Posted on 05/07/2013 2:22:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
NB Liquor has 12 bottles of the 54-proof Samuel Adams Utopias to sell
NB Liquor is holding a lottery giving people the chance to buy 12 bottles of very rare — and very strong — beer from Boston brewery Samuel Adams.
The 54-proof Samuel Adams Utopias is among the strongest beers in the world. One 24-ounce bottle packs as much alcohol as a 12-pack of Bud Light.
Andrew Estabrooks, head brewer of New Brunswick-based beer company Picaroons, says there is a market in the province for this type of product. (CBC)
At about $130 per bottle, this is a beer designed for people on more of a champagne budget. The beer is non-carbonated, made from a blend of several types of beers and aged in bourbon and port casks.
Marcelle Saulnier, with NB Liquor, said hundreds are vying for the chance to buy the specialty brew.
"We've had a great uptake. As of [Friday] morning we're nearing 300 and we expect that to rise," she said.
Andrew Estabrooks, head brewer of New Brunswick-based beer company Picaroons, said Utopias — and craft beers in general — take a long time and effort to brew.
"They age it in barrels, usually for at least a year. So it's a lot of processing and they use very good ingredients in it," he said.
Utopias is not for the faint of heart. An average bottle of beer is five per cent alcohol. This specialty beer is 27 per cent alcohol by volume or 54-proof.
“There's so much booze that it would just take over everything. So the key, the art, to it is to make it taste good and still be drinkable," said Estabrooks.
Not everyone is willing to pay a triple-digit price tag for a single bottle of beer.
"130 bucks for one bottle of beer? I suppose it’s a collector's item. So, well maybe. Some people have more money than brains and they might be interested," said Mike Price.
“We’ve got specialty made beer about two blocks from here, I’m happy with that,” said Mike Hutchins.
Estabrooks said there is a market in the province for this type of product.
"I think as craft beer is gaining some credibility [like] the wine world or of that mentality. There's no harm in cellaring some beers and having some keepers that you open up, two, three four years down the road," he said.
The first ever beer lottery at NB Liquor closes May 25.
Hey, Red...over here!
>> Not everyone is willing to pay a triple-digit price tag for a single bottle of beer.
Damn straight! Beer with *that* much alcohol in it tastes like crap anyway.
I’d put that $130 on a few six-packs of some really good IPAs and porters, and have a hundred times the drinking pleasure.
Just my 2c, and it *is* a matter of taste, but I bet I’m not the only one...
I have 5 cans of Billy Beer if anyone is interested... I drank 1/2 of one of them, and pored the remainder down the sink.
You’re not. I’d rather spend that kind of cash at Three Floyd’s myself.
Here’s just one of many excellent beers you can enjoy a couple bottles of for $130... with an entire fantastic meal thrown in, including a couple glasses of good wine for the non-beerdrinking wife.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22/33
Visited the 3Floyds website. Their offerings sound great. You’re lucky they’re local.
A little truth from a true baseball fan . . .
Sounds like the cost at any given baseball park here in the states........
Thanks! Let me ping the list. I don’t like flat beer and at that price I would be very disappointed!
Homebrewers Ping.
I worked for a plastic recycler. One of our clients was Stroh’s Brewery. They kept the “over the limit” beer in the break room. A pony bottle would mess you up.
Check out the food menu. It’s a 2 hour drive from us and worth every minute of it.
What kind of yeast can withstand 54 proof? PGA?
They must have grown some hearty genetically-modified yeasts to survive 27% alcohol. So what happens when you distill the 27% brew? (like wine at 12% is distilled into brandy).
It’s a little further from Central Texas, but if I’m ever in the area...
130 for beer?
Maybe for a fine Paulliac
Strohs by the case in dark returnable bottle
Was a mainstay at Ole Miss for me late 70s
Strohs by the case in dark returnable bottle
Was a mainstay at Ole Miss for me late 70s
What to buy...
a bottle of beer or a couple of fixer uppers in Detroit?
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