Beer thread, what you drinkin..

[Tom C]

That’s gotta be fortified, right?

 

[gorb]

That’s gotta be fortified, right?

It is not

 

[Tom C]

It is not

Perhaps this is bunk, folk wisdom, but I thought the alcohol concentration of fermented beverages was limited by what the yeast can tolerate, so wines, beers and such can never be above, like 14% or 15% alcohol, because the yeast die at higher concentrations. So the only way to get 20% or higher concentrations is to add distilled spirits. Is there another method for concentrating the beverage? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wine or beer of over 19% alcohol.

 

[ryanosaur]

Perhaps this is bunk, folk wisdom, but I thought the alcohol concentration of fermented beverages was limited by what the yeast can tolerate, so wines, beers and such can never be above, like 14% or 15% alcohol, because the yeast die at higher concentrations. So the only way to get 20% or higher concentrations is to add distilled spirits. Is there another method for concentrating the beverage? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wine or beer of over 19% alcohol.

There are many yeasts that can consume sugars in unfriendly environments. Champagne yeast is usually first for high OG Mashes, but after that there are others. They don't usually ferment with a high flavor profile, but they do work.
A Beer at 13-15% is absolutely achievable with proper care.

Some of the Highest ABV Beers in the world clock in between 57and 67%.

Specifically in the US, Utopia is ~28% with others ranging between 15-20%. No fortification with Distilled Spirits necessary.

 

[Ilkless]

Can someone say Booze Bomb. Ouch!

We paid for a ~150ml sample from the bottle at an event. It's a 90$ bottle of beer where we are in Asia, and I'd much rather get a bottle of fantastic Scotch at $120-130 that can last me months.

Perhaps this is bunk, folk wisdom, but I thought the alcohol concentration of fermented beverages was limited by what the yeast can tolerate, so wines, beers and such can never be above, like 14% or 15% alcohol, because the yeast die at higher concentrations. So the only way to get 20% or higher concentrations is to add distilled spirits. Is there another method for concentrating the beverage? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wine or beer of over 19% alcohol.

It's the highest ABV I've encountered as well, as an occasional craft beer guy.

There are many yeasts that can consume sugars in unfriendly environments. Champagne yeast is usually first for high OG Mashes, but after that there are others. They don't usually ferment with a high flavor profile, but they do work.
A Beer at 13-15% is absolutely achievable with proper care.

Some of the Highest ABV Beers in the world clock in between 57and 67%.

Specifically in the US, Utopia is ~28% with others ranging between 15-20%. No fortification with Distilled Spirits necessary.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[somebodyelse]

There are many yeasts that can consume sugars in unfriendly environments. Champagne yeast is usually first for high OG Mashes, but after that there are others. They don't usually ferment with a high flavor profile, but they do work.
A Beer at 13-15% is absolutely achievable with proper care.

Some of the Highest ABV Beers in the world clock in between 57and 67%.

Specifically in the US, Utopia is ~28% with others ranging between 15-20%. No fortification with Distilled Spirits necessary.

If you're not adding distilled spirits you have to remove water somehow, often via freeze distillation. I don't know what the limit for natural fermentation is, but from Brewdog's recipes everything over 18% ABV is freeze distilled. Freeze distillation doesn't have to be that extreme though - there are some ice beers down around the 5% mark.

 

[ryanosaur]

If you're not adding distilled spirits you have to remove water somehow, often via freeze distillation. I don't know what the limit for natural fermentation is, but from Brewdog's recipes everything over 18% ABV is freeze distilled. Freeze distillation doesn't have to be that extreme though - there are some ice beers down around the 5% mark.

Freeze Distillation is not the only way to concentrate the fermentables. In the US, Freeze Distilation is still a Distillation process, too, which is highly regulated.
Both World Wide Stout and Utopia, to the best of my understanding are made utilizing Yeasts that survive in higher alcohol solutions and barrel aging to attain their ABVs.

 

[somebodyelse]

Dogfish Head say World Wide Stout is in the 15-20% range (depends on age?) so consistent with the Brewdog recipes. I wasn't aware of the Utopias reaching 28% and would have assumed it had been strengthened somehow. However a bit of extra digging suggests that is possible just through fermentation, much higher than I thought.

This thread has a time line on the evolution of one brewer's yeast strain, seemingly reaching a limit at 28%:

28% ABV is the best I have managed with my yeast though it needs plenty of sugar added to whatever you are brewing apart from mead. Getting the yeast from the boot's from it's original 8% to 20% took 8 years getting it from 20% to 28% has taken 25 year's and I haven't been able to get any increase on that 28% in the last 5 years though it is getting more consistent & given enough sugar it rarely dips below 28%.

An earlier answer in the same thread points to a commercially available strain advertising '>25%' https://www.whitelabs.com/yeast-single?id=146&type=YEAST - unfortunately their database isn't searchable by ABV.

 

[GD Fan]

First time having this particular brew from Duvel. Better integrated hops than I'd expected.

 

[GD Fan]

Disappointingly simple.

 

[ryanosaur]

Disappointingly simple.

Like Budweiser / Miller Simple? Or just bad beer?

I just had some Holy Ghost Pilsner from Laughing Monk in San Francisco. Always delicious!

 

[GD Fan]

Like Budweiser / Miller Simple? Or just bad beer?

I just had some Holy Ghost Pilsner from Laughing Monk in San Francisco. Always delicious!

No, not bad. Just unremarkable and simple. Kind of like Coors Light, I guess.

 

[gorb]

Last night at False Idol Brewing they had a Christmas in July event with two set flights. I got the first flight with one beer changed:
Karloff - aged in EH Taylor barrels, 17% abv
Onibaba - aged in Blanton’s barrels, 17% abv
Wolf’s bane - aged in Basil Hayden’s bourbon barrels with blueberry, vanilla, and marshmallow. 17% abv
Oogie Boogie Nightmare - aged in Wild Turkey and Rabbit Hole Cavehill barrels with peanut butter cookie, 15% abv (got this instead of King Snacks, which is way too coconut heavy for me)

https://imgur.com/a/CEa4g04

 

[NiagaraPete]

For a change I bought Corona. Nice change from my go to Harp.

 

[Soniclife]

If you're not adding distilled spirits you have to remove water somehow, often via freeze distillation. I don't know what the limit for natural fermentation is, but from Brewdog's recipes everything over 18% ABV is freeze distilled. Freeze distillation doesn't have to be that extreme though - there are some ice beers down around the 5% mark.

I was lucky enough to be given some tactical nuclear penguin by a landlord friend at the end of a very good lunchtime, it was delicious, and alarmingly easy to drink, another friend didn't like it, so I drank there's.

TACTICAL NUCLEAR PENGUIN - BrewDog Recipes

This beer is about pushing the boundaries, it is about taking innovation in beer to a whole new level. Dark and decadent, plum, treacle and roast coffee are amplified beyond any stout you've had before.

brewdogrecipes.com

Currently finishing off a bottle of proper job.

 

[Trell]

No, not bad. Just unremarkable and simple. Kind of like Coors Light, I guess.

The kind of beer that no one like but no one dislike either?

 

[ryanosaur]

Moonlight Brewing
Reality Czeck Pilsner.

 

[Doodski]

The kind of beer that no one like but no one dislike either?

Coors just fills me up with water...LoL. It's good if crispy cold but it's not my fav that's for sure.

 

[DACslut]

Coors just fills me up with water...LoL. It's good if crispy cold but it's not my fav that's for sure.

I luv their can with the airtight screw-on cap.

 

[Doodski]

I luv their can with the airtight screw-on cap.

That's a game changer with the screw on top. I like it.