seek out Colossus from the DuClaw Brewing Co. of central Maryland (a brewpub chain with a central brewery in Harford County). This is a 23% (estimated) beer with equally powerful notes, but much more beer-like flavors amidst a generally malty pineapple-upside-down-cake body and character, made and bottled/kedded a couple years ago. If you can get them to admit they still have any, they had it priced at $35 a wax-sealed 750-ml bottle, and they have admitted that to reproduce it at today's malt and hops prices would cost $50 a bottle to break even.......
Alexander D. Mitchell IV on October 29, 2008 at 06:08 PM
As others have noted, this beer has been around for a while. As I recall, the original wholesale price of this beer to retailers was >$100, and I remember entertaining some offers to supply this--from friendly retailers, mind you--for $125 a bottle. I understand that the "current" price is highly variable, depending on whether the owner wants to be a nice bloke or take advantage of the dollar signs in your eyeballs or the smoke arising from your wallet pocket. My biggest qualm with parting with any money for this product is that we estimated that perhaps a third or more of the cost of the product went into the packaging, i.e. the unique bottle.
I was fortunate enough to sample some courtesy of a private tasting at the Brickskeller in Washington, DC (home of the largest selection of beer in a bar, according to the Guinness Book of World Records). The flavor reminded me, according to my notes, of a Drambuie heavily laced with malty butterscotch notes.......
If you are looking for a comparable--but equally hard to obtain--product, seek out Colossus from the DuClaw Brewing Co. of central Maryland (a brewpub chain with a central brewery in Harford County). This is a 23% (estimated) beer with equally powerful notes, but much more beer-like flavors amidst a generally malty pineapple-upside-down-cake body and character, made and bottled/kedded a couple years ago. If you can get them to admit they still have any, they had it priced at $35 a wax-sealed 750-ml bottle, and they have admitted that to reproduce it at today's malt and hops prices would cost $50 a bottle to break even.......
Beer Me on October 30, 2008 at 02:57 AM
"...and pour in a shot of 90 proof Valu-Rite vodka..."
Or skip the beer and hit the Valu-Rite right away.
"Valu-Rite: now with a 90 day anti-blindness guarantee!"
ken in sc on October 30, 2008 at 08:49 AM
I think if it's over 8%, it's supposed to be called barley wine.
Patrick O'Leary on October 31, 2008 at 09:27 PM
I recommend Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA as a similar sort of extreme beer, though I cannot directly compare as I have not had Utopias (I would certainly like to). DFH 120 clocks in at over 20%, though they don't have quite the consistency that Koch is able to get with Utopias. Like Utopias, it doesn't exactly taste like beer; it is much more like a spirit in flavor, with a sweetness that is unexpected from an IPA. It can be difficult to find, and runs about $8 per 12-oz bottle, but is both easier to find and less expensive than Utopias. Personally known to be available seasonally in the DC metro area, Florida, and Kentucky.
Meanwhile, back in Alabama *sigh*...
@redsox fan: They bred a yeast variety specifically for this beer; microevolution at work. They incrementally upped the alcohol content, keeping the yeast that survived, up until they got a yeast that could tolerate the alcohol level they desired.
@ken: That depends. Barleywines are a particular style of strong ale, which are generally very malty in character. High-grav beers get tough to classify, though, and by the time you've blown past 12%--rarified air, indeed--each beer has a very unique character. Other styles near or above 10% include Double IPA, Russian Imperial Stout, and some Imperial Pilsners.
Legally? Depends on where you live. I'm not sure if "barley wine" is in use as a legal term anywhere, but it may be.