Worlds Highest ABV Beer

I've yet to try any Brewdog stuff but I keep seeing them pop up in articles and see their beer around a lot in Chicagoland. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/16/worlds-strongest-beer-sco_n_463975.html

BogusOwnz said:

I've yet to try any Brewdog stuff but I keep seeing them pop up in articles and see their beer around a lot in Chicagoland. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/16/worlds-strongest-beer-sco_n_463975.html

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there's a guy in houston on craigslist trying to sell a bottle of sink the bismarck! for 200 bucks. ridiculous.


http://houston.craigslist.org/clt/1662557047.html

You can order it from them for $60 + shipping that guy is nuts. I'd like to try it just to say I did but I'm not spending that much on a single beer 12oz at that.

I'm pretty sure they made this with distillation, I really doubt any yeast can handle that level of alcohol, And if distillation is used it's really not beer any longer, it's a fortified drink.

The Penguin is freeze concentrated. I suspect the same is true with this one.

Yuri_Rage said:

The Penguin is freeze concentrated. I suspect the same is true with this one.

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Yep, I checked out their site and it is. I would say that counts as distillation.

blah, blah, blah.

Babylon said:

Yep, I checked out their site and it is. I would say that counts as distillation.

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Freeze concentration isn't distillation.

DevilsCreekBrewing said:

Freeze concentration isn't distillation.

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It's concentration, by removing the water. yeah, they used cold instead of heat. They still didn't actually brew the worlds strongest beer, they brewed a beer and then they took the water out.

DevilsCreekBrewing said:

Freeze concentration isn't distillation.

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That definition includes freeze concentration as a type of distillation.

1b an instance of such distilling
That last word, "distilling," links to the definition of distill which includes:
2c to extract the essence of : concentrate

pretty certain it's a form of distilation per the us fed and wouldn't be classified nor could be sold as 'beer'

davefleck said:

pretty certain it's a form of distilation per the us fed and wouldn't be classified nor could be sold as 'beer'

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Bud Ice, Busch Ice and Natural Ice are all freeze concentrated.

Not well, as they all seem to have a 0 rating, but that sure isn't the processes fault.

SumnerH said:

That definition includes freeze concentration as a type of distillation.

1b an instance of such distilling
That last word, "distilling," links to the definition of distill which includes:
2c to extract the essence of : concentrate

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I sit corrected, more by this link though. I don't know if it is a difference in usage by country though, if not, I'm going back to kick my Chem prof in the noots.

To the main point of the thread though, there are number of good beer that are freeze concentrated, and not calling them beer wouldn't be anywhere close to accurate. This, this and this for example.

davefleck said:

pretty certain it's a form of distilation per the us fed and wouldn't be classified nor could be sold as 'beer'

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Actually, the legality is a bit vague. In a Basic Brewing podcast, James Spencer came to the conclusion that freeze concentration at home is indeed legal under US federal law.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=february-20-2009-barleywine-ice-beer

Here's the episode for any interested. I kept it bookmarked because I did a freeze concentration experiment on some cider.

It could just be me, but I don't understand the fascination with beers containing insane amounts of alcohol, hops, or anything else. Part of the reason I enjoy beer is the flavor and the balance. Something that has nearly half of its volume in alcohol sounds more like a cry for attention than an amazing beer...

Teromous said:

It could just be me, but I don't understand the fascination with beers containing insane amounts of alcohol, hops, or anything else. Part of the reason I enjoy beer is the flavor and the balance. Something that has nearly half of its volume in alcohol sounds more like a cry for attention than an amazing beer...

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+1 on this. Certainly there's a place for an occasional 14% barleywine as a holiday warmer, but there are plenty of <5% bitters, stouts, and hefes that are packed with balanced flavor too. The over 15% monsters are rarely great tasting (there are occasional exceptions) and remind me somewhat of people who miss the _flavor_ point of a properly made Hendricks & tonic, Cuba libre, or dark & stormy and make their mixed drinks with 40, 50, or 60% liquor.

I'm honestly a big fan of high alcohol beers. my favorite style by a long way is an imperial stout. But when you get beyond the levels that can be produced by fermentation the alcohol flavor starts to dominate and then it tastes more like a mixed drink.

I've had Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and ive also had Utopias. Both were really good in their own way.

Since TNP is not brewed to proof, IMO it is not a true beer. No more then Scotch is beer. They both start as a "beer" made from malted Barley. Scotch uses a regular distillation to concentrate the alcohol and reduce the flavor compounds, Brewdog's TNP and StB use freeze distillation to concentrate the Alcohol AND flavor compounds.

While that is still just my opinion, i would really be interested to see what the BCJP would say about the subject. Cant find anything from a quick Google search. but ill keep looking.

Edit:reading about Eisbock, totally invalidates my point. Dam it.