Beer Man: $160 Utopias a fine, and pricey, brew
- 10th anniversary limited-edition beer retails for $160
- Beer-based liqueur is aged in port, bourbon and rum casks
- Traditional beer drinkers may not like the 29% ABV Utopias
Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Samuel Adams Utopias 2012
Boston Beer Co., Boston
This 10th anniversary edition of Utopias hits a 29% alcohol content, or 58 proof. And it is still technically a beer.
In a savvy marketing move, Utopias is being offered this year during the holiday season instead of the traditional late winter-early spring. It does seem to make more sense to offer this approximately limited-edition (15,000 bottles) $160, 750ml bottle during a time when excess and gift-giving is the norm.
I am always torn by the price of Utopias. As the average person is quick to point out, why would anyone in their right mind pay that much money for one bottle of beer? This opinion is not just limited to Busch Light drinkers, either.
I would have to say the nearest analogy is single-malt scotch. The consumer pays increasingly more as the storage time of the whiskey rises, so that the 10-year-old single malt that sells for $35 is suddenly $70 for the 15-year-old version and $150 for the 25- or 30-year-old. You are essentially paying the distiller for the time they are not selling their product.
That is the case with Utopias. It includes the brewery's Triple Bock that is up to 20 years old and has been aged in a variety of barrels. Like the 2011 version, it starts out with strong port and raisin-plum dark fruit notes. Where it differs significantly from previous years is the addition of aging in rum casks. This results in a strong rum-vanilla finish, reminiscent of fine golden rums such as Mount Gay or Appleton Estates.
Its sweetness is tempered with a pleasant alcohol hotness and its body has more in common with cognac than beer or wine.
Most beer drinkers would probably be turned off by Utopias -- there is no carbonation or discernible hops, and the malt takes a backseat to the barrel contributions. What you have is a beer-based liqueur that has spent time in casks of port, bourbon and rum. As such, connoisseurs of complex beers, cognac, single-malt and small-batch whiskeys, and fine liqueurs will find much to appreciate in this fine beverage.
Utopias will have limited availability throughout the United States -- some liquor stores may only be allotted a couple of bottles, if they can get it at all. The best recommendation is to find your nearest beer specialty store and find out its situation.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website,
which often contains information on product availability. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns Click here.