This Extreme Beer Is Banned in 15 States

On October 31, Boston Beer, home to the Samuel Adams brand, announced the release its 2023 Utopias beer. And even if you can afford it (this monster retails for $240 this year and some stores will even mark it up higher) its alcohol count is so high, at least for a beer, that it’s banned in 15 states.

By law, Utopias cannot be sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.

And while Utopias is banned in a number of southern states, who historically have been the last to update their Post-Prohibition alcohol regulations, its sobering to note that it’s also illegal in Oregon and New Hampshire, two states with rich craft beer cultures.

Maybe the problem is Utopias itself…

It’s marketed as beer but the drink itself really owes more to vintage port or sherry. Due to its high 28% ABV (alcohol by volume) which effectively consumes any available CO2, this beer has no detectable carbonation. Yes, it’s malt-forward but it lays on the tongue more like cognac than any beer you’ve ever had.

Utopias 2023

This biennial release is different each time around and this year’s batch is no different. And while Utopias 2023 has European roots, it’s a distinctively American innovation.

Utopias is always made up from a blend of brewery’s earlier Extreme Beers that are barrel-aged and cask-conditioned. Some of those beers have been aging for almost three decades. Others half that and some for not more than a year.

But in addition to American bourbon barrels, Samuel Adams used imported Scotch and peated whisky barrels in this vintage. The peated Scotch barrels add a wisp of smoke to the flavor, while Ruby Port and Carcavelos casks from Portugal and Cognac barrels from France bring dark fruit notes.

And for the very first time Sam Adams brewers added a blend aged in barrels from Pineau des Charentes – a rare, fortified French aperitif wine from western France. So yeah, there’s a lot going on.

Brewed in Ohio, Aged in Pennsylvania, Blended in Massachusetts, Bottled in Delaware

Samuel Adams has grown considerably over the last 39 years, and to celebrate this, Utopias 2023 is brewed so that Boston Beer crews in all four states could contribute to the final product. This one-of-a-kind beer is clearly a labor of love and true team effort.

Utopias 2023 is brewed and fermented at the Samuel Adams Cincinnati Brewery, then moved to an artisan cask room at the Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery for aging. It’s then blended with previous vintage Utopias in the Samuel Adams Bier Keller at the Boston Brewery. Finally, it is shipped to the Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware to be bottled.

Utopias is packaged in ceramic bottles fabricated by Brazilian artisans that look like a classic copper brew kettle. This extreme barrel-aged beer is recommended to be served in a two-ounce portion served at room temperature in a sniffer to capture all the aromas.

“We pioneered the barrel-aging and blending process of Utopias almost thirty years ago and continue that time-honored tradition today,” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams…”Since the introduction of Utopias in 2002, brewers have explored uncharted territory with each brew, experimenting with different kinds of aging barrels, new flavors, and different blending techniques.”

“The result is always special,” Koch added “and worth waiting for.”