Wine

Item Description

Extremely Rare Bottle of Limited Edition Sam Adams Utopia Beer

Retails on Ebay for $300-$700

SAMUEL ADAMS UTOPIAS®

FACT SHEET

THE BEER:

By using an extended aging process and the finest all-natural ingredients from around the world, the brewers at Samuel Adams® have created an uncarbonated beer of distinction.  With a unique and complex flavor, this brew will excite beer drinkers’ palates as well as those of appreciators of fine wine and spirits.  Samuel Adams Utopias is an extraordinarily strong beer with an alcohol content of 27 percent alcohol by volume.

F. Paul Pacult, one of the world’s leading authorities on spirits and the editor of Spirit Journal, gave the 2003 edition of Samuel Adams Utopias a Classic rating (96-100), the highest rating recommendation for a spirit. (F. Paul Pacult, “Beer,” Wine Enthusiast, November 2003)

THE VISION:

Samuel Adams’ passion for pushing the envelope of traditional brewing techniques and rewriting the rules of beer making shines through with the re-release of Samuel Adams Utopias.  Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams beers, strives to raise beer drinkers’ expectations of beer and break the boundaries of what people traditionally think of as beer.

A beer to be savored, Samuel Adams Utopias rivals the finest cognacs and ports.  The brewmasters recommend serving Samuel Adams Utopias as an ideal after-dinner drink at room temperature (about 70 degrees Fahrenheit) in two-ounce servings.

Koch, who pioneered the extreme brewing movement in 1994 with the release of Samuel Adams® Triple Bock, set the record for the strongest beer ever to be sold, with 17.5 percent alcohol by volume.  Then, Samuel Adams® Millennium Ale, a brew which commemorated the year 2000, was introduced with an even higher alcohol content of 21 percent, setting a new record for the strongest beer ever sold.  In 2002, Samuel Adams Utopias MMII® was introduced, shocking the world with an incredible alcohol by volume of 24 percent.  A year later, in 2003, Jim Koch sought to create an even more astonishing brew with Samuel Adams Utopias by upping the alcohol content again to make the strongest beer available in the world, at 25 percent alcohol by volume.  And now with the fourth release, beer lovers are getting their wish as The Boston Beer Company is releasing the 2007 edition of Samuel Adams Utopias, which weighs in at an impressive 27 percent ABV, just in time for the holiday season.

THE BOTTLE:

Samuel Adams Utopias is packaged in a special collectible brew kettle-shaped bottle reminiscent of copper kettles used by brewmasters for hundreds of years.  The 2007 edition of Samuel Adams Utopias will include a limited release of just 12,000 numbered bottles worldwide.

THE INGREDIENTS:

Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed with a fine selection of Bavarian Noble hops – Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittlefreuh, and Tettnang Tettnanger – that Jim Koch hand-selects every year when he visits Germany.  Beyond the fine noble hops, Samuel Adams Utopias features ingredients that truly set it apart from other varieties of beer.  Samuel Adams Utopias contains Crystal, Moravian, and Bamberg Smoked Malts.  It also consists of several different types of yeasts, including a variety normally reserved for champagne.

THE AGING PROCESS:

The 2007 edition of Samuel Adams Utopias is a blend of brews, some of which have been aged for up to 13 years in a variety of woods.  A portion of the beer was aged in hand-selected single-use bourbon casks, some of the world’s best, from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery.  This special aging process enhances the distinct cinnamon, vanilla, and maple notes in the beer’s flavor.  The beer also spent some finishing time in sherry and Madeira casks fromPortugal.  The sherry casks added nutty, oaken and honey notes, while theMadeira casks contributed slightly more elegant creamy fudge-toffee aromas and flavors.  Brandy and cognac casks added their own layers of complexity from their unique woods.

THE BREWER:

The entire 2007 release of Samuel Adams Utopias is brewed by The Boston Beer Company at itsBoston brewery.  Jim Koch is the brewer and founder of The Boston Beer Company.  He is the sixth firstborn son in his family to become a brewmaster.

THE COMPANY’S BACKGROUND:

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that founder and brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father’s attic. After bringing the recipe to life in his kitchen, Jim brought it to bars in Bostonwith the belief that drinkers would appreciate a complex, full-flavored beer, brewed fresh in America. That beer was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and it helped catalyze what became known as the American craft beer revolution.

Today, the Company brews more than 21 styles of beer.  The Company uses the traditional four-vessel brewing process and often takes extra steps like dry-hopping and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. It passionately pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of its classic beers by constantly searching for the world’s finest ingredients. While resurrecting traditional brewing methods, the Company has earned a reputation as a pioneer in another revolution, the “extreme beer” movement, where it seeks to challenge drinkers’ perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company strives to elevate the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions the world over, and in the past five years it has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. The Company remains independent, and brewing quality beer remains its single focus. While Samuel Adams is the country’s largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only about one-half of one percent of the U.S.beer market. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

THE OTHER SPECS:

Alcohol by Volume: 27 percent
Availability:Holiday2007
Available packages: “Brew Kettles” – 24 oz.
Brewing Sites: Samuel Adams Brewery inBoston,MA
Color: Amber
Number of bottles brewed: 12,000
Recommended serving temperature: Room (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Recommended serving size: Savor slowly in a two-ounce portion

Item Special Note

Donated by Keith Waryas, Global Services

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