This Beer Has Been Banned In 15 States And It's Not Hard To See Why - Tasting Table

Sam Adams helped popularize craft beer after opening in 1984 and has continued experimenting with barrel aging. After more than 30 years of barrel-aging work, its special edition Utopias reached 30% alcohol-by-volume. This level places the product closer to a spirit than a beer and exceeds legal ABV limits in many states. ABV limits originated after Prohibition, when states controlled alcohol sales and the definition of beer was narrow. Some states set caps as low as 6%, and 15 states still maintain ABV limits for beer, averaging around 15%. In those states, buyers may need to cross state lines to purchase Utopias. Earlier barrel-aging experiments included Triple Bock in 1993 at about 18% ABV.

"That 30% ABV puts Sam Adams' Utopias more in the realm of a spirit than a beer, and is above the legal limit many states impose on beer. The laws limiting a beer's ABV level date back to just after Prohibition, when states imposed a variety of controls over alcohol sales. Because the definition of beer back then was so limited, some states imposed alcohol limits as low as 6%, although most have since been reformed. Yet 15 states still persist with some kind of ABV limit for beer, with the cap averaging around 15%, well below Sam Adams Utopias."

"So if you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont or West Virginia, you'll need to make a drive across the border to buy it. Sam Adams Utopias are barrel-aged beers than now hot 30% ABV. The first Sam Adams Utopias were released back in 2001, but its history actually goes back a little further."

"Sam Adams and its founder Jim Koch to continue experimenting over the decades, including being one of the first breweries to try barrel aging beer. After more than 30 years of working on barrel-aging, Sam Adams' most recent version of its special edition Utopias beer hit a milestone, coming in at 30% alcohol-by-volume (ABV). That 30% ABV puts Sam Adams' Utopias more in the realm of a spirit than a beer."

"Sam Adams' early experiments with barrel-aging led to the release of its Triple Bock beer in 1993, which had an alcohol-by-volume (ABV) close to 18%. That was very unusual at the time, and the barrel-aging was actually needed to mellow the burn of the alcohol from the st"

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