Utopias- the quest for the ultimate beer

By Mark Tichenor & Bruce Lish

There’s extreme beer, and then there’s beer that’s so hardcore it makes Imperial Stout look like diet cola. It’s no surprise that this überbeer comes from one of the pioneers of American craft brewing.

Every two years, the folks at Samuel Adams set out with the express goal of brewing the strongest beer in the world. This year’s batch of Sam Adams Utopias clocks in at a mind-blowing 27% alcohol by volume.

 Let me repeat that. 27%. A strong double IPA or Imperial stout might hover around 10%. Wine clocks around 12-14%. Most whiskies are 40%. That’s right, Sam Adams Utopias, a beer, is more than half as strong as Jack Daniel’s.

 Making a beer that mighty is harder than you’d think. Yeast is almost as self-destructive as most people. The alcohol it creates during the fermentation process is toxic to the yeast cells. Most beer yeast dies when the alcohol level reaches 9-12%.

 It took a lot of really smart microbiologists to develop a strain of yeast that could tolerate the extreme alcohol percentage of Utopias and other super strong beers. That’s right, these guys could have been curing disease and creating oil spill-munching bugs, but they’re engaged in the far more noble purpose of beefing up our beer to comical levels.

 Unsurprisingly, this biannually released beer, complete with elaborate solid copper packaging designed to resemble a miniature brew kettle, costs a pretty penny. The roughly 9,000 bottles released nationwide each carry a suggested retail price of $150, but you can currently find this year’s vintage selling online for upwards of $250, with asking prices for the 2007 Utopias touching $400.

 That translates into $14-$15 an ounce in Rochester beer bars, a price that the curious are more than willing to pay.

 The Tap and Mallet on Gregory Street bought two 24 ounce bottles, releasing the first bottle last Wednesday and killing the first on that same night as seasoned beer lovers and neophytes rushed the bar, their fists dripping with disposable income.

 “Everybody was really sort of surprised by it,” says Greg Horton, bartender at Rochester’s Tap and Mallet beer bar. “Those that weren’t familiar with it had no idea beer could be done like that.”

You can’t say Utopias tastes like beer, or in fact look and smell like beer. It bears more of a resemblance to a fine cognac (the finished beer spends part of its aging time in cognac barrels).  Utopias smells like a spirit, alcohol ravishing the nose but softened by vanilla and oak. There isn’t even a passing resemblance of a head, or carbonation.

 Utopias drinks more like a mellow aged cognac, with an oily mouthfeel, lots of vanilla and cherry at first sip and a mellow plum-like burn in the finish. It is completely unlike any other beer on this earth.

While the curiosity factor may drive initial interest, Horton points out that he did not pour two portions for the same customer that night. The expense of Utopias combined with its aggressive flavor makes it a beer for saving. Or hoarding. Or possibly the perfect special occasion.

At any rate, Samuel Adams Utopias is a real achievement, and a statement about how far American craft beer can go. Wonder what they’ll think of next.

Bruce is a certified beer judge and commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated regularly, at http://www.beercraftsite.com. Find us on Twitter @beercraft. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.