Talking about beer in the cellar yesterday someone brought up the Sam Adams Utopia. Weighing in at 27% abv. how in the hell did they get a yeast to ferment to that %? Is that even possible? Anyone know anything about this beer? It says on a lot of the marketing material a blend of “liquids” which is awful strange, but it says it conforms to the Reinheitsgebot? I wonder if there is some distillation? Thanks in advance.
27%??? That’s got to be fortified, no?
Not sure how they get the abv that high, but let me say this is some interesting stuff. Had it a few times and it reminds me of a fine cognac or liquor. When I was at Sam Adams a few months ago they had a batch of their 08 ageing in barrel. From what I could tell they looked like old wine barrels. If it was used to age wine I am guessing the oak was neutral as they stamps on them indicated they were first used for harvest in 2003.
It seems to be a rather secretive process at their brewery as they don’t answer too many in depth questions about it. If ever in Boston take the tour and sometimes if the crowd is small enough they will pour samples for free, just like all their beers.
Given the “blend of liquids” comment, I’ve got think that they’ve added a malt-based liquor to the beer. I know that they can get to 20% alcohol with some special yeasts, so they wouldn’t be adding that much. It’s not sold in Oregon - illegal, which would also leads me to conclude that it has some sort of liquor in it.
They really don’t talk much about how they brew it, but I’m not sure this has to be fortified and I would guess that it is not distilled. If it was distilled, I don’t think it could be considered a beer (it would be a whiskey). I believe it can’t be sold in certain states simply because those states have laws that say a beer can not exceed a certain ABV.
There has been some conjecture on how they get to 27% ABV. There are some home brewers that have gone above 21% ABV by slowly feeding the fermentation as it gets toward the end. With a huge population of healthy yeast that are alcohol tolerant, they may be able to get close to 27% and then use the evaporation of water from the cask ageing to get the rest of the way.
Andy
Are concentrators/RO’s ever used in the brewing industry? That would be one way to achieve seemingly impossible alcohol levels without fortification.
I believe it can’t be sold in certain states simply because those states have laws that say a beer can not exceed a certain ABV.
Just found out that the ABV limit for beer in Oregon is 14%. Who knew? Not an issue for my beers, but I have seen Dogfish Head’s Fort for sale here and it clocks in at 19% ABV.
Not that I’ve heard of, but beer has its own concentrator called a boil. Brewers do extend the boil so they get a more concentrated wort (and for other reasons), but that’s before fermentation.
Andy
I have heard of a German brewer that brings the beer down to freezing and concentrating the beer by removing ice crystals. EKU 28 I think.
Bud Ice anyone?
Sam Adams Utopias recipe is guarded. Not as well as Bush’s Bean, but enough to leave us guessing. However, a few ingredients have become public knowledge:
4 malts: Caramel, Vienna, Moravian, and Bavarian Smoked
4 types of hops: Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tetenang, and Czech Saaz
3 yeast strains: Champagne, an unknown high gravity culture, and a purported 14-year old proprietary strain
Maple Syrup
Oak barrels for aging: Sherry and Madeira casks.
Apparently, they reculture the high gravity yeast a few times to reach the 25-27% alcohol. There is no added brandy or distillate of any type added.
So, who wants to buy one and have a tasting party? 
Sam Adams Utopias recipe is guarded. Not as well as Bush’s Bean, but enough to leave us guessing. However, a few ingredients have become public knowledge:
4 malts: Caramel, Vienna, Moravian, and Bavarian Smoked
4 types of hops: Spalt Spalter, Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tetenang, and Czech Saaz
3 yeast strains: Champagne, an unknown high gravity culture, and a purported 14-year old proprietary strain
Maple Syrup
Oak barrels for aging: Sherry and Madeira casks.Apparently, they reculture the high gravity yeast a few times to reach the 25-27% alcohol. There is no added brandy or distillate of any type added.
No distillation or fortification. Apparently, they’ve cultured the propriatary yeasts over many generations to increase the alcohol tolerance.
Eisbock is made this way.
Not even close. 
Andy
hahah no kiddin’?
Eric thanks for reiterating the important piece of my response.