I used tot think you were nuts with your signature… “life begins at 60… 1.060”/ Well, I think I’m starting to agree with you. 
Dean, buddy, all that means is you’re nuts, too! 
;D
It’s closer to 80 for me… but I love me some Tripel.
Could not agree more…I rarely brew under “1.060!”
I don’t know what you guys are talking about
I know for some it will be hard to believe, but there is so much more flavor in the higher OG beers. I like only high OG stouts otherwise they just seem dry to me… same with ales pretty much anymore. I drink for the flavor more than the buzz anymore… I’d rather drink two Good beers than six mediocre beers. I don’t drink to get drunk anymore either… though it Does happen from time to time.
Yeah…I don’t get drunk anymore either. Except when I drink beer. And booze.
Fred, I KNEW this would draw ya outta the woodwork! ;D
I guess I am the opposite. Most of the beers I brew are under 1.060. I like higher gravity beers very much (and always have a few kegs of tripel, Barley Wines, RIS, etc, laying around), but I am more of a session drinking guy. If I really want something with some alkyhaul I just go for bourbon.
I agree, and that’s one of the reasons I tend toward them. I really believe there’s a lot more skill (albeit of a different type) involved in brewing a subtle beer rather than a monster. Truthfully, I envy the guys who can brew a perfect American light lager, because I think that would be a lot tougher than some of the beers I tend towards. Not that I won’t drink a big beer, you understand…
I’ve never been able to develop a taste for bourbon or Scotch. I came to realize a while back that the average beer around here is 7.5%. A while back, I brought home a bottle of IIPA and warned my wife ( a small person) that it was 10%. She said “So what?”.
What a woman!! She’s a keeper!! ;D
I have to also say it’s more difficult to perfect a low gravity lager than it is to make a good DIPA. I am currently trending toward bigger beers but that will change as the weather changes. Big beers in the colder months and lighter beers in the warmer months.
33 years so far!
The trick is to brew a starter (some brewers call these small beers) with flavor. Try working on a mild. That can have quite a bit of flavor
Fred
I’m with you there. 1.060 is more like my top end.
Oh, I thought it was 60 IBU!
I always kid about my wife Melissa (soon to be 20 years, heck she got me my first homebrew kit - it’s all her fault!). When we walk into the Falling Rock Tap House (our local) - she asks “why don’t you get me something light, like a Hercules”.
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=32751
I guess I’m ‘diversified’. I have 3 taps in the house and 2 party taps in one of my lagering fridges - the 3 in my house are usually <1.064, with really on my IPA bringing it up that high, otherwise its usually 1.050-1.055 or so.
Then in the 2 picnic taps outside, I keep big beers in 3gal kegs - Old Ale, IIPA, Baltic, RIS, etc. which is all >1.080. The rest of the batch I bottle.
I just don’t like feeling ‘it’ after one pint anymore, I still brew, buy,drink and love big beers, but much more conservatively than I used to.
You could always pull a half pint. ;) …Not that I would.
I don’t drink as many as I used to either, generally 2 beers a night now but every once in a while I’ll drink 3 to 5 beers… like last night.
I suppose I just need to use more specialty malts and I’ll get more flavor but I do like having a nice little buzz going without having to drink 4 or 6 beers. ;D