It’s the world’s favourite alcoholic beverage and the most popular drink after water and tea. With origins that date back to the late-900’s BC, beer is definitely one drink that’s been perfected over the years.
Made primarily of malt and hops, to which a range of flavouring agents may be added, you can find beers that cost a couple of hundred bucks for a six-pack and ones that cost as much as your rent, or more. But trust a beer-lover to pay a pretty penny for the finest of tastes. Here’s a look at the most expensive beers in the world.
Schorschbräu’s Schorschbock 57
$275 for a 330 ml bottle (Alcohol By Volume: 57.5%)
This one may be expensive, but it’s also said to be the strongest beer in the world. It boasts several unique flavour notes such as nutty, smoky, and the light tastes of raisins, but with the alcohol content that it has, it’s safe to say that that’s what your tongue will pick up first. With a price tag of $275 a bottle, it demands not just an experienced drinker, but one with rather deep pockets.
Utopias by Samuel Adams
$150 for a 700 ml bottle
(Alcohol By Volume: 27%)
This isn’t just a beer that tastes like liquid luxury, it also comes in a stunning copper bottle — one that you’ll want to hold on to as a souvenir long after you’ve downed the last sip. Apart from the traditional ingredients that go into every beer, the Utopias are brewed with four types of noble hops that lend it a subtle but distinct herbal flavour. This is a drink that’s meant to be sipped slowly and enjoyed for its rare taste, gorgeous appearance, and the fact that only 3,000 bottles were ever produced. One bottle sells for $150, which makes it among the most expensive in the world.
The End of History by BrewDog
$765 for a 330 ml bottle (Alcohol By Volume: 55%)
Ever guzzled anything out of a dead animal? We can’t say we have. But for those whose tastes border on the bizarre — here’s a beer you’ll love. The End of History Beer produced by the BrewDog Beer Company is the rarest of the rare for a couple of reasons — it has an alcohol content of 55 per cent, which is an awful lot, and it’s bottled in a squirrel that’s been preserved through taxidermy. This fine alcoholic beverage is fermented using a mixture of juniper berries and nettles found in the Scottish Highlands. And did we mention only 12 bottles of it were ever made?
Carlsberg’s Jacobsen Vintage
$400 for 375 ml (Alcohol By Volume: 10.5%)
The Danish brewing company, Carlsberg, launched the Vintage Trilogy in 2008 as its response to the uppity luxury wine business. This barley beer is matured in Swedish and French oak barrels for six months and supposedly tastes like vanilla and cocoa, with hints of peaty ‘tar and rope’. Sold at upscale restaurants in Copenhagen, 600 bottles were made annually from 2008 to 2010. The best part? Each bottle has an expiration date of 2059, which means you have another 47 years before that smoky ‘tar and rope’ taste goes bad.
Nail Brewing’s Antarctic Nail Ale
$800-$1,815 per 500 ml
(Alcohol By Volume: 10.5%)
This beer is not made from an animal, nor is it served in an animal. In fact, it can save an animal’s life. Concocted by Nail Brewing in Perth, Australia, the Antarctic Nail Ale is the most expensive beer on this list. It’s been made from melted Antarctic ice that was flown all the way to Perth for brewing. And only 30 bottles were ever produced — the first selling for $800 at an auction, with subsequent prices going up to as much as $1,815! But if you’re softened by philanthropy, you’ll be happy to hear that 100 per cent of the profits from the sale of this beer go to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit, marine conservation organisation.
