World’s Priciest Beer

Published on Wednesday, December 2, 2009, by James Norton / Edit Post

Samuel Adams Utopias 2009

Samuel Adams Utopias 2009

I Paid: $150 for a 24-ounce bottle (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 4 stars

Marketing: 5 stars


James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster column, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook. His wife, Becca Dilley, takes the photographs for Supertaster. She specializes in weddings and food photography, and is the coauthor of and photographer for the book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers.

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POST A COMMENT |20 Comments

COMMENT

  • Mm... I got to try this beer in a rare opportunity, and it was delish. He described it well, and I do think it's a worthy beer.
    All I can say is that when I took a sip of Utopias I closed my eyes and sighed... it was so different and yummy and smooth. It was like a candy almost, sweet, but not overwhelmingly. I think the one I tried was 2004 or something.

  • How does he drink and talk at the same time?
    He is a deity.

  • Giantmouth - you are an idiot, and obviously a newbie to the world of beer.
    Do your homework, experience the classic examples of the styles, and try to understand this complex and interesting world of beer, or, you could go back to PBR or Sam Adams and keep your comments to yourself.

  • gaint mouth, you are a fool. many beers benefit from long agenig, specifically sours, belgians, and strong stouts. Your comments are foolish. It truly shows your ignorance. Utopias is a shit beer. It sucks. Its all hype. But there are a ton of great breweries out there, with EXCEPTIONAL beer. You should read up before running your mouth.

  • I really hate this tendency to try and treat beer like wine - in name, price, and usage. Beer is beer. If you want to invent weird hybrid beverages, that's fine, but don't try to pass them off as exceptional beers, just because they are more alcoholic or more expensive than any real beer.
    The vintage dates are especially foolish - they ought to be expiration dates, beer is best fresh.

  • I tried a small sample of this stuff at a beer fest a couple of years ago and after a couple of sips threw it out and rinsed my tasting cup. It was a disgusting mess of a drink, with all of the heat of a cheap whiskey with none of the redeeming character. Maybe they've figured out how to do a much better job with it since then, but no way would I pay more for it than I would for the price of a...+READ

    I tried a small sample of this stuff at a beer fest a couple of years ago and after a couple of sips threw it out and rinsed my tasting cup. It was a disgusting mess of a drink, with all of the heat of a cheap whiskey with none of the redeeming character. Maybe they've figured out how to do a much better job with it since then, but no way would I pay more for it than I would for the price of a great bottle of bourbon.-COLLAPSE

  • Mr. Norton. The next time you review a beverage please use a CLEAN GLASS! Every water spot and fingerprint on that glass you used showed up in the video. A quick wipe with a dry paper towel works well.

  • I don't like the sound of a beer that alcoholic. And without being too picky, this is not the most expensive beer in the world. Carlsberg vintage no.1 is, at $395 a bottle

  • That sounds like a terrific venue: a wedding. Share it around, good place to remember and be remembered. Excellent idea! Wish I knew someone getting married....

  • My Uncle brought this to my wedding 2 years ago, to share with the family. I thought it was fabulous! It really is a once in a lifetime treat (well, for most of us) It was like a really good port or sherry. We all had tiny glasses of it and toasted with it.
    Yum

  • When is James going to review spam? Mmmm spam.

  • My two biggest questions were the alcohol content and whether it's carbonated. According to the review below, it's a whopper in the booze category -- 27%! -- and has no discernible carbonation.

    http://captainsbeerblog.com/2009/11/29/sam-adams-utopias-2009/

    I'd love to be gifted a bottle, but don't think I'll be springing for it myself.

  • I've had it (at the Aspen F&W festival)... the great marketing aspect is the fact of it being considered 'beer,' whereas tastewise it's not really in the beer category: more comparable to an after-dinner drink of the type that may typically cost that much. At that, I don't consider it nearly comparable to a nice port or brandy that would cost 1/2 that a bottle. But I'm not their target market. It...+READ

    I've had it (at the Aspen F&W festival)... the great marketing aspect is the fact of it being considered 'beer,' whereas tastewise it's not really in the beer category: more comparable to an after-dinner drink of the type that may typically cost that much. At that, I don't consider it nearly comparable to a nice port or brandy that would cost 1/2 that a bottle. But I'm not their target market. It really is more for gift-givers than drinkers... which is fine. Lots of sillier $150 gifts out there.-COLLAPSE

  • I agree with freshwhipped , nothing is worth four stars unless it is artisanal, heirloom, heritage organic, handmade, and exotic enough to keep my snob cred.

  • Or he just really likes chocolate-covered Oreos. Jeez. Get over it.

  • Oreo's are NOT a four star item. Clearly there was some undue influence in Mr. Norton's raising them to a four star item, or he doesn't know what he's talking about.

  • Wow. When I read freshwhippedcreammike's comment, I thought to myself "what egregious thing must Mr. Norton have done in his last review to earn himself the title 'corporate shill'? What heinous act could have precipitated such a label??" So I went back and read the review. And then I read freshwhippedcreammike's comment on the previous review.

    Turns out the egregious sin committed...the...+READ

    Wow. When I read freshwhippedcreammike's comment, I thought to myself "what egregious thing must Mr. Norton have done in his last review to earn himself the title 'corporate shill'? What heinous act could have precipitated such a label??" So I went back and read the review. And then I read freshwhippedcreammike's comment on the previous review.

    Turns out the egregious sin committed...the horrible act reducing Mr. Norton to the level of 'corporate shill' was.....not agreeing with freshwhippedcreammike's assessment of the product in question. Mr. Norton liked it. Freshwhippedcreammike didn't. Clearly anyone failing to take freshwhippedcreammike's position on the topic must be either clinically insane....or a corporate shill.

    To lisacain--don't take this as gospel, but I'm fairly certain you could keep it, although you'd likely want to refrigerate it. The alcohol content is fairly high, and from the video the beer doesn't appear to have a great deal of carbonation, so it going flat wouldn't be a great concern. I was at a tasting once at the Sam Adams brewery and they passed a bottle of this around for us to smell (didn't let us taste it though!). The bottle was only partially full and looked as though it had been that way for some time.-COLLAPSE

  • Last review Oreos - now this? Well, I am not sure if it makes sense but I was wondering if you have to drink it all right away or if it keeps - like Champagne or like scotch. Thanks!
    Snack-Girl

  • I don't know if I can trust this review since Mr. Norton proved himself to be a corporate shill for Nabisco with his last review for Oreos.

  • It ranks up there with the $100 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the $300 burger and the $1K ice cream sundae. As P.T. Barnum once said.....