Flavor or ABV?

Hey all! I just got into a interesting "convo" with my buddy about home brewing beer. He stated that all home brew should be at least 6% abv or there is no point in home brewing.... At this point I look at him amazed and said "What are you NUTS!!! Homebrew should be about the balance of flavor and the intracal workings of how your malted grains or extract and Hops meld with the other flavors you add." His reply was simply "The more ABV the Better, and I would think twice about drinking a homebrew that is light on the alcy side." I laughed, walked over to him grabbed my homebrew out of his hands and drank it in front of him. Upset he said "why did you do that??" I replyed "this mild dark ale is only 3.7%" A shattered friend then asked for another great beer! Ahahah I thought it was funny. So that brings me to my point, Who brews strickly for a higher ABV here?


thanks guys ans gals!

It depends on what your goals are and personal preference. Everybodies motivation and tastes are different. I personally don't brew much below 5-5.5%ABV and more often brew around 5.5-6%. That is the alcohol level that balances with the style of most of the beers I prefer. My preference. I have met people who are IIPA junkies, and I have met people who just like heavy beers. In both these cases you are usually looking at higher ABV numbers.

If your friend just wants to get drunk cheap, teach him to brew moderate flavor high ABV Malt liquors. :cross:

ABV is the least of my concern. Flavor is 100% what I brew for - otherwise I would just drink grain alcohol.

Alcohol is only a secondary concern for me. Generally, I just watch it so that I end up with something not too strong and not too weak. "Just right", to paraphrase.

I'm much more concerned with flavor, bitterness, and overall balance to the beer than getting a fast buzz.

-Steve

I love big beers, but if I'm going to be making 5 gallons of something, I'd rather it be a sessionable beer I can drink after a hard's days work and not have to worry about the next morning. Style, flavor, appearance are all way more important to me.

SavageSteve said:

Alcohol is only a secondary concern for me. Generally, I just watch it so that I end up with something not too strong and not too weak. "Just right", to paraphrase.

I'm much more concerned with flavor, bitterness, and overall balance to the beer than getting a fast buzz.

-Steve

Click to expand...

+ 1

I generally brew in the 4-7% range but overall flavor and balance comes first, the ABV depends on the type or style I am brewing!

I agree flavor first. ABV ends up being what ever it turns out to be.

I normally brew 4.5% - 5.5%. Then I'll seasonally brew a winter big beer between 7.5% and 9.0%. This year it's a cross between a Belgian Strong Ale and a Barleywine.

Those winter warmers are great after blowing a foot of snow out of the driveway.

I have a buddy like that, he will find out I just bottled some beer and ask for some. I tell him it wont be ready for a few weeks and he's like "I don't care,I'll drink it flat"...so I will make him wait even longer for his 6 pack..

I think he will get a bottle of Night Train from me for X-Mas..:rockin:

MMMMMMMMMM Night Train Not! Now that brings back some bad memories of my youth LOL bow to the porcelain alter O young one

compact007 said:

So that brings me to my point, Who brews strickly for a higher ABV here?

Click to expand...

People in prison do.

Big beers are great but if it doesn't taste good its crap.

My brews are in the 4-9% range. I agree with everyone else that brewing is all about the balance and characteristics rather than ABV. Then again I like Beer for Beer and the effects are secondary

What? I thought session beers were 7%

MikeFlynn74 said:

What? I thought session beers were 7%

Click to expand...

Sure, as long as the session is short enough!

-Steve

What's in a ABV but the by-product of making a great beer?

Realistically I tend to be somewhere between 4-6% for the typical stuff, I figure beer without some ABV isn't really beer in my book. But it tends to be a secondary consideration, the first being an attempt to get the smooth, balance flavor that I'd actually like to drink.

The alcohol is a part of the flavor. Too much and you can get an unbalanced beer.

I never consider the ABV as a facet of brew day, except to hit the style and taste.

One of my favorite beers is Biermunchers Centennial Blonde. Lower ABV, and lighter, but still flavorful. I can drink a couple without feeling buzzed, unlike a lot of the other beers I drink.

I like mostly session ales, but a bigger stout or hop bomb are always in rotation. Like those who posted earlier, I've never designed a beer around abv so much as flavor and body, but in general, I am not a big guy, so smaller beers suit me.

Honestly if I could brew a 4% beer that tasted exactly like my higher alcohol brew I probably would. Sometimes the alcohol just gets in the way of drinking good beer. If I have to work the next day I'm really limited to one or 2 big beers the night prior or I will be moving slow the next day. Now, there are times when I WANT a good buzz too of course so I wouldn't brew them all low...

I like beer and I brew to style.

If the style says 9% (or higher) then sure, I'll brew to ABV of the style. If it says 3% then I brew to 3%.

My favorite recipes thus far have been Orfy's Mild Mannered Ale at 2.9% and my Amarillo IPA at 7% with a bunch of 1.040 OG session ales mixed in.

I'm a big fan of session beers. If I have a beer on tap, it's way too easy to pour one when I walk by. If I do that with a barleywine I'm going to wake up unhappy the next day.

I brew for ABV, but dont get me wrong, as i brew for taste but alcohol is part of that taste. I like the heavier bigger beers and i have never been a fan of lighter ABV's. It's part of the reason why i got into brewing. I was always unsatisfied with most store bought beers (commercial and micro). To me most lower ABV's (with the exception of a good stout or porter) could taste great and balanced but still missing something and to me that something is a higher ABV. So i started brewing so i could make the same beers that i did like......only stronger. I rarely brew under 6% but typically it's between 7% to 8% but will dip down to 4.5% to 5.5% on rare occasion.

My beers are always balanced, i dont understand why some people say they don't brew for ABV as balance comes first. To me balance is a given in my recipes when brewing higher ABV's as i'm not brewing them to get a buzz faster but brewing them because i love the taste.

Christian said:

I brew for ABV, but dont get me wrong, as i brew for taste but alcohol is part of that taste. I like the heavier bigger beers and i have never been a fan of lighter ABV's. It's part of the reason why i got into brewing. I was always unsatisfied with most store bought beers (commercial and micro). To me most lower ABV's (with the exception of a good stout or porter) could taste great and balanced but still missing something and to me that something is a higher ABV. So i started brewing so i could make the same beers that i did like......only stronger. I rarely brew under 6% but typically it's between 7% to 8% but will dip down to 4.5% to 5.5% on rare occasion.

My beers are always balanced, i dont understand why some people say they don't brew for ABV as balance comes first. To me balance is a given in my recipes when brewing higher ABV's as i'm not brewing them to get a buzz faster but brewing them because i love the taste.

Click to expand...

Might be because you are from utah and most of your commercial beers are artificially low there due to your retarded laws. You simply cannot make certain styles if your limited to what is it 3.2% w/w?

Some people drink to get drunk. Making a great small beer is tougher than brewing at 7-8%.

z987k said:

Might be because you are from utah and most of your commercial beers are artificially low there due to your retarded laws. You simply cannot make certain styles if your limited to what is it 3.2% w/w?

Click to expand...

Yeah the laws here are ridiculously stupid!! Yeah it is 3.2% by weight is the law to be sold in the store, you can still buy other beers at the state liquor stores for a ridiculously inflated price though.

However i'm originally from Long Beach, Ca which is where i started brewing. So it's not geographic thing, my palate has just never been a big fan of the lower ABV styles.

craigd said:

Honestly if I could brew a 4% beer that tasted exactly like my higher alcohol brew I probably would. Sometimes the alcohol just gets in the way of drinking good beer. If I have to work the next day I'm really limited to one or 2 big beers the night prior or I will be moving slow the next day. Now, there are times when I WANT a good buzz too of course so I wouldn't brew them all low...

Click to expand...

I agree, but I despair whether its possible. I'm quite new at this sport, and my third batch was (actually still is) an 'SNPA-lite' at 3.9% abv and mid 30s IBU. Its still sort of young, but tastes okay, EXCEPT that its just too light and wimpy. I really like 6, 7 and 8% IPAs, but I don't think it would be healthy to drink 3 of them a night. I think that mid 5% is the sweet spot for me.

Alcohol content is a consideration for me when I formulate a recipe. I don't want a 3% IPA. On the other hand, I don't want an 8% American Wheat. Just depends on the style and the balance.

Flavor and what I'm in the mood for come first. I brew most of mine in the middle of the road 4.5%-6.5%. But by all means I will brew up a delicious mild, or RIS if I'm in the mood. Also the big ones are nice to brew for having once in a while, letting them age, etc. The small ones go quick in our house.

I prefer a medium abv beer +-5%ish. That way I can have a few before getting too tanked. Strangely many of the top 100 beers on beeradvocate.com have high abv - many over 10% and some 13% and up. Anyone care to guess what the reason could be ?

Flavor is my primary concern, but I like a slight buzz, which I use to tell me when I've had enough.

In general, the strength of my beer is designed for the amount of time I have to spend drinking it. If work is really busy, a pint of 8.5 % ABV doppelbock will be tasty, give me a slight buzz, but it won't overdo it. On the other hand, if I get home from work early, I'm going to need a session beer because I just can't help but have a drink in my hand.

One thing I'm finding, however, is that reducing the ABV of a beer by a percent or so can really make it more drinkable. I went through four pints of 4.2 % Pale ale over the course of dinner yesterday in what seemed like the blink of an eye. I had to really hold myself back with a 4.2 % beer! Man, that is the most drinkable beverage next to water, but still with a great flavor.

I sometimes brew big beers simply for the challenge. I believe that it's very possible to brew great beer at 3.0 % ABV or 13 % ABV, but both present unique challenges that I find rewarding.

carp said:

I agree, but I despair whether its possible. I'm quite new at this sport, and my third batch was (actually still is) an 'SNPA-lite' at 3.9% abv and mid 30s IBU. Its still sort of young, but tastes okay, EXCEPT that its just too light and wimpy.

Click to expand...

I'm of the opinion that it is possible, but you really have to change your brewing practices for smaller beers. I mash higher with small beers, as is often cited on HBT, but I think the real key is in fermentation. Small beers sometimes seem light and wimpy even with a high mash temp because the yeast don't grow much, which is the phase during which wort really starts tasting like beer.

To counter this, I generally pitch less yeast for small beers, even 10% less than the "recommended" dosage, and I ferment at a slightly higher temp.

I usually have one to three session beers below 6%, and one to two high ABV brews on tap.
I like the selection, and getting drunk is never the goal.

What about FBV (fart by volume) Forget the morning hangover, Just release me from the 30 second rip of air my wife yells at me for ha-ha-ha. At least it's not toxic Perhaps this belongs on the Global impact thread for homebrewers, my carbon footprint is going to require me to purchase additional tax credits. Just how much hot air is escaping the white house though? Bastads!!! :/

One thing I found interesting was at austin homebrew's website when you order a kit you can get extract that will 'add 1% abv" with little flavor affects. So clearly they believe their customers care, otherwise why would they have it?