Controlling alcohol "heat"

I'm sure that you've noticed that some "big" beers, particularly Belgians, conceal their alcohol much better than others. I'm talking about that alcohol "heat" you get from some high gravity beers. I'm not talking about solventy flavors from too high a fermentation temp.

What types of techniques/processes/ingredients are out there to make a high gravity beer, but not have the alcohol taste be so overpowering that nothing else comes through?

I don't know about the first beer. But it seems every beer I drink the "heat" drops.

Sweet Malty beer tends to hide the alcohol "Twang" much better than Crisp and dry beer that actually accentuates it.

BigKahuna said:

Sweet Malty beer tends to hide the alcohol "Twang" much better than Crisp and dry beer that actually accentuates it.

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More or less what my point was gonna be: trying to balance the alcohol flavor with hops and malt, spices, fruit.....etc.

You can either balance it with malt or hops. That's typically how it goes.

The common method is time. The bigger the beer the longer the aging

Let me finish your sentence for you.

malkore said:

Trying to balance the alcohol flavor with hops and malt, spices, fruit.....etc Is the true goal of all brewers. This is when beer and brewer truly become one and the lucky bastage that gets the privilege of drinking it not only tastes the goodness of the ingredients, but the passion and skill of the brewer.

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Sorry...I kinda went Zen Surfer on you for a second.

I would recommend fermenting on the cooler side if possible, as well as aging the beers well.