Sam Adams Utopias, long the strongest beer in the world at 27% ABV, has been knocked off of that throne.  Scotland’s Brewdog has announced the release of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% ABV barrel-aged, iced, imperial stout.

To make this beer they brewed a 10% ABV Imperial Stout and aged that in barrels for eighteen months. This aged beer was then taken to an ice cream factory where it was frozen. The water content of beer freezes at a lower temperature than everything else, allowing them to run off a concentrated version of the original beer. After a couple of freeze/runoff cycles they ended up with Tactical Nuclear Penguin. The website claims that the year and a half of aging has left them with a super-strong beer that is nonetheless smooth and drinkable (in small amounts and from a snifter of course).

They are only releasing 500 330ml bottles, so don’t count on seeing it in your local liquor store. The first 250 bottle will sell for £30 ($50). The remaining 250 bottles will sell for £250 ($412) and will include shares in the Brewdog company through their Equity for Punks program. And you thought Utopias was expensive.

Here’s some video from the Brewdog Blog.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.