The 10 Most Expensive Beers in the World

1. Antarctic Nail Ale ($800-$1,815 / 500 ml): Brewed with Antarctic ice by Nail Brewing. This pale ale is the most expensive beer in the world! Produced by Nail Brewing in Australia, 100% of the profits from this beer go to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The brewing water comes from an Antarctic iceberg. Only 30 bottles of this beverage were produced.

2. The End of History ($765 / 330 ml): A 55% ABV beer served inside taxidermied animals. It is the third strongest beer and the second most expensive beer on the planet. This blond ale was blended with nettles and Scottish juniper berries. Only twelve copies exist, and each bottle is encased in animal skin: seven stoats, four squirrels, and one hare.

3. Jacobsen Vintage ($400 / 375 ml): A luxury creation by Carlsberg aged in oak barrels. The Danish company launched the "vintage trilogy" in 2008 to challenge the luxury wine market. This barley wine is aged in Swedish and French oak barrels for six months and features flavors of vanilla and cocoa with notes of peat. It is sold in high-end restaurants in Copenhagen. Over 600 bottles were produced annually between 2008 and 2012. Each bottle has an expiration date of 2059… 47 years of shelf life, they might have pushed the limit a bit far there!

4. Schorschbock 57 ($275 / 330 ml): A record of strength with 57.5% alcohol. Released last October, Schorschbock 57 claims to be the strongest beer in the world. Master brewer Georg Tscheuschner produced 36 bottles of this brew. According to the few tasters who had the chance to try it, it has a smoky and nutty taste, with notes of raisins and, obviously, alcohol. However, ratebeer.com gave it a low score of 20/100.

5. Samuel Adams Utopias ($150 / 700 ml): A prestigious beer aged for up to 18 years. At $150, Utopias is the most expensive beer in America. It is brewed every two years. Each batch is aged for up to 18 years in cognac, bourbon, and scotch barrels. (With each transfer, the brewer adds a touch of maple syrup!) If the price puts you off, don't forget that you'll get some money back from the scrap value of your metal bottle!

6. Sink the Bismarck ($80 / 375 ml): A quadruple IPA clocking in at 41% ABV. Named after Germany's largest Nazi battleship, the beer is brewed by the very dynamic BrewDog brewery. This "quadruple IPA" is obtained through a succession of four freeze distillations (the liquid fraction of the frozen beer contains more alcohol, and the solid fraction is removed).

7. Tutankhamun Ale ($75 / 500 ml): A reconstructed recipe from ancient Egypt. In 1990, archaeologist Dr. Barry Kemp (Cambridge) found ten brewing rooms buried under the Egyptian sand. Each contained ancient traces of beer residue. Using an electron microscope, Dr. Delwen Samuel established that these residues were over 3,250 years old. These researchers then teamed up with Scottish brewer Jim Merrington to recreate the recipe that closest matched this beer. They produced 1,000 bottles the first year at $7,686 each. Later, the price dropped to $75 per bottle. Years later, the Merrington brewery closed its doors... a consequence of Tutankhamun's curse...?

8. Crown Ambassador Reserve ($90 / 750 ml): Presented as an alternative to wine. Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and bottled in a champagne bottle, Crown Ambassador Reserve positions itself as an alternative to wine. The Australian brewer has produced only four brews of this beer since 2008, with each batch limited to 8,000 bottles.

9. Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 ($44 / 720 ml): Luxury beer for the Chinese market. In the United States, Pabst Blue Ribbon is one of the cheapest beers you can buy. However, in China, it is the "Mercedes Benz" of beers. Indeed, a Chinese customer will pay up to 40 times more for it. It is made from German caramel malts and aged in various uncharred American whiskey oak barrels.

10. Space Barley ($110 / 6-pack): Barley grown in space. In 2006, Japanese and Russian scientists decided to test how well barley could grow in space. Barley seeds were taken aboard and planted on the International Space Station in the Zvezda module. After five months in orbit, astronauts harvested the seeds produced by the plants. Subsequently, the Japanese brewery Sapporo used the fourth generation of this barley to create the first beer from space!