How much would you pay for an exceptional brew? $10 a six-pack? $20 a six-pack? How about $5 an ounce?
That's the minimum going rate for Boston Beer's Samuel Adams Utopias, which retails starting at $120 per 24-ounce bottle.
The country's most expensive beer is also the strongest. The 2007 edition of the vintage-dated biennial release clocks in at 27 percent alcohol by volume, more than five times the proof of the average American golden lager.
The Utopias container, a ceramic bottle molded to resemble a brew kettle, is a collectible in and of itself. The copper-colored liquid inside hasn't a bubble of carbonation. The first sensations are a viscous mouth feel and a sweet sherrylike flavor with nuances of toffee and maple. There are notes of vanilla and plum and a hint of charred wood. A long, lingering alcohol burn, more reminiscent of a cognac or brandy than a beer, is followed by a sweet burned-caramel aftertaste.
Via: Sun-Sentinel
Until about 25 years ago, almost all commercially available American beer was absolute crap - pale weak swill made with a lot of corn and rice. Around that time, small "microbreweries" started doing things the right way and began introducing beer that tastes good. Gradually these little tiny operations began to chip away at the big breweries' market share (or at least capturing all the market growth) Simultaneously, wide availability of decent imports (rather than US-taylored versions of Heinekin, Becks, and mediocre Canadian brews) furthered the pressure. The big US brewers (Budweiser, Miller, Coors, &c.) were forced them to release somewhat better product lines as well. These were still cheapened up, but are a good lot better than the old "American (ahem) Pilsner" swill.
I still can't find a available-nearly-everywhere US brew that I like as much as Guinness for the same price. You can get some superb U.S. ales, stouts, and porters, but they still come from microbreweries which don't have the economies of scale of the big ones. The mass-market brewers put out some semi-reasonable pretty cheap stuff, though, and for that we should be thankful. They still make the swill of old in their main lines, but only old men, poor college students, and trailer park residents in in wife-beater shirts drink it anymore.
Samuel Adams is a US brewer than started out really small a couple decades ago and then grew phenomenally with their success. They are still *tiny* compared with the likes of Anheiser-Busch (Budweiser), but put out a TON better product for not a lot more money. Kudos to them for kicking the big guys in the balls and changing the industry. Now please come out with a year-round (they do a lot of changing season beers) good stout that is available everywhere.
Both of them were at least better than the absolutely disgusting Sam Adams Triple Bock of the mid-90s (at 17.5%).
The only other really good, very strong beer I can think of is Dogfish Head's Raison d'Extra, a 20% version of their Raison d'Etre. Their Fort (18%) and 120 Minuate (21%) were interesting and complex, but not beers that I really enjoyed. Nearly everything else I've had above 12 or 13% has ranged the gamut between unpleasant and undrinkable.