Boston brewer pushes new limits on extreme beer

[Soylent Brice]

BOSTON – It is banned in 13 states and sure doesn't come in a six-pack.

The maker of Samuel Adams beer has released an updated version of its biennial beer Utopias — now the highest alcohol content beer on the market. At 27 percent alcohol by volume and $150 a bottle, the limited release of the brandy-colored Utopias comes as more brewers take advantage of improvements in science to boost potency and enhance taste.

"Just part of trying to push the envelope," said Jim Koch, founder and owner of the Boston Beer Co. the maker of Sam Adams. "I'm pushing it beyond what the laws of these 13 states ever contemplated when they passed those laws decades ago."

Since the 1990s, craft brewers like the Boston Beer Co. and the Delaware-based Dogfish Head have produced a number of "extreme beers" that challenge old notions of beer and the decades-old laws that have governed them.

AP – In this Nov. 17, 2009 photo, a bottle of Boston Beer Company's Utopias, which costs $150, is displayed …


read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_extreme_beer

[WilliamPitt]

1. I tried the stuff at an "Extreme Beer" festival here

They had one that was 50% by volume. It tasted like bad scotch, and when I finished it, I could see through time.

[Javaman]

2. "I could see through time."

:rofl:

[Soylent Brice]

3. hmmm... time travelling beer... sounds good to me!

[Cirque du So-What]

5. You recently claimed that there's no such thing as bad scotch

Is this like stating that something 'tastes like turpentine,' as you would imagine turpentine to taste, or is this an admission that bad scotch exists in the real world?

I am prepared to wait until hell freezes over for your answer, sir!

[WilliamPitt]

8. There is no such thing as bad scotch

but you can say "bad scotch" when referring to a substance that is not, in fact, scotch.

It's in the Constitution. You can look it up. It's right under the part with the ink smudge.

[Cirque du So-What]

21. Nice save

Speaking of the Constitution in the same breath as distilled spirits is a bone of contention in my family to this very day. Some of my ancestors fled their homesteads in western PA ahead of troops led by then-President George Washington in a conflict referred to as the Whiskey Rebellion. They did alright - continuing to cite English common law as justification for their God-given right to extract alcohol from mash - but they never forgot the regressive taxation imposed upon small distillers.

[LifeDuringWartime]

28. No such beer.

What you had was likely the Utopias when it was 25% (50 proof).

[WilliamPitt]

30. That must have been it.

[HopeHoops]

4. Sorry, no beer is worth $150 a bottle and no mushroom is worth $600/lb.

I'm serious about the mushroom. A grocery store called Wegman's has French truffles in a locked clear case for $599.99/lb. They look like shriveled up cat turds. I've never tried truffles and never will at that price. Think about how many people you could feed with $600! A bag of shriveled up cat turds just wouldn't stretch as far.

[MineralMan]

10. Never tried black truffles, eh?

Too bad, really. I don't eat them very often, but, every once in a while someone gives me a small one as a gift, usually after eating at my house. Just a few grams is all you need. Half an ounce is plenty for a party of four.

Shave the black little cat turd as thinly as you can, then scramble a couple of eggs. Just before you put the eggs on the plate, scatter the shavings over them. There is no better way to try black truffle.

Are they worth $600/lb? Probably not, but try them once and you may discover that they're worth that, once every few years, just to remind yourself that such a thing exists.

Same thing with saffron. It's even more expensive than truffles. But, you just need a few threads to flavor and color something. For an occasional occasion, it's worth it.

As for beer...I don't drink it much. I prefer porter or stout, and Guinness is more than adequate.

[maseman]

23. I tried Truffles once

and didn't "get" it. The flavor was nice but so is Bourbon, chocolate and filet mignon. Much cheaper though.

[slampoet]

35. A Pound of truffles is enough to flavor DOZENS of plates of food. They stretch a VERY long way.

A pound could be enough to last a restaurant for a month!!

I once saw 4 pounds of Dried Morel Mushrooms last a restaurant seven months, so no one cared that this amount of morels cost $100 a pound (in 1986)

Saffron costs hundreds of dollars a pound but do you know how much i need for my mussel stew? TWO DOLLARS WORTH!!! That is it! You use about as much per dish as one would use saffron, about a three fingered pinch.



You sound like the old potheads who brag about never paying $30 for an ounce of weed and come to find out that they used to smoke 3-4 cigar sized splif to get high, when a pinky nail size bit of today's stuff will do. It actually turns out paying from quality can sometimes be cheaper.

[HuckleB]

6. This is all about marketing.

"Extreme beer" is a joke to most in the craft beer world.

[phantom power]

7. I wonder if Sam Calagione has a response planned for that.

He had a running competition with Sam Adams for a while on ABV.

[GoCubsGo]

9. Is that stuff really "beer"?

It sounds more like a liqueur to me.

[leveymg]

11. "Malt liqa will get ya shicka quicka" - not bad Scotch, more like gold-plated Colt 45

I'll stick with 12 year-old Rum or Single-Malt, thank you.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. I don't need $150 a bottle beer. What I need is....

Real Newcastle. Just import real, undiluted Newcastle. That thin reflection that is available here is a cruel tease.

[doc03]

13. I tried Sam Adams once, ONCE, I don't know if it was a

bad batch or what but it was what we call "skunk beer".

[WilliamPitt]

14. The aftertaste sucks.

Their light beer is actually quite good.

[doc03]

17. I tried that new Budweiser Select 55 last week, talk about

bad my neighbor and I managed to drink 4 of them I poured the last two down the drain. I got a brewing kit for Christmas last year and so far every batch I have made beats most any store bought beer.

[Soylent Brice]

18. you know you have shitty beer when you're pouring it down the drain.

ugh.

[WilliamPitt]

19. When I get a place with a basement

I'm going to begin brewing my own stuff, too. A friend of mine has brewed about 20 batches, and the stuff is gold. He made a Lagunitas Rich Copper Ale with a Belgian twist the other day, and a rich chocolate stout using cocoa nibs. Glorious.

[doc03]

24. I got a Mr. Beer kit last year, I figured it would be

swill and was really surprised at how good it was. The first batch was just plain old American style lager like Budweiser but better. So far my favorite was called "Howlin Red Ale" it compares favorably to Killian's Red. I just have one 2 gallon keg and make it up in the kitchen, it takes about an hour, I bottled a batch of Bavarian Dark Wheat this morning I am looking forward to opening my first bottle in about 4 weeks. They have a web site that lists around 180 recipes, some of the people on their message board have like thirty batches going at once. Home brewing snobs look down on the beer and wine kits and make it from scratch, sounds like a lot a lot more than I want to get into though.

[LifeDuringWartime]

29. Not BBC's fault

Beer is "skunked" when it has been exposed to light for too long. The UVa and UVb rays interact with the alpha acids in the hops and other compounds and creates a disgusting skunky aroma. Sam Adams (Boston Beer Company) uses brown bottles and tall 6 packs, the best defense against skunking short of painting the bottles or using cans.

It was most likely the distributor's or retailer's fault.

[Cirque du So-What]

15. I don't understand the BREWhaha over these potent potables

I'm not impressed with sleight-of-hand techniques for maximizing alcohol content in beer. The art of distilling has been around for centuries, and I'll take a good whiskey (or whisky), brandy, vodka, gin or rum before these overpriced monstrosities.

[Brother Buzz]

27. This beer required a new yeast that doesn't die at thirteen-fourteen percent like

most wine yeasts. Traditional beer yeasts die at even lower alcohol content.

I'm a winemaker and not impressed either, but when they develop Mother of vinegar that can live in high alcohol, I'm all ears.

[KittyWampus]

16. Beer is about taste, for me. Not alcohol content.

[WilliamPitt]

20. Not in Boston

Sad but true. College kids with daddy's bankroll will buy anything that gets them fucked up.

[BolivarianHero]

22. Why would there be laws against it?

I don't grasp why it's okay to make 80 proof rum but not okay to make 80 proof beer. Maybe I'm just a moron.

[WilliamPitt]

25. Probably because those states sell beer, wine and booze differently.

Take New Hampshire. You can buy beer and wine pretty much everywhere - supermarkets, gas stations, convenience stores, etc. - but you have to go to a special state store to buy booze.

Because this Sam Adams stuff is "beer," it could be sold everywhere, but because it's alcohol content is so high, it belongs in the state stores.

I don't know what the rules are in those 13 states, but my theory is a safe bet.

[doc03]

26. There should be laws against some beers

:spray:

[LifeDuringWartime]

31. Logging in to clear some things up

I haven't logged into DU in quite some time. I'm a bit of a beer geek so I'll share what I know about Utopias.

- It is NOT distilled, either through boiling or freezing, to increase alcohol content. They bred some very special yeast to take it that high, and likely use a stepped addition process, where not all of the ingredients are added at once.

- The beer is actually a blend of many different barrel-aged beers. Some have been in barrels for over 15 years, some are quite newer. They use almost every type of barrel you can imagine. The port casks they used for part of the latest batch are almost 6 feet tall. There are still only a handful of American breweries releasing blends. It's a testament to both the art and the science of brewing.

- The taste is very unique. Maple syrup is used as one of the major yeast nutrients, so you do get a bit of that flavor. This link has over 150 reviews of the beer. Something to keep in mind is that it is 'still', not carbonated. Thus, you can pour yourself a taste and close the bottle back up. (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/25759)

- I've been lucky enough to sample it twice - once at the 2009 Extreme Beer Fest in Boston and once at the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain. Definitely something to sample 1-2oz at a time.

[alfredo]

32. Bells Hopslam is as extreme as I want to go at 10%

[Initech]

33. I've had Utopia. I like it.

Not sure if I want to pay $150 a bottle for it though.

[Fuzz]

34. I'll stick with my Chimay Blue, thank you very much.

[alfredo]

36. Just tried Schlafly Centennial ESB. It's a good beer that gets better as it warms

and loses its fizz. The malts become more pronounced. Got mine at the local Krogers.

Hop heads will like the nice bitter finish.

[Canuckistanian]

37. That's not a beer, it's Barley Wine

Or at least an exotic Trippel. I like strong beers, but I can't stand the overly sweet, syrupy and weird-tasting "liqueur beers".

[LifeDuringWartime]

38. Barleywine = beer

There are two general barleywine categories. And they are absolutely beer! Bass No. 1 Ale was the first, in 1900.

English Barleywine:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/152

American Barleywine:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/19

Double IPAs, Imperial Stouts, and other styles can also reach into double-digit alcohol percentages.