Those wild and crazy guys at Boston Beer Co. have done it again, brewing a beer so strong they label it 48 proof, using terminology usually reserved for spirits. Sam Adams Utopias MMII, which goes on sale this month, is in fact 24% alcohol by volume, making it the strongest commercial beer in the world.
The previous strongest was Sam Adams Millennium, a one-time batch brewed in 1999, at 21%.
To create the beer, Sam Adams' brewers used two-row, caramel and Vienna malts, then all four types of noble hops, leaving the beer spicy enough that some call it "fiery." The beer was aged in scotch, cognac and port barrels from February 2001 until late last year. The aroma has a "distinctive smell of cinnamon and vanilla with subtle hints of floral, citrus and pine."
"At a time when light beers are growing in popularity - we wanted to introduce a rich-tasting and unique beer that would rekindle interest in the other side of the beer spectrum," said Boston Beer founder Jim Koch, whose own brewery recently rolled out Sam Adams Light.
Utopias MMII is packaged in a copper-finished brew kettle designed to look like larger kettles used by brewers. The suggested retail for the 3,000 24-ounce bottles available is $100. The Millennium was priced at $200 when it first shipped in 1999, with a few bottles commanding $1,000 in Internet auctions before sanity prevailed.
07-13-2006, 01:39 PM
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