I recently drank a beer that was my go-to beer of choice for many years. That was before I knew anything about hops or had heard of beer styles like tripel, dunkelweizen or imperial IPA’s. Those days were before I worked in Belgium and discovered just how many great, flavourful beers exist in the world.

Finishing that beer was a struggle and I found it surprising just how much my beer preferences have changed over the years. Then I stopped to take a look at some of the beers I’ve stashed away or bought since I began enjoying craft beer (and good beer in general).

 

I don’t know where the line is in terms of pushing the envelope too far when it comes to beer styles and brewing. I do know that I haven’t yet tried a chipotle / hot pepper beer that I actually enjoyed. I also know that when a rauchbier, or smoky beer, tastes like you’re drinking an ashtray it’s probably too extreme as well.

There was the battle to brew the strongest beer in the world for a couple of years. Actually the quest continues on, but a few years ago a Scottish brewery and German brewery squared off. Somewhat gimmicky perhaps, but the passion and creativity in making these beers was undeniable. I bought one of them, a 32% beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, included in the picture above.

A 32% beer sounds pretty extreme, doesn’t it?

It was once the strongest beer in the world. It is still one of the strongest stouts in the world, but beers have now surpassed the 50% alcohol barrier. That’s pretty extreme.

Then there is the hoppiest beer battle. Some of them are like drinking liquid pine needles, some are so bitter and dry that you can only sip them. Many people say our palate can only handle so much bitterness, that brewing something beyond a certain threshold is pointless. But this battle for IBUs (International Bitterness Units) carries on.

Then there are other quests like limited-edition beers where people buy tickets to special events to buy a beer available for only one day a year. Events like Dark Lord Day and Zwanze Day come to mind, but there are many more.

How about old beers?

Cellaring beer is something that seems counter intuitive to most people, yet certain styles of beer were originally created centuries ago to age well during long voyages at sea. Other beers are bottle fermented, in that some yeast is left in the bottle, changing the complexity and flavour of the beer over time.

While I’ve aged beers for a handful of years, I recently went on a quest to see if I could find a beer older than I am. It was actually easier than I expected and not long after I had bottles of beer that were from 1992, 1978 and 1975. How crazy is that? Two of those beers are more than 35 years old!

It’s possible some of those “extremely old” beers have been ruined over time, but it is also possible they’ll all be great. I recently cracked one open, the 1978 bottle, and it opened with a faint “pffft”, just like a brand new bottle of beer. It poured out flat looking and black like engine oil. It tasted unlike any beer, wine or other alcohol I’ve ever had, with such a complex range of flavours it was hard to believe.

The ever elusive whales.

To some beer enthusiasts rare, high quality beers may be called “whales”. An extreme type of term, signifying how big, or special such a beer may be. For the most part they are old vintages of beers, similar to the 1978 beer I had. The main factor in becoming a whale is that the beer must now be very hard to find. Again, it’s a bit of a gamble as some old whales can get oxidized and ruined over the years, ending up as big disappointments. But, for some people, that is part of the fun of collection, cellaring and storing beers.

Now, those three old beers I mentioned – from 1992, 1978, 1975 – cost less than half of what one bottle of the next beer cost. This beer, from the Boston Beer Company, is undoubtedly the most expensive beer in regular production.

Each year, this being the tenth year, a blend of aged beers is brought together to create the Sam Adams Utopias. It comes with it’s own special glass and drinks more like a whisky than a beer. You can usually only buy it by the ounce at bars, if you can find it. People who seek out an entire bottle have been known to pay $200-300 for it. That beer, and its special glass are on the left in the picture at the top of this post.

Paying $200 or more for a beer is pretty extreme too isn’t it?

Then there are other beers simply created for fun. Flavours ranging from bacon to seaweed to gummy bears and everything in between are fair game to brewers. Other beers, like the huge 3L bottle of Stone Double Bastard (also in the picture up top) are simply meant to be fun, a big bottle to be shared with friends.

And that is what all of this extreme brewing comes down to. It’s about having fun and appreciating good beer. Old beers, big beers, strange beers. There is no shortage of good beer out there. I know I’m happy to have had the chance to buy these handful of special, or extreme, ones myself and can’t wait to share them with some other beer loving friends.