Too high ABV%

I decided to try a 15 litre pilsner wort kit with some extra sugar into the 8 L water. And since I never made a too strong brew, I happened to have a 2.2kg bag of dextrose at start of each batch that I threw in, along with 15gr of coopers and 5gr of ec-1118 champagne yeast. Just to see what the limit was. I think I've seen it.

My OG was 1080, FG 1002 or 1003. Now I have 42 litres of this stuff, 10 of it in a half empty carboy sitting in the fridge bc I didnt have enough bottles yesterday. And drinking it makes me sick. As in I had 1.8 L of it over a 6 hour period, and nothing else, now I am a little intoxicated for sure but more sick like I was drinking alcopops or something. I don't normally want to toss salad, even after a 6 pack of 8%.

Whats going on? Can I save my brew? (75% bottled)
Is there something odd in a heavy brew that needs to mellow over time? The bottling night I thought it was not bad considering just 3 weeks since pitch, but now I am truely ill. :fro::cross::fro:

I was trying to go from lower % beer that I tend to drink too much of and get fat, to something tasty that is closer to the wine side. Am I making winey beer and mixing styles too much?

I have no idea what to call what you've made, but it's definitely beer!

High gravity, high ABV beers tend to be pretty much undrinkable before proper conditioning time has passed. I've got a 7% ABV IPA that still had a pretty harsh taste after 3 weeks in the bottle. I'm trying it again tomorrow, it'll be almost 5 weeks since bottling.

Personally, I avoid adding a bunch of sugar to my brews, because it tends to produce a thin beer with nothing going for it but higher ABV, but that's a personal call. I try to stick to style guidelines for the most part. It makes it easier to predict the final product, and produce something I'm pretty sure I'll like.

Pick up Brewing Classic Styles and/or Designing Great Beers for some really great ideas on what to brew next. These two books (especially DGB) have literally transformed my brewing philosophy and processes, and my end results have dramatically improved.

Give your brew some time to age. Hope this helps.

Four pints of 10% ABV in six hours would make all but an old alcoholic sick. That's roughly 13 standard drinks.

david_42 said:

Four pints of 10% ABV in six hours would make all but an old alcoholic sick. That's roughly 13 standard drinks.

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I have a high tolerance but I'm pretty sure nearly 2 liters of 10% brew would knock me on my butt pretty soundly, especially on an empty stomach. Set sail for Hangoverville with a stop along the way at Ralfffffadelphia!

The higher the OG/ABV the longer it needs to bottle condition to let the flavors meld together. Leave it sit a while and it'll be better.

Grimster said:

I have a high tolerance but I'm pretty sure nearly 2 liters of 10% brew would knock me on my butt pretty soundly, especially on an empty stomach. Set sail for Hangoverville with a stop along the way at Ralfffffadelphia!

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I was in a German beer garden last year and I drank 2 liters of beer (they serve it by the liter), one of them being around 7% ABV. Needless to say I was tanked and had a wicked hangover the next day. 2 liters of 10% ABV would have been much rougher.

HighGravity said:

I don't normally want to toss salad, even after a 6 pack of 8%.

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First, you might want to rephrase that.

Second, when it comes to tackling the big beers in my arsenal I usually just have one a night. Any more than that and I'm well on my way to tanked.

david_42 said:

Four pints of 10% ABV in six hours would make all but an old alcoholic sick. That's roughly 13 standard drinks.

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Thank you for converting to US measurements. Metric still throws me off...I had no comparison to how much beer that he was drinking. I was like "1.8L that doesnt sound too bad" apparently I need a refresher course in "Metric Drinking 101"
-Jefe-

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=toss salad

It would take more than alcohol to make me "toss salad" maybe a gun to my head???? Nah, just shoot me!

Well that was a bit of a wild trip, woke up this early AM and opened the fridge: half full carboy sitting there staring at me. Should I even bother to go out and buy some bottles to bottle it after its been exposed to air (inside carboy) for 2 days?

NeonSilver: actually the idea of adding so much sugar to a pilsner was to get tanked. Just didn't expect it in so grand a fashion. I think I will start a few ciders/fruit wines and leave the beer to more reasonable styles.