I’ve covered extreme beers on this site before. Beers like those found in the Samuel Adams Imperial Series that push the boundaries of what most people have come to know as "beer." Whether it’s the thick chocolate notes and dense richness of an Imperial Stout or the liquid bread and in-your-face malt punch of a Dopplebock, big beers are more about pushing styles past the point of no return rather than conforming to tired and often overused guidelines. In continuing with their tradition of changing the way beer drinkers view their favorite beverage, Samuel Adams has just announced the uncapping of their 2009 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias.

If you think you’ve had extreme beer before, get ready to feel like they’ve all let you down. Utopias takes beer to the edge, and while it’s busy admiring the view, shoves it over and watches it fall on to the jagged rocks below. Utopias is one of the world’s most outrageously complex beverages. It even holds the Guinness World Record for highest alcohol content in a beer. This year’s batch weighs in at a liver-busting 27% ABV (54 proof). This makes it nearly twice as potent as your typical wine.

Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed with several different strains of yeast including a variety typically reserved for champagne. The beer sports a deep ruby red color, the result of the two-row Caramel and Munich malts used in the brewing process. It’s also crafted with three different noble hops, Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfrueh (the main hops found in Sam Adams Boston Lager), and Tettnang Tettnanger, which give the brew its spicy floral character.

The 2009 batch of Utopias is a blend of liquids, including a limited edition Trippelbock that has been aged for over 16 years in Scotch whisky barrels giving this year’s release a complexity not seen in previous batches. Some of the beer was also aged in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Finally, the luscious liquid is finished in sherry, muscatel, and port casks all of which lend their own unique flavor notes to the finished product.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Samuel Adams Utopias is not a beginner’s beer. It requires an open mind and will challenge even the most seasoned beer drinker’s palate. Utopias is a malt-laden beer that blatantly skirts the edge of sanity while entwined in a subtle dance with an elegant spirit laced with notes of cinnamon, vanilla and maple. It clings to the sides of the glass with slow dripping legs and warms the throat as it makes its way down. After you’ve tasted it you may find yourself questioning whether or not it’s really a beer. Technically speaking, it might be pushing the definition we’ve all grown so comfortable with over the course of several hundred years of consumption. But I’m sure that’s exactly what the brewers at Samuel Adams had in mind when they crafted Utopias in the first place.

Samuel Adams Utopias is a strong, rich, dark beer that, unlike most beers, is not carbonated and best served at room temperature in a brandy snifter glass. The recommended pour is 2 ounces, and it’s meant to be savored like a fine port or cognac.

The limited edition 2009 batch is bottled in brass-plated ceramic brew kettle shaped decanters and since they’ve only made 53 barrels – about 10,000 bottles for the whole country – of the stuff you might be challenged to get your hands on one before they’re gone. You can find Utopias at select specialty beer and liquor stores starting next week. If you aren’t lucky enough to get a bottle you can always head over to Ebay where several previous year’s bottles are going for upwards of $400 a pop.

$150 per bottle
www.samueladams.com