Sam Adams
- Thread starter WFM
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I saw that. $240 for a 25 oz bottle that is 25 percent plus alcohol? Beer yeast or even champagne yeast cannot ferment to that level.
So they are mixing in alcohol from another source and calling it beer.
I could do the same buying a cheap bottle of grain alcohol and mixing it with any beer of my choice.
That being said, just for personal experience I might spend $10 for an ounce of this “beer”, just to see what it was. Probably would be happy to share that ounce with a couple others. But who knows?
Still not really beer in the purest sense though.
So they are mixing in alcohol from another source and calling it beer.
I could do the same buying a cheap bottle of grain alcohol and mixing it with any beer of my choice.
That being said, just for personal experience I might spend $10 for an ounce of this “beer”, just to see what it was. Probably would be happy to share that ounce with a couple others. But who knows?
Still not really beer in the purest sense though.
We New Englanders haven't really liked Sam Adams beer in a solid 15 years or more. 
Can’t figure out why they’d do that other than get attention. It’s not horrible beer, but there are lots I like better.
Btw, if I want more alcohol, I’ll simply drink Bourbon with zero carbs and much more alcohol.
Btw, if I want more alcohol, I’ll simply drink Bourbon with zero carbs and much more alcohol.
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not quite true, for the highest ABV beers, the sugars (from malt or wherever) have to be fed to the yeast gradually. You start with a wort that would make, say, eight percent ABV beer and add more sugars every few days. This stresses the yeast less and enables them to keep kicking when they’d ordinarily be all kinds of dead. This isn’t a new thing.
I’ve had barley wines that are closing in on 20%. Goose island makes a bourbon county stout once a year and it comes in around 15% give or take depending on the year. It’s aged in empty bourbon barrels but I’m pretty sure the high alc comes form the fermentation process not necessarily from the bourbon residue left in the barrels. I had one at Goose one year that had 50lbs of cherries added to the barrel. It was damn good!!
you are correct that you could probably share a small glass of the SA. Often times when served on premise they’ll serve 4-6 oz per pour.
johnjk
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Sam Adams made a Barley Wine back in the 90’s. It was sold in a small blue bottle, 10oz I believe. It was more of an after dinner drink and you sipped it from a very small glass. If I remember it was up around 45% ABV. Interesting but it took me years to finish that bottle. I think I ended up dumping the last few ounces
Yea, but there is a HUGE difference between 20 percent and 28 percent!
From that article: Samuel Adams' latest version of its limited-quantity "Utopias" beer is so strong that the 28% alcohol content makes it illegal in 15 U.S. states.
I have been out of home brewing for a while...but would love to know what brewing yeast can ferment to 28 percent alcohol.
My guess still is that they are blending distilled spirits into the mix to produce a high alcohol "beer".
Quite possible they're using something other than ale/lager yeast, but yeasts for whiskey often leave nasty off tastes that get removed during distillation. Most of the bourbon taste and color comes from aging in various storage containers, most of which are wood and charred on the inside. It's pretty much undrinkable right out of the still.
Can't distill the nasties out of beer, because beer can't be distilled and keep it's flavors. But, it wouldn't be the first time a craft brewer used something for which it was never intended. Nor would it be the first time I've seen beer tweaked with grain alcohol.
I actually met someone who has tried the Sam Adams 28% beer. He is a self proclamed beer conasure whos a pharmacist also. He said they have made and released it for several years as he tried it ten years ago when a friend brought a bottle to a cookout for everyone to try. He said it actually burnt your lips when you sipped it. Nothing he would want to try again and he's tried thousands of beers.