Here’s America’s priciest and most potent beer

It is banned in 13 states and sure doesn’t come in a six-pack.

The maker of Samuel Adams beer has released an updated version of its biennial beer Utopias — now the highest alcohol content beer on the market. At 27 percent alcohol by volume and $150 a bottle, the limited release of the brandy-colored Utopias comes as more brewers take advantage of improvements in science to boost potency and enhance taste.

“Just part of trying to push the envelope,” said Jim Koch, founder and owner of Boston Beer Co., the maker of Sam Adams.

Since the 1990s, craft brewers have produced a number of “extreme beers” that challenge old notions of beer and the decades-old laws that have governed them.

By law, these specialty drinks still are classified as beer when they are based on fermented grain.

Associated Press