Sam Adams just released an 'otherworldly beer' that's 30% alcohol by volume and costs $200
How about on a bottle of beer?
That's the going price for the highly coveted Samuel Adams Utopias, a barrel-aged beer released only every other year that reaches over 30% alcohol by volume (ABV). This year, aged in cognac, bourbon, port, and Madeira barrels, Utopias clocks in at 28% ABV and picks up notes of molasses, vanilla, oak, and cocoa.
It's not just the unique brewing and aging process, or even the booziness of the beer, that warrants such a high price. Utopias is brewed in small batches - Sam Adams releases fewer than 10,000 bottles of the beer at each release, putting it on par with some rare, vintage wines. This is only the ninth batch of the beer since it debuted in 1992.
"Utopias is the lunatic fringe of extreme beer," says Sam Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch. "This is an otherworldly beer that's just as radical today as it was in 1992."
For $200, the beer comes in a bottle that looks like it houses a genie, and at nearly 30% ABV, it may also grant you a wish or two.