Who is in the 3-5% ABV Club???

[m00ps]

I'm with the first 2 posters. When I started brewing, I noticed about 90% of my favorite beers hovered around 6-8%. So most of mine are around 7% unless I'm trying to design to a specific abv for style or something

 

[nutty_gnome]

I am moving to the session ale category. I have been so happy with the quick turnaround of british milds. I have been turning around wonderful milds in under 10 days from pitch to the first pint from the keg. I still like big beers, but the speed that session ales become ready to drink is fantastic! If you use the right yeast, at the right volume and temp... british mild ales can be very very rewarding as well as inexpensive!

 

[brew_ny]

I am moving do the session ale category. I have been so happy with the quick turnaround of british milds. I have been turning around wonderful milds in under 10 days from pitch to the first pint from the keg. I still like big beers, but the speed that session ales become ready to drink is fantastic! If you use the right yeast, at the right volume and temp... british mild ales can be very very rewarding as well as inexpensive!

I did a British mild 11-06 pulled the first pint on 11-14 and it was absolutely perfect

I have brewed it four time now and this recipe for me will me my house mild

I do a cream ale that is 4.0 % that I try to keep on tap all the time

but I too still brew big beers as I like them also

but the lower ABV is nice as stated to have a beer with lunch and still go back to the task at hand

all the best

S_M

 

[Dolomieu]

For those looking for a lower abv IPA there is a good recipe on here called purring kitten. I have some version on tap for my wife at all times.

 

[mikeasu]

Did my first repeat recipe, a nice English Mild - modifying the grain bill slightly, swapped out .25lb of brown malt for .25 roasted barley for a darker verson. Should come in at 3.9-4.2% ABV. My wife loved the previous incarnation. Being petite, she really appreciates a good flavorful session ale which won't knock her out. A 7% beer, she'll either nurse it for the evening, or will have 8-10 oz (one of my favorite things about draft, the ability to have less than a bottle or pint at a time). Point being, session beers will certainly have their place with us!

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I can easily put away 4-5 in an evening just because I love the flavor, but don't want to get lit up, so I tend to stick to 4%. Sure, an IIPA is great sometimes, but a full keg of that takes longer to drink and starts to lose it's punch. Making beers that kick like a white tail deer instead of a Clydesdale means I can finish the keg while it's still in its prime.

 

[riderkb]

I am in the club. Some day I'm going to be the president.

3.7 to 4.7 ABV is where most of my recent beers have been. Two to three pints a day is just right.

I have a Kolsch/Zeus SMaSH on tap now that is 3.9 or so. That malt is really tasty. No need for specialty grains at all.

 

[YoBombel]

Count me in.

I brewed and loved and drank 1.040 dry stouts, 1.032 grodziskie and 1.032 juniper bitter.

Looking back to my 20 most recent brews I've gone over 6% abv once, so guess I like to pee a lot.

I have no plans to change (5 upcoming batches won't get over 6% as well) and only three heavier beer styles are on my "to do" list (wheat wine, ris and baltic porter), everything else is gonna be session beers.


The thing is, here in Poland our typical mass lagers rarely go lower than 5% abv, so having an ability to brew lower % beers with so much flavor is something absolutely great.

 

[B17Heavy]

Liking the thread here. I'm enjoying a Cream of Three Crops that finished around 4.2% for me. First batch finished at 3 and was very refreshing, a true lawn mower beer. I upped the grain bill for a little more oomph and was again very pleased with the results. I'm sitting on a Pumpkin Lager that should finish just under 5. Eagerly awaiting the results.

Remember that youth and exuberance are no match for age and treachery!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[biochemedic]

I restrained myself from adding additional honey to my cider this year...still comes in at 6.5% just from the raw cider, and I can tell you, after resting, stabilizing, and spicing/backsweetening, this is one of the best ciders I've made. I think that in some ways it's easier to make a tasty brew (with good fermentation practices) at a lower ABV... Further to one of the previous comments that there is some talent/technique involved in making a higher ABV brew taste good (let alone be drinkable).

I still like me a good DIPA or barleywine, and I'm drinking a Mad Elf as I type, but I too am cutting back on the ABV of much of what I brew and put on tap for my (and friends) routine consumption. I have brewed a lot of SMaSHes over the past couple years, and the average ABV is around 6%... Earlier in my homebrewing, I would say it was probably closer to 7.5% or higher...

 

[Steadfast707]

I did a British mild 11-06 pulled the first pint on 11-14 and it was absolutely perfect

I have brewed it four time now and this recipe for me will me my house mild

I do a cream ale that is 4.0 % that I try to keep on tap all the time

but I too still brew big beers as I like them also

but the lower ABV is nice as stated to have a beer with lunch and still go back to the task at hand

all the best

S_M

Any chance that you would share those two recipes?

 

[xcnxgh]

Right there with ya! I love a big RIS or DIPA but I'm good for 1-2 of those beers. I love those APAs that are around 5-6% but have the hop character of an IPA. Those are my jam!

 

[muels]

I can honestly say I never even consider abv when brewing. I brew whatever I have a taste for. They mostly end up in the 4-6% range. In the last 3 weeks I've brewed a stout, a special bitters and a blonde. I guess I prefer lighter beers and didn't realize it!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[MerlinWerks]

I did a British mild 11-06 pulled the first pint on 11-14 and it was absolutely perfect

I have brewed it four time now and this recipe for me will me my house mild

I do a cream ale that is 4.0 % that I try to keep on tap all the time

but I too still brew big beers as I like them also

but the lower ABV is nice as stated to have a beer with lunch and still go back to the task at hand

all the best

S_M

Any chance that you would share those two recipes?

If you get a chance and want to share I wouldn't mind trying these as well.

 

[Owly055]

I just cracked the first bottle of a Mosaic Pale Ale that comes in slightly under 5%.......... It's a wonderfully refreshing single hop beer with a delicate and complex flavor. In a 2.5 gallon brew, I used 4 pounds of 2 row, and half a pound of Munich 20, and an ounce of Mosaic split between 15 minutes and 1 minute.... essentially a whirlpool hop. It's light, crisp, and refreshing. I've frequently used mosaic in very low gravity beers. This has an IBU of around 30......a "lawnmower beer".

The Mosaic Rye Wit (2.25% abv) was my first Mosaic beer, and one of the few I've ever made from a recipe, and probably the cheapest beer I've ever made with 1.5 pounds of wheat and a half pound of rye in a 2.5 gallon brew........ You could drink it all day long and drown before you got a buzz.

H.W.