Drinking craft beer has become more than just a hobby — it's a conquest, especially when it comes to limited edition beers that can be as scarce (and as alcoholic) as some wines.
Some of these beers have huge, cult-like followings, with release parties and wait lines that queue up 24 hours in advance. And vintage bottles of the ones that age well can sell at auction for thousands of dollars.
In honor of American Craft Beer Week (May 11-17), we've rounded up the 17 most coveted craft beers in America, based on availability, release schedule, and desirability.
17. Bourbon County Series (Goose Island Brewery)
Goose Island's "Bourbon County" series includes the Bourbon County Stout, Coffee Stout, Barleywine, and Proprietor's Stout. Goose Island releases new batches each year, but with variations in recipes. 2014's Vanilla Rye, a new addition to the series, is a boozy, 13.8% alcohol by volume (ABV) stout aged in rye whiskey barrels from four different distilleries.
The Chicago-based brewery distributes to most states, but the seasonal release of the Bourbon County series means bottles can be harder to find, not to mention that the Proprietor's Stout is only available in Chicago, and the Vanilla Rye is a limited edition only sold in 22-ounce bottles.
16. Nugget Nectar (Troëgs Brewing Co.)
Nugget Nectar is a seasonal, hoppy amber ale from Pennsylvania-based Troëgs Brewing Company. It's citrusy with a malt backbone, boozy at nearly 8% ABV, and, as Deadspin's Will Gordon notes, would probably be called an "imperial red IPA" if it hadn't already been released before the huge IPA craze.
It's fairly easy to find if you're in one of the 11 states Troëgs distributes to (and when it's in season), but if you're not, you may be traveling to get ahold of Pennsylvania's best beer.
15. Utopias (Samuel Adams)
Utopias is an insane barleywine that Samuel Adams has been experimenting with since 2002. It claims to be one of the first barrel-aged beers and ranges in absurd alcohol contents from year to year, from 24% to 30%. It comes in a unique, kettle-style container reminiscent of a genie lamp, and with only about 15,000 bottles released each season (and usually only on odd-numbered years), they often sell for around $200 a bottle.
Thirteen different states actually prohibit the sale of such a high-alcohol beer.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider