The Wheatsheaf Hotel at Thebarton is selling Deus - a Belgian ale - for the equivalent of $39 a pint, compared with $5.80 for a pint of West End.

The pub sells up to three dozen bottles a year of Deus, which has an alcohol content of 11.5 per cent.

Professional beer taster Mark Braby, of the Adelaide Beer Connoisseurs Club, tried the ale this week, describing it as "very, very nice".

"There's a sweet sensation down the sides of the throat but the back of the palate is really dry," he said. "It's got a real warming, liquor flavour. It's definitely fruity, spicy with a bit of cinnamon or mint."

Mr Braby, who is also food and beverage manager at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, said there was no comparison with regular brews. "It's like comparing spumante to French champagne; they're just poles apart," he said.

Wheatsheaf co-owner Jade Flavell said Deus headed a range of select imported beers at the hotel. "There's a big flavour and it's uncompromising stuff. It's the Dom Perignon of beer," she said.

Wholesale Liquor Merchants Association of SA president Brenton Quirini struggled to name a beer on sale more expensive than Deus. "The only thing that would beat it comes from the US brewer Samuel Adams - and I've never seen any in Australia," he said.

Wholesalers have reported a surge of up to 20 per cent in year-on-year sales of premium imported beers, putting a squeeze on the domestic market. "Beer is the new wine at the moment," said David Lipman, publisher of Beer & Brewer magazine.

The growing interest in select beers has been reflected in the number of hotels increasing their ranges.

The Barn Bistro, in McLaren Vale, sells 73 gourmet beers, including a 650ml bottle of Japanese import Sapporo Silver Bullet for $17 and a 330ml bottle of Belgian Chimay Blue for $15.

The internet is packed with speculation about which is the world's most expensive beer.