Utopias pricing.

It's the fancy-ass bottle, the challenge to find, the high-ABV, and the high price that make it desirable to many - just like any other luxury good. Around here a taproom or liquor store will get a bottle or two and have a tasting at $20 for a couple of ounces, so we hardly ever see it on the shelf.

 

It's pretty funny how people get chained into their own stereotypes without investigating them isn't it?

 

I never tasted Utopias, yet, but did get to smell a bottle of it and it was heavenly. The complex maple aroma has enticed me ever since. Since i'm splitting my $85 bottle with two others, paying $28 for my share (8.5oz or so, plus I get to keep the bottle) that I can enjoy over the next year or so is fine with me. Look forward to it!

I wouldn't pay the ridiculous prices here in the US though, for reasons noted above.

 

I understand that. I’m just saying it still doesn’t make sense to me. Although there’s nothing quite like utopias, there are boatloads of rarer, much more sought after, high octane beers from much more coveted breweries - with prices that don’t get anywhere close to this. Why people are happy to spend $200 on a beer from a brewery that’s generally treated with disdain (or at best ignored) on here - is sort of beyond me. I feel like it’s a bit of a relic that for some reason (I guess the stupid ABV and fancy bottle) has had some staying power.

 

It always makes me chuckle when people say $85 bucks for a beer on here is a steal, but waiting in line for an hour is a deal breaker

 

As bbtkd was saying, it’s a peek into successful beverage marketing. If you get the hype factor, scarcity, and cool packaging right, some people will pay very high prices even when it seems the hype should have worn off. See Pappy, Screaming Eagle, etc.

 

Yeah man. I totally get that. Clearly I’m not articulating myself properly if I keep getting Scarcity Marketing 101 responses to my posts.

Will try once more then I’ll throw in the towel.

Why - already taking into account some sort of significant premium given the unique nature of the beer, the extraordinary ABV, the longevity once opened, the rarity and the packaging - does a beer from an otherwise ignored (from a beer nerd perspective) brewery, a brewery right at the Big Beer end of the craft spectrum (indeed that pushed the definition to be included), command such a high price with little to no complaints from the consumer-base. It’s a complete outlier.

There are many more respected breweries putting out rare high ABV beer in pretty packages that would get roasted if they priced anything close to this.

 

Yes, it seems like it doesn’t make sense coming from Boston Beer, but I think it had to do with establishing the hype when it came out. It was first released in 2002, and back then Boston Beer wasn’t considered an also-ran like it is today. Also, the “highest ABV”, “no other beer like this has ever been made” type comments were kept rolling long enough to justify the price. Then you get a couple people writing “best beer in the world” and it takes on a life of its own.

 

Utopias is the only limited, hyped beer I can think of with an ABV north of 21% (I had to push that to 21 to not include Black Tuesday). There are some higher octane beers out there, but they don't seem to command such a hefty price.

Still, I get your point. I view Utopias in the same light as Pappy Van Winkle whiskey. Pappy Van Winkle gets made by the same people that Buffalo Trace, Kirkland Whiskey, Eagle Rare, etc. get made by, and yet Pappy demands a premium due to its scarcity and hype. Sure, one could buy a 10 year of Pappy for $80 MSRP, or $250 for a 23 year if they find it. Then again, shops often charge a hefty mark up - and people still pay it. Something about old school, long standing hype.

All that said, I don't know that I could stop myself from picking up a bottle of Utopias or Pappy should I happen across one or both.

 

Admittedly I'd love to try it. I'm even sure it's probably damn good. But I wouldn't pay $85 for any beer. $25 is about my limit and even then I hesitate.

Why? It's really quite simple. If I'm paying that much for alcohol it's going to be a single malt Scotch, or a damn fine Bourbon. I can get way to many great beers for $20 or less, and I refuse to overpay for a liquid based on "rarity", or "hype".

 

It's around $150 out here. I've seen it as low as $125 and as much as $200, but $150 seems to be where most fall.

As far as Utopias goes, there's not much like it. Some of those ultra-potent Brewdog and Schorschbock beers are a little similar, but none of those actually taste good. Utopias isn't my favorite, but I do feel that it tastes pretty good. It also lasts almost indefinitely. I have a bottle of 2003 that I still occasionally bust out. I don't even like aged beers, but that one is more like a liqueur.

If anyone just wants to try it, they pour it at GABF every year. Standard 1-2oz pours just like everything else. There are usually a couple other events (like Rare Beer) that also have it available. It's obviously not worth a trip to GABF by itself, but if you're already here it's easy enough to track down.

 

$85/bottle? Even though it's 1/3 of the US price, I'd rather spend that money on something I need like groceries.

 

Had a couple of the triple bocks back in the nineties. Remember it was pretty hard to choke down, but was drinkable and would last several nights with the cork. Still have a purple bottle. Wondering if that was the precursor to Utopias since I've never tried it . Would consider $85 but not $200 (damn monthly budget).

 

Pretty good price!
I know you fellas usually pay less for the Cantillons as well.

 

I had it. I may as well get a high end liquor bottle for the prices they get. I would not even come close to paying 85$ for it.

 

Yeah, the little deep blue bottles of Triple Bock were the precursor to Utopias. In those days both were pretty far out concepts. I don't know for sure, but I think Samichlaus might have still been the strongest beer in the world at the time.

Those are the first beers I can ever remember being associated with soy sauce. Some people loved 'em, others hated 'em. Every now and then someone will show up with one at a tasting or an event and they're a total crapshoot. Some are really good while others are absolutely horrid. Even bottles from the same lot stored together.

 

If I'm not mistaken when those high abv Brewdog beers were actually tested for abv they fell well short of the advertised abv.

 

Looked at the thread on buying fresh before looking at this one.... Verrückt

 

You really think that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario would purchase beer from a US independent distributor of Boston Beer Co. against the wishes of BBC and their Canadian importer, Moosehead? (Seems it could also run into legal problems without the correct license by the wholesaler). What US BBC distributor would even have 588 botles of Utopias "lingering" in their warehouse? That's nearly 5% of the US '17 Utopias release.

And it appears that previous Canadian release of Utopias by the LCBO have included appearance by Koch himself-
To celebrate the anniversary and launch of this eagerly anticipated brew, LCBO will host a noon-hour guided tasting. .. by Samuel Adams Founder and Brewer Jim Koch on Thursday, February 28 (2016).