probably only about 10% MAX of all the beers ive made have had OGs of 1.065 or higher (not counting meads and sakes of course) and maybe only two with OGs over 1.08
I love commercial strong beers of many different types, but im thinking about cutting out homebrewing strong beers even further.
i made a 7.8% ABV beer recently that tastes fine. ideal mash, fermentation etc. its just that i feel it takes relatively more careful planning, effort to get that high gravity wort and deal with it and has a higher chance of having problems (too high FG, unbalanced, too many yeast attributes, etc).
even this ideal strong beer i made is as i said. “fine”
the best beers ive made have all been between 1.04 and 1.055 gravities. the ones that were really memorable and i was sad to see them go.
does anyone really make an effort or find it worthwhile to make higher gravity beers? any tips? any specific styles (i do still want to make a strong stout)? i admit i don’t have pure 02 yet because i don’t make high-grav beers often.
I’ve made a lot of high gravity beers over the years. Some of them turned out really good. However, these days when I run to my refrigerator for a brewskie, I find myself seeking lower alcohol options much more often than not. And so for a while now, I’ve been brewing stuff as low as 4-5% ABV most of the time, an occasional 6% maybe. It’s been about 4 years since I went high gravity. It just doesn’t appeal to me as much anymore as it once did.
I’m right with you on this. I used to brew barleywines about once a year, but it has probably been about 5 years at this point. I only get to brew so often, so I don’t really feel like brewing a batch of a beer that I might only want to sip a few ounces of a couple of times a year. Right now my batches clock in between 1.040 and 1.050 OG almost exclusively. Those are easy to brew and easy to put down without getting sloppy.
I make a lot of IPA and they’re usually in the low-mid 7% range. Often have a tripel on hand that’s in the low 9s. Wee Shroomy once a year also in the low 9s.
And it kinda depends on the definition of high gravity. Fred Bonjuor made (makes) 10% beers he calls session beers.
Its not that I don’t enjoy a high ABV beer or struggle to brew one, its just a matter of keeping the pipeline flowing.
Since I keg almost every beer and since I can’t possibly “session” octane, a high abv beer would muck up the works. In order to brew I need to keep the kegs moving. So for me, it doesn’t make any practical sense to brew and keg a high ABV beer. Most of my regular rotation beers are under 6%, probably averaging 5 - 5.5%.
But, in 2 weeks I plan to make a Barleywine. That will go in bottles.
Most of my brews are 4.5-5.5%,mainly lagers. Saturday I made a Maibock at 1.067 and next week I am making a Quad that should be 1.096 I have made a few barrel aged stouts and porters that were 10.5% and 9% respectively. I really, for the most part, drink hi-gravity beers in the winter and keep it to a minimum, 2-3 a session. Lagers on the other hand are something that is a daily fix and I tend not to limit the quantity. ;D
Prior to the last 3.5 years I used to brew a biggie once a year. My living situation has changed drastically, for the better, and once our new range is delivered and I replace a few pieces of equipment I’ll probably go back to that schedule.
I try to brew a Christmas beer once a year. Sometimes it’s based on a Wee Heavy other times a Bock.
Not much different than brewing a session strength beer really except I pitch a lot of yeast that is rated for the ABV.
Not sure how I will approach that this coming year. This is kinda where I’ve landed:
I enjoy the processes involved in making a nice pint then enjoying the fruits of my labor and patience, so I’d rather have two or three beers over an afternoon/evening at 3.33% than one at 6% -10%.
Definitely both. I love a thirst quenching beer when I’m thirsty but I want something a little more “contemplative” when I’m relaxing on a weekend night.
Kinda the same here. 90% sessionable styles, mostly lagers. The other 10% are special beers, mostly above 7.5%, for the holidays and special events. All are kegged, and occasionally I’ll bottle from a keg to give as gifts.
yup, its been a hot spring so far and i sort of forgot already that higher ABVs are much preferable in winter.
weird point, but i almost never find a beer “thirst quenching”. i feel like i have weird beer habits, but i cant imagine drinking a beer on a hot sunny afternoon, unless im with friends and its at least 4pm or so, knowing im done for the day.
No one’s beer drinking habits are “weird”. We are all unique, and to each their own.
Okay yeah that’s just weird :P. Where I live it’s currently 102o F and I’ve just come in from yardwork and am drinking a Corona Extra in a frosty glass. Cue the angel music!
One of my favorite “lawnmower” beers is my American (Dry) Stout. Very quaffable. I’ve got one planned to be ready for the dog days.
I can never understand why this style is considered a winter beer, seems exactly the opposite to me.
To chime in on this thread, I occasionally brew some high gravity beers my RIS is around 10% or so and the barleywines are in the same ABV range. I have a 9.2% Tripel on tap right now and an IPA that is 6.8% (it normally comes in at just over 6% but this one fermented out a bit farther). The coffee porter that is in the fermenter now will be in the low 5% range and my ESB is around 5.2% which makes them more sessionable.
My wife is suggesting I brew some lower alcohol beers and I am starting to explore cutting the ABV in the IPA to just below 6% without impacting the malt flavor in the beer (maybe a pound or so less of base malt here as a compromise). She keeps telling me my beers keep getting bigger ABV-wise. In some cases she is right but not always.
based on that and some other posts you’ve made, i think you have some similar homebrew drinking tastes with me. yes, i do like a dry irish stout in summer as well. anything that isnt sticky sweet.
a tripel is always a good one, but its one of the styles that i am lucky enough to be able to find a few great commercial examples for decent prices around here, so that disincentivizes my brewing of it.
do you use all-grain or do you bump up the gravity of the wort with DME? do you add sucrose or dextrose to the RIS?
I brew 2-3 big beers (over 1.080) a year. I make an American Barleywine every year and bounce around with a Belgian Dark Strong, Tripel, and RIS. I like to bottle them just to remind myself how much I hate bottling.
I have a KBS clone that is in my regular rotation as I do enjoy a high ABV stout, this one is 10%, I also have two double IPAs I brew regularly. I have recently decided that I do need to include lower ABV brews in my rotation as the heavy stouts and IPAs are not so good on school nights…
