Most Expensive Beer... In the World.

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SkewedBrewing

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So I was watching the newest Episode of Oz and James Drink to Britain the other day and they went to a branch of the Carlsberg Beer Company to drink "The World's Most Expensive" beer, which can be seen here:

Jacob's Vintage

This got me thinking. Is it really worth nearly 400 dollars for a bottle of beer? I understand that in winemaking there are many factors that go into cost, i.e. barrels, vintage, location, grapes, yeast, etc. etc. What about beer, though? I recently read Shonuff's post with the article about Elevating Beer's Image (I agree with that article completely) and I wondered:

A: Is any beer really worth over 300 dollars?
B: If wine can be in the tens of thousands for a bottle, why not beer? By comparison, that much for a beer is nothing compared to some wines.

And then I realized that I could make more than ten different batches of beer for the price of one bottle of that Carlsberg beer and I'd rather do that any day.

Then I started drinking and stopped thinking about his all together, until now...
 
Well, to each their own. I wouldn't have any problems paying $15-$20 a bottle for a Westvleteren beer or maybe a Russian River product that is not available anywhere near where I live, but that's about my limit for a 12-oz bottle, and that would only be a very rare or one-time treat. That's about my limit.
 
People have paid MUCH MUCH more for MUCH MUCH stupider things.

Value is in the eye of the moolah holder
 
Just my take:

a.) Still not sure what beer is worth $300 to begin with.
b.) Win is a very different animal. Since so much of a good wine depends on vineyard location, year, age of vines, blending methods, barrel aging, and so on, it makes it possible for some wineries to make a product that is prized more than others. And wine ages much better than most beer, too, so people can collect it and resell it at a profit. And fine wine has a longer history than craft beer, as far as collecting goes. Still, overall, a lot of very good bottles of wine are on sale for $9 a bottle. Only a handful are sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
 
My nephew bought me 1 bottle of Samuel Adams Triple bock for Christmas. I think he paid $9.00 for it and it was the worst sh** I've ever put to my lips. I dont have the money nor the interest in expensive whims. I'll take a plain pint of Ale any day!:D
 
The OP's beer comes in... wait for it...

A GREEN BOTTLE!

WTF!

Imagine, if you will, a skunked $400 bottle of beer. ?!?!?!?! Someone would have to die.
 
Southwood, what would you be insinuating?

The OP's beer comes in... wait for it...

A GREEN BOTTLE!

WTF!

Imagine, if you will, a skunked $400 bottle of beer. ?!?!?!?! Someone would have to die.

I know, right? That's hilarious. IMO the beer is a marketing scheme and that's about it. Although I haven't tasted this beer, I can automatically assume that I would rather drink a whole ****load of other beers that are less then 10 bucks... a six pack...
 
Almost anything that is outrageously expensive is only important
or worth it to a small number of people, and usually only expensive
due to curiously cultivated hype.

See: Art
 
What would it take to make a $400 bottle of beer?

Hops: Rare breed grown deep in forbidden jungles and harvested by highly trained monkeys that pick only the most perfect cones

Malt: Oldest breed known to man that is sown on one and only one acre of perfect soil per year! Where a live symphony is played from them every evening.

Yeast: Harvested from the walls of a secret monk brewery long forgotten in time.



$400 = a complete kegging system with $$ left over to fill the kegs. Nope couldn't buy a bottle if I could afford it.
 
Sam Adams Utopia goes for around $200 a bottle. When put in stores some people buy it and put it on ebay for around $300.
 
The OP's beer comes in... wait for it...

A GREEN BOTTLE!

WTF!

Imagine, if you will, a skunked $400 bottle of beer. ?!?!?!?! Someone would have to die.

plenty of Belgian beers come in green bottles. it's tradition for several regions
 
La Chouffe and Houblon Chouffe both come in green. My last bottle of Houblon tasted skunky. They were only like $9 though.
 
What special thing would a beer worth 300$ or more can have. I think all beers are of same taste and of equal value. I never paid much for beer and I never will.
 
I don't know about paying that much for a beer, but I will say that it doesn't bother me in the least to pay the occasional $9 for a 12oz bottle, and double that for a 750ml bottle. The only reason I don't do it more often is because I can't afford it, and SWMBO would kill me. People will bow in awe at $100 dollar bottles of wine in a full wall wine cellar, those same people and even some of you "fine" beer drinkers will look at a person like they have a dick growing out of their head if they tell you they spend $15 on a bottle of beer. Give me a fricken break. High end beers will age every bit as well as wine and beer is equally as sophisticated as wine.

I dream of a day when I have a large beer cellar with bottles of beer that I drool over.
 
What special thing would a beer worth 300$ or more can have. I think all beers are of same taste and of equal value. I never paid much for beer and I never will.

You haven't had much beer yet have you? :p
 
How to make an expensive bottle of beer...

Find a great brewer and a great chef or beer connoisseur. Ask them to collaborate on a great beer. The connoisseur will take identical hops from 10 countries and notice subtleties in each one... and will select the best for that beer. All told, it might take him a day of testing and experimenting. Ask the brewer to develop a beer...

Then brew it.. perhaps brew a couple and use the best recipe...

Hire a cellarkeeper who keeps the casks at the proper temperature and humidity.

And then age it for weeks... months... or years.... Seek out the experts again... hungarian oak? French? American? Toasted or bare? For how long?

Perhaps seek out an expert to blend different barrels...

Get an expert to develop a glass to specifically accentuate the beer...

And pay all of these people for their expertise, time, and effort.

Then produce a limited quantity to ensure quality.

I'm not saying $400 is reasonable... but a good palate and good brewing experience can do amazing things. It is a shame that people don't appreciate that these high end products for what they are... almost as much of an art as a commodity.

Sure, you can brew tasty beer at home. Congratulations. But you can't get the greatest palates, designers, brewers, and cellar keepers to collaborate on something to the best of their individual abilities. And that's where the value comes in... It's a collaboration of very talented people.. who get paid for their expertise...
 
:off:

Here is an episode of Three Sheets where Zane Lamprey tries said beer. Funny stuff.

Hulu - Three Sheets: Denmark - Watch the full episode now.



this is an awesome show. first time watching it. just finished watching season 1 episode one. kind of scared me. that other guy at DT's bar reminds me of a couple of friends i know. :drunk:
 
What special thing would a beer worth 300$ or more can have. I think all beers are of same taste and of equal value. I never paid much for beer and I never will.

You think all beers taste the same? Are you serious? Expand your horizons man.

Try a Cantillon classic geuze, a rochefort 10, and a pliny the elder and then try to tell me that all beer tastes the same.
 
Reminds me of that coffee that costs beaucoup bucks because it is made from beans eaten and excreted by civet cats, and gathered by jungle natives..."they" have done studies that show that the more people think something costs, it tastes subjectively better to them. For me, when I saw DFH 120 min in the store for $185 a case (In PA ya have to buy a case at a time from the "beer distributor") I thought: It'll be awhile before I know what that tastes like.
 
I bought a bottle of Utopias for $190 a little over a year ago. Extremely different taste and very enjoyable to have a drink with a friend from time to time. I would never buy one again though. It's now considered a "been there, done that".
 
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