# Sam Adams Utopias has an ABV of 28 percent.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 18, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928 "2019-10-18T00:01:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928/41 "2019-10-19T21:17:15Z")

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Pass. I’m sure it’s super sweet. I hate that about high ABV beers.

I’m certain there are lots of people who enjoy it and god bless 'em, but it ain’t for me.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928/42 "2019-10-20T01:38:33Z")

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> [@NDP](#):
>
> At 28% ABV, can you really call it beer? When it’s that high, doesn’t it fall into a different category of alcoholic beverages?

I mean, you can call it a “high-alcohol” or “high-gravity” beer, but, as long as it’s just fermented by yeast and not distilled or fortified, I don’t see why we need to give it a different name. Now, there is freeze distillation that is used to up the alcoholic content of various brewed beverages. I personally do think a different name should be given to those beverages or at least call them “freeze distilled beers” or something like that. To me (and I’m sure many others), the difference between beer and wine and cider and other stronger beverages made from the same initial ingredients is whether the drinks are fermented, distilled, or fortified.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928/43 "2019-10-20T01:46:31Z")

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> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> Pass. I’m sure it’s super sweet.

I wouldn’t call it super sweet at all, at least not the vintage I had. There is a sweetness to it, but it’s pretty moderate, nothing like a liqueur or anything like that. More like a sherry/port kind of thing. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks, and I didn’t find the sweetness overbearing. But it’s certainly not “dry,” either.

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**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-adams-utopias-has-an-abv-of-28-percent/841928/44 "2019-10-24T17:00:53Z")

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> [@kferr](#):
>
> I’ve had Brewdog’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin which was their first ice distilled beer at 32%. I described it as being like brandy. It was nearly 10 years ago and it was £6 for a 25ml measure.

Ah, my favorite cousin.

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