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

[ubnserved]

Hey I'm a d!ck, so I don't want people hanging around too long, So all the better if they can't handle the beer. I see a bunch of you using age as an excuse to make lower abv beers I don't want to get so old that I have to use age as an excuse for anything. If I do get that old (47 now) I will make sure the next accident I have will end all the screwing around and leave the beer recipes to my oldest kid. I get the whole want a good beer that I can drink for hours thing I did that in my 20's now days I'm way too busy for that. Can't retire early if you spend hours on end drinking beer. A pint or 2 of my beer and it's nap time or past time to get busy doing something.

 

[GenIke]

I'm in the club. I'm drinking a glass Cream of Three Crops and watching football now.

 

[JPrather]

Don't like drinking for hours on end except when we are sitting around playing cards which is only a couple of times a year. I like my beers big and have pushed a few over 10% and one over 12%. My thoughts on the subject and many others. ... "Go big or go home and put on your diaper" if you can't handle a few of my beers then you probably shouldn't be drinking. That being said I have made a beer or two in the sub 5.5 range and was able to satisfy the people who like to spend their time peeing.

If you chose beer as your primary alcoholic beverage because you want to get drunk quickly, you're doing it wrong.

Unless, of course, your real motivation is simply to stroke your ego over one of the most ridiculous possible things to have an ego about, in which case you seem to be doing it just right.

 

[70ls1nova]

I don't think I've made a beer under 6% since I switched to all grain. I like a nice big, full bodied high abv beer. I am over 50 and put weight on much easier so I don't need the calories or the feeling of a full belly from pounding 4 5 or 6 beers. I have one, two at the most and I'm good. Even when at the bar, I'll order the bigger abv beer to just have one or two and save on the calories. Plus, I'm 6'4" and 295, so i need the bigger beers to get a buzz. The lower abv beers just seem to fill me up.

 

[AndytheBeave]

Don't like drinking for hours on end except when we are sitting around playing cards which is only a couple of times a year. I like my beers big and have pushed a few over 10% and one over 12%. My thoughts on the subject and many others. ... "Go big or go home and put on your diaper" if you can't handle a few of my beers then you probably shouldn't be drinking. That being said I have made a beer or two in the sub 5.5 range and was able to satisfy the people who like to spend their time peeing.

*pounds chest*

 

[hbhudy]

Hey I'm a d!ck, so I don't want people hanging around too long, So all the better if they can't handle the beer. I see a bunch of you using age as an excuse to make lower abv beers I don't want to get so old that I have to use age as an excuse for anything. If I do get that old (47 now) I will make sure the next accident I have will end all the screwing around and leave the beer recipes to my oldest kid. I get the whole want a good beer that I can drink for hours thing I did that in my 20's now days I'm way too busy for that. Can't retire early if you spend hours on end drinking beer. A pint or 2 of my beer and it's nap time or past time to get busy doing something.

Glad to hear you can still run with the pack, but I will stay on the porch with my lower ABV beers.. To each their own, and this is why we get to enjoy this pastime..
Brew it, drink it, make more..

 

[azscoob]

I make a vast range of beers from my 12% barrel aged wee heavy and 9% Hefeweizen down to my Reapers Mild and my Bitter Brit Ordinary Bitter.
I find myself reaching for the low gravity ales because my three year old keeps me busy, and I'm not looking to get fall down drunk, just want to quench a thirst and keep on with whatever I'm puttering with.

 

[azscoob]

As for using age as an excuse, it's not that I'm old, just too busy for a beer induced nap or whatnot, I'm up at 5:15am heading off to work as a master mechanic,then heading home at 5pm to be a dad, and when he goes to sleep I'm out in the garage rebuilding transmissions, building race engines, or fabbing a custom turbo system for a customer until 1 or 2am. If I had a couple big beers I might not finish what I need done that night. Or worse I screw something up or forget to torque a rod bolt...
When I have a free evening/weekend I do enjoy some big beers, it's just not that often that I get the time anymore.

 

[moreb33rplz]

I'm surprised that so many people do on or the other. Beer must be enjoyed in all of its beautiful forms.

 

[uncleleon]

Count me in! I like to get a belly full sometimes. I'm on a bitter kick now too. But I've still got a double IPA on tap.

 

[ubnserved]

The comments about diapers are incredibly offensive.......... It falls into the same category as using the N word or the C word or Q word, or the FP expression..... all of which I would print in full except for the tender sensibilities of our moderators.

The FBPC (Federal Bureau of Political Correctness) is also worth considering.... I really don't want my phone tapped and a dossier started ;-)............ NOTHING is so offensive to me as political correctness....NOTHING!!

Reduced alcohol tolerance is a medical condition just like alcoholism is a medical condition. It's not something to be ashamed of or hide in the closet. Your ability to down vast amounts of ethanol and remain upright may be a matter of pride to you obviously.... but it is in fact a rather hollow accomplishment. It falls into the same category as being proud of being born white! I don't know about you, but I didn't have any say in the matter.

Reduced alcohol tolerance can have serious consequences, both social and sexual, but it is NOT taken seriously by the medical community......... Just imagine going to your doctor and asking for treatment for this problem!! I live in a VERY small town. I can just imagine the nurses trying to maintain a straight face while dealing with me, and the explosion of laughter as I walked out the door!! Soon every single woman in town would know I was a "lightweight"............. That could be a real liability.


H.W.

Hey I said nothing about being a lightweight and did not mean to offend you if you have to wear diapers but I also don't really care. My point was that I don't spend hours sitting around drinking, don't have time for it. I also don't get s#!+faced don't have time for that either. Well I do right now but I don't do it. As for political correctness, I don't care, too many people hide behind that so they don't have to hear the truth. Too many people are too afraid of offending someone that they no longer speak the truth. I was not making fun of those that make light beers merely pointing out that I like to push the limits of my beer making. It is not easy to make a heavy beer that is drinkable. By the same token I am sure that it is not easy to make a light beer that doesn't taste like water. We all have our strengths and weaknesses my weakness is enjoying a wee heavy.

 

[AndytheBeave]

I'm surprised that so many people do on or the other. Beer must be enjoyed in all of its beautiful forms.

Beer must be enjoyed by however one enjoys it regardless of form without having to pull out the measuring stick....

 

[ubnserved]

I don't understand why you think that a heavy beer has to be drunk fast a proper glass and the right outdoor temperature sitting in front of the fire and my beer will easily last me an hour. No chest pounding and definitely not running with the big boys or whatever you said. I enjoy the beer or two that I do have and then move on to do other things. Now that my kids have moved out I don't have to worry about getting faced but I still don't. Just like making wine it takes skills to make sure that it doesn't taste like crap and my beer is usually 1/2 the abv of wine.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I usually stay between 5.5 and 7.
Just getting my pipeline back up after brewing for a wedding and starting my kegerator lineup.

Plan is 3 beers 1 cider
1 session (mild, pale/saison) 5.5 or less
1 brown/porter/stout
1 cider (apple, cherry, etc)
1 belgian (dubbel/tripple, golden strong etc)

 

[CJ1]

I don't think I've made a beer under 6% since I switched to all grain. I like a nice big, full bodied high abv beer. I am over 50 and put weight on much easier so I don't need the calories or the feeling of a full belly from pounding 4 5 or 6 beers. I have one, two at the most and I'm good. Even when at the bar, I'll order the bigger abv beer to just have one or two and save on the calories. Plus, I'm 6'4" and 295, so i need the bigger beers to get a buzz. The lower abv beers just seem to fill me up.

You seem unaware that most of the calories in beer are from the alcohol.

Here's a chart to help you estimate calories based on ABV.

 

[worlddivides]

Although I do enjoy big beers (as I said on page 1) and purchase quite a few commercial beers that fit into that category, I don't drink beer with the purpose of getting drunk.

Likewise, I don't brew beers with the purpose of making a beer that will get me drunk the fastest. If I just wanted to get drunk, I'd grab a 50% ABV whiskey from my liquor cabinet. A 9% ABV "big beer" is a "girl's drink" compared to a 65% ABV absinthe or a 55% ABV whiskey or a 96% ABV spirytus rektyfikowany luksusowy if you think that alcohol strength should be the gauge of what to drink.

I like beers as low as 3% and as high as 20%. I drink spirits and liqueurs that go as high as you can imagine. My favorite beers tend to be in the "typical beer range" around 5% or so.

But I brew beers primarily in the 4% to 6% range for the art and flavor. If all I cared about was the ABV, I wouldn't brew anything in the first place.

 

[AsgardNorth]

My goal is to make a tasty beer in the 2.0~3.0 ABV range. I love my beers in the 5-9% range, but when I have my son every other week, I still want to drink, but would prefer something with less of a hit. My first go was not bad, but lacked something. Batch two will happen soon in the 2.5 range.

 

[Dopeybrew]

I do a little of each.
Usually I have 1 big beer(currently a 12% Wee Heavy)
1 mid range beer(5-7% range currently a Double Chocolate Stout)
2 low end(anything under 5% currently an Irish Red and a standard Bitter)

I drink whatever Im in the mood for at the time. Some days its a shot or 2 of whiskey with a chaser of my Wee Heavy. Others its my DCS. If I have papers to grade its my low enders.

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

While I like exploring the beer landscape as well I do prefer a session beer over a bomb. I'll do those high ABV brews during a meal or special tasting, but for a "just got home from work beer" a lower AVB is good!

 

[hbhudy]

While I like exploring the beer landscape as well I do prefer a session beer over a bomb. I'll do those high ABV brews during a meal or special tasting, but for a "just got home from work beer" a lower AVB is good!

This is exactly how I look at the world as well.

 

[wobdee]

Once I hit 50 it was like turning off a switch. I went from brewing highly hopped IPA/IIPA's to malty 5% Lagers. I still have an occasional big beer out at the bar but prefer a nice clean balanced Pils.

 

[Owly055]

Hey I said nothing about being a lightweight and did not mean to offend you if you have to wear diapers but I also don't really care. My point was that I don't spend hours sitting around drinking, don't have time for it. I also don't get s#!+faced don't have time for that either. Well I do right now but I don't do it. As for political correctness, I don't care, too many people hide behind that so they don't have to hear the truth. Too many people are too afraid of offending someone that they no longer speak the truth. I was not making fun of those that make light beers merely pointing out that I like to push the limits of my beer making. It is not easy to make a heavy beer that is drinkable. By the same token I am sure that it is not easy to make a light beer that doesn't taste like water. We all have our strengths and weaknesses my weakness is enjoying a wee heavy.

I took your comment as a suggestion that those who prefer lower ABV beers belonged in diapers......either not "big boys" yet, or "over the hill"..... In other words "real men drink 12% beer"....... or something to that effect.

There are many of us who do NOT strive for the "drunken state", but who do enjoy beer, wine, whiskey, etc. That means moderation, which can come in the form of lower alcohol beers, or less beer.

I have trained my bartenders to cut me off at two beers for many years now, because the only decent brews available locally in my small town are quite high ABV, and I'd rather drink one of these than some garbage light beer that gives me no pleasure to drink. I also live 20 miles away from the nearest bar, grocery store, gas station, etc down a narrow two lane highway heavily populated by deer with a kamakazi streak. And then there is the matter of the law. The new BAC limits mean that most of us are probably over the limit when leaving the bar after only 2 micro brews.

I'm an advocate of responsible drinkery.....it just makes sense. I was young and stupid like everybody else, and drank too much too often........but I came through it unscathed. I've never been picked up by the law, never wrecked a vehicle, and never let alcohol take over my life. All around me I've watched people die in drunken car wrecks.... I don't have enough fingers to count all the friends I've lost that way.... and not many toes left. I've watched drunken brawls countless times...... I slip out the back door before the law shows up. I've seen countless marriages broken up as a result of alcohol. I still see young people trying to prove themselves by how much they can drink. I've also watched a number of friends die of lung cancer from a smoking habit they would not have taken up except that they liked to have a cigarette when drinking......... to be cool like their friends, and found they couldn't quit............. None of it is pretty.

Here in Montana, we the American Legion puts up crosses wherever people are killed on the highways. I can drive to town (20 miles), and tell you the story of most of the crosses........ who they represent, and what happened. The son of a friend of mine died a few miles from here, and his mother put up a small monument at the site, that she lays a wreath of fresh flowers on every year, and plastic flowers year round. Two drunken kids.... rolled a pickup on dead level straight highway with gentle shoulders. I drove through the middle of a cluster of ambulances and police cars that night as I came home from the bar....... two young men laying dead on the pavement. Both boys I knew well. I put walkway lights on either side of the monument as a reminder.

If I get hostile when my practice of moderation is ridiculed.......... it's NOT without good reason. I've watched the toll being paid year after year, often in blood and tears.

H.W.

 

[ubnserved]

I took your comment as a suggestion that those who prefer lower ABV beers belonged in diapers......either not "big boys" yet, or "over the hill"..... In other words "real men drink 12% beer"....... or something to that effect.

There are many of us who do NOT strive for the "drunken state", but who do enjoy beer, wine, whiskey, etc. That means moderation, which can come in the form of lower alcohol beers, or less beer.

I have trained my bartenders to cut me off at two beers for many years now, because the only decent brews available locally in my small town are quite high ABV, and I'd rather drink one of these than some garbage light beer that gives me no pleasure to drink. I also live 20 miles away from the nearest bar, grocery store, gas station, etc down a narrow two lane highway heavily populated by deer with a kamakazi streak. And then there is the matter of the law. The new BAC limits mean that most of us are probably over the limit when leaving the bar after only 2 micro brews.

I'm an advocate of responsible drinkery.....it just makes sense. I was young and stupid like everybody else, and drank too much too often........but I came through it unscathed. I've never been picked up by the law, never wrecked a vehicle, and never let alcohol take over my life. All around me I've watched people die in drunken car wrecks.... I don't have enough fingers to count all the friends I've lost that way.... and not many toes left. I've watched drunken brawls countless times...... I slip out the back door before the law shows up. I've seen countless marriages broken up as a result of alcohol. I still see young people trying to prove themselves by how much they can drink. I've also watched a number of friends die of lung cancer from a smoking habit they would not have taken up except that they liked to have a cigarette when drinking......... to be cool like their friends, and found they couldn't quit............. None of it is pretty.

Here in Montana, we the American Legion puts up crosses wherever people are killed on the highways. I can drive to town (20 miles), and tell you the story of most of the crosses........ who they represent, and what happened. The son of a friend of mine died a few miles from here, and his mother put up a small monument at the site, that she lays a wreath of fresh flowers on every year, and plastic flowers year round. Two drunken kids.... rolled a pickup on dead level straight highway with gentle shoulders. I drove through the middle of a cluster of ambulances and police cars that night as I came home from the bar....... two young men laying dead on the pavement. Both boys I knew well. I put walkway lights on either side of the monument as a reminder.

If I get hostile when my practice of moderation is ridiculed.......... it's NOT without good reason. I've watched the toll being paid year after year, often in blood and tears.

H.W.

I guess I should have worded my quote a little better the quote actually comes from a time when I use to sell and modify trucks and jeeps at my shop. I guess it has just carried over into most things that I do except for actually drinking. Since I was in an accident in June I haven't brewed, not enough stamina and these days I can barely drink 2 beers of the lower abv variety anyway. My oldest son is on leave and has to go back on thanksgiving so we are going to try to brew while he is in town. One of the few light abv brews I have ever done was a scotch ale so we will probably do something like that, especially since I can't handle anything stronger anyway plus he is coming back for the new year also before he deploys overseas again. It will be his first time brewing and hopefully it will be ready for his trip back here in January.
Sorry you have known so many that didn't know when to say when, I have been fortunate in that respect I guess I only know one person that has gotten a dui and he was 18 or 19 at the time, 25 years ago or so. Learned the lesson by hitting a stopped cop car writing a ticket to someone. I guess the flashing lights didn't get his attention. Fortunately no one was hurt and he learned his lesson.

 

[Owly055]

I guess I should have worded my quote a little better the quote actually comes from a time when I use to sell and modify trucks and jeeps at my shop. I guess it has just carried over into most things that I do except for actually drinking. Since I was in an accident in June I haven't brewed, not enough stamina and these days I can barely drink 2 beers of the lower abv variety anyway. My oldest son is on leave and has to go back on thanksgiving so we are going to try to brew while he is in town. One of the few light abv brews I have ever done was a scotch ale so we will probably do something like that, especially since I can't handle anything stronger anyway plus he is coming back for the new year also before he deploys overseas again. It will be his first time brewing and hopefully it will be ready for his trip back here in January.
Sorry you have known so many that didn't know when to say when, I have been fortunate in that respect I guess I only know one person that has gotten a dui and he was 18 or 19 at the time, 25 years ago or so. Learned the lesson by hitting a stopped cop car writing a ticket to someone. I guess the flashing lights didn't get his attention. Fortunately no one was hurt and he learned his lesson.[/QUOTE

I over reacted I guess........ comes from being ridiculed for quitting at 2 beers over the years by young tough guys, many of whom have more than one DUI to their names, and several of whom are "pushing up daisies" now. The single car roll over is the classic Montana traffic fatality. I've lost two friends just this year! Neither of them close friends, but people I knew and liked and associated with. Both younger than me, and both left grieving families behind. I've tried to promote moderation mostly by example........ and succeeded in a number of cases, but not nearly enough. I would like to see the drinking culture change.
Work related accident? It often takes a LONG time to get back to normal after the anesthesia they give you during surgery... years in some cases. The drugs take more out of you than the injury in many cases. Hope you get better...... patience is often what it takes. I've hurt myself many times....... not seriously......... I've had issues that took years to work themselves out. Around here the "horse wreck" seems to be knocking people out of commission on a regular basis. Ranch country. I don't ride anymore..... I've burned through 8 lives on horseback..... I know how to quit while I'm ahead.

A friend of mine who died a few years ago of old age had a real drinking problem. He was Sheriff in Jordan Montana (Garfield County Sheriff), and a cowboy from the top of his head to the heels of his boots.... a cowboy from cowboy stock of generations. He had a few too many drinks one night in Jordan, and the highway patrol pulled him over and gave him his 3rd DUI. He lost his driver's license as a result for 6 months, and spent that 6 months patrolling Garfield County on horseback......... To my knowledge Jordan is the only real town in Garfield County as far as I know..... the population of the county is less than 1300. But wait a minute.......... There's a punch line. He was re-elected and served another term as sheriff before he retired!



H.W.

 

[Weezy]

1.045 or less fo sho!

Getting ready to brew a 2.5% abbey table beer with Rochefort yeast.

Solidarity brothas!

 

[GHBWNY]

Don't like drinking for hours on end except when we are sitting around playing cards which is only a couple of times a year. I like my beers big and have pushed a few over 10% and one over 12%. My thoughts on the subject and many others. ... "Go big or go home and put on your diaper" if you can't handle a few of my beers then you probably shouldn't be drinking. That being said I have made a beer or two in the sub 5.5 range and was able to satisfy the people who like to spend their time peeing.

So, you're saying "real" men don't pee?

 

[MaxStout]

1.045 or less fo sho!

Getting ready to brew a 2.5% abbey table beer with Rochefort yeast.

Solidarity brothas!

Care to share your recipe for that? I've never brewed a patersbier, and that sounds intriguing. Sometimes I'd like to enjoy more than a couple Belgian beers in a row just to enjoy the flavor, and not fall out of my chair!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Care to share your recipe for that? I've never brewed a patersbier, and that sounds intriguing. Sometimes I'd like to enjoy more than a couple Belgian beers in a row just to enjoy the flavor, and not fall out of my chair!

This. Dunno if I'd go as low as 2.5 but a 3.5-6 sounds great!

 

[hopfool]

Here in Montana, we the American Legion puts up crosses wherever people are killed on the highways. ...

H.W.

Rusty nails taste irony.

The American Legions around here are best known for being the cheapest place in town for our older, fixed income, drunks to sit and soak in so-called "Domestic" swill. Don't recall ever seeing anybody leave there who wasn't past legal. Of course the same can be said for the majority of the crowd leaving any bar after a major sporting event, and by major I mean every game of the NFL season.

Whatever the name of your poison let's face it, given the latest lowered tolerance levels there aren't too many weekend warriors that are legal by the time they've finished blowing their rent trying to find Miss Right.

I don't do the bar scene at all for several reasons; I'm cheap, I refuse to drink swill (or pay pub prices for a decent real brew), and there are enough A-holes on the road that I need to be sober as a judge to be able to avoid all of the cell phone jabberin' monkeys and texters without a clue. We're lucky in that our neighbors all brew and or make wine, so there's always a party within walking distance... or we just stay home and drink. Why risk it?

... A friend of mine who died a few years ago of old age had a real drinking problem. He was Sheriff in Jordan Montana (Garfield County Sheriff), and a cowboy from the top of his head to the heels of his boots.... a cowboy from cowboy stock of generations. He had a few too many drinks one night in Jordan, and the highway patrol pulled him over and gave him his 3rd DUI. He lost his driver's license as a result for 6 months, and spent that 6 months patrolling Garfield County on horseback......... To my knowledge Jordan is the only real town in Garfield County as far as I know..... the population of the county is less than 1300. But wait a minute.......... There's a punch line. He was re-elected and served another term as sheriff before he retired!



H.W.

Out here in the Big Teat we call Washington D.C. (whence the milk of all our wealth being redistributed flows) they re-elect crack heads for Mayor and Feral legislators regularly play cocktail bumper cars, so the bar so to speak, has already been set about as low as it can go. One of our town commissioners gone by was said to have been relegated to a riding mower for transportation in recognition of his vehicular transgressions. Had a State legislator from Maryland who killed, or almost killed, someone driving his boat drunk in the middle of the day (he was a repeat offender). He actually had the balls to fight being tossed out of office. His rationale... that he wanted to stay due to all of the good that he could/would/had been doing?

As if I actually needed an excuse to stay home and drink.
___________________________

I'm retarded... er, ah... retired, kids all growed, sleep 'til I'm not tired, and pretty much tell the world to K.M.A. every day, so I drink what I want when I want for the most part, and after 30 years, da wife doesn't really care. At 57 I still enjoy big flavorful brews, and while not a barley wine lover, I do enjoy a few Imperial IPA's in a sitting. Don't know the weight but the other night just sitting and shooting the breeze with a bud two dozen bottles of Orval somehow mysteriously became empty. Didn't have to drive anywhere, just a few hundred yards from home, but I honestly didn't feel like we'd drunk all that much. Maybe my punishing of the evil liver has finally persuaded it to submit? I dunno?

Summertime I might switch over to Victory Prima Pils to keep me from falling off of the riding mower, but generally German wheat and IPA's are why I love drinking beer, and the 5+% Prima is about as low as I go. If I wanted a lower gravity beer I guess I could do like the macro imports. Just add water and call it a "Lite".


Yeah... I don't think so.

 

[ubnserved]

I guess I should have worded my quote a little better the quote actually comes from a time when I use to sell and modify trucks and jeeps at my shop. I guess it has just carried over into most things that I do except for actually drinking. Since I was in an accident in June I haven't brewed, not enough stamina and these days I can barely drink 2 beers of the lower abv variety anyway. My oldest son is on leave and has to go back on thanksgiving so we are going to try to brew while he is in town. One of the few light abv brews I have ever done was a scotch ale so we will probably do something like that, especially since I can't handle anything stronger anyway plus he is coming back for the new year also before he deploys overseas again. It will be his first time brewing and hopefully it will be ready for his trip back here in January.
Sorry you have known so many that didn't know when to say when, I have been fortunate in that respect I guess I only know one person that has gotten a dui and he was 18 or 19 at the time, 25 years ago or so. Learned the lesson by hitting a stopped cop car writing a ticket to someone. I guess the flashing lights didn't get his attention. Fortunately no one was hurt and he learned his lesson.[/QUOTE

I over reacted I guess........ comes from being ridiculed for quitting at 2 beers over the years by young tough guys, many of whom have more than one DUI to their names, and several of whom are "pushing up daisies" now. The single car roll over is the classic Montana traffic fatality. I've lost two friends just this year! Neither of them close friends, but people I knew and liked and associated with. Both younger than me, and both left grieving families behind. I've tried to promote moderation mostly by example........ and succeeded in a number of cases, but not nearly enough. I would like to see the drinking culture change.
Work related accident? It often takes a LONG time to get back to normal after the anesthesia they give you during surgery... years in some cases. The drugs take more out of you than the injury in many cases. Hope you get better...... patience is often what it takes. I've hurt myself many times....... not seriously......... I've had issues that took years to work themselves out. Around here the "horse wreck" seems to be knocking people out of commission on a regular basis. Ranch country. I don't ride anymore..... I've burned through 8 lives on horseback..... I know how to quit while I'm ahead.

A friend of mine who died a few years ago of old age had a real drinking problem. He was Sheriff in Jordan Montana (Garfield County Sheriff), and a cowboy from the top of his head to the heels of his boots.... a cowboy from cowboy stock of generations. He had a few too many drinks one night in Jordan, and the highway patrol pulled him over and gave him his 3rd DUI. He lost his driver's license as a result for 6 months, and spent that 6 months patrolling Garfield County on horseback......... To my knowledge Jordan is the only real town in Garfield County as far as I know..... the population of the county is less than 1300. But wait a minute.......... There's a punch line. He was re-elected and served another term as sheriff before he retired!



H.W.

Well I'm definitely not young anymore especially after this year. There is no reason big beers can't be enjoyed in moderation. They are better that way in my opinion any way. I like the comment about real men not peeing :cross:. I don't remember saying anything about real men or otherwise. But hey we are here to have fun and learn so if someone can come up with a recipe for a big tasting Belgian beer with an abv around 5 I am more than willing to give it a shot. Nneeds to be a tested recipe though I will only get one shot at this for the for the time being. I go to a rehabilitation hospital for a few weeks after thanksgiving and will not get any more chances to brew till after Christmas and maybe not then. Otherwise we will try doing one of my tried scotch ale recipes. I will have them work on my sense of humor while I am in the hospital. Everyone else lighten up this is funny s#!+! Can you imagine sending someone away to put on a diaper cause they didn't like your beer! big or not.

 

[hopfool]

Well I'm definitely not young anymore especially after this year. There is no reason big beers can't be enjoyed in moderation. They are better that way in my opinion any way. I like the comment about real men not peeing :cross:. I don't remember saying anything about real men or otherwise. But hey we are here to have fun and learn so if someone can come up with a recipe for a big tasting Belgian beer with an abv around 5 I am more than willing to give it a shot. Nneeds to be a tested recipe though I will only get one shot at this for the for the time being. I go to a rehabilitation hospital for a few weeks after thanksgiving and will not get any more chances to brew till after Christmas and maybe not then. Otherwise we will try doing one of my tried scotch ale recipes. I will have them work on my sense of humor while I am in the hospital. Everyone else lighten up this is funny s#!+! Can you imagine sending someone away to put on a diaper cause they didn't like your beer! big or not.

So you're going to rehab and need something to drink before and after? Doesn't that kinda make rehab a bit of a waste?


Just kiddin'. Hope all goes well. Hospitals suck! I might go again... but only if I can take beer.

 

[Weezy]

Care to share your recipe for that? I've never brewed a patersbier, and that sounds intriguing. Sometimes I'd like to enjoy more than a couple Belgian beers in a row just to enjoy the flavor, and not fall out of my chair!

This is a first attempt and it very well might take a couple rebrews before I'm happy enough to share the recipe. First run will be mostly pils, with some Munich, amber syrup, and caravienne. Low doses of tettnanger and Syrian Golding. It's a tug of war in my mind between wanting to keep it as simple as this beer likely, traditionally, was versus making sure there's enough in there for a 2.5% beer to be interesting. I'll be sure to report back.

 

[Hanglow]

I've made a few lower abv beers, I think golden ales are the easiest to get right . But by and large 90% of what I drink in the pub is less than 5%, cask conditioned ales, so for homebrewing I tend to brew around 6%-7% as they keep better in the bottle and I tend to drink much less at home.

I did an enkel that great -
60% MO 40% british munich
WLP530
20 IBUS
4%

 

[sputnam]

i'm just starting to get into lower abv. I want to drink homebrew on brew day (just seems like a must) but my usual 7%'ers are just too much. I have a 4% that's almost ready and a 3.5 in the ferm that i'm really looking forward to.

 

[Hello]

The smallest beer I've brewed was a 5.5% blonde. I really enjoyed it over summer and plan to brew it again shortly. It is not as though I'm opposed to smaller beers at all, but I do tend to hover around 6-8%. When i am out, it would be nice to have a great craft beer that is around 5%. When I am the driver or trying to take it easy, I am left with things like Fat Tire, which I don't hate, and Blue Moon. It is tough to find a smaller "sessionable" IPA or stout.

 

[ubnserved]

So you're going to rehab and need something to drink before and after? Doesn't that kinda make rehab a bit of a waste?


Just kiddin'. Hope all goes well. Hospitals suck! I might go again... but only if I can take beer.

Your telling me! One of my appointments yesterday (Dr office at hospital) was to take out the stitches (metal staples) out of my shoulder and test range of motion in it. Should have taken 5 minutes but I was there over an hour. Would be nice to have a beer after but wife is not letting me. The pain meds I was on the Dr said no beer also. But last week I quit taking those except to go to rehab for the shoulder, so beer here I come. The rehab next month is for the head injury. Wonder if they will let me take beer for after rehab I'm sure they won't be doing something with me 24 hours a day. That leaves me a lot of time to piss off people on HBT!
But back to lite beer I had a shock top the other day didn't finish it, fell asleep at this rate I may have to learn how to make lighter beers or give it up. It tasted like crappie anyway, some honey wheat thing. Tasted like they left the honeycomb in it. Waxy tasting. Wasn't too sad to pour it down the drain the next morning.

 

[westo2]

Add another one. I've only recently discovered the joy of low ABV beers/ciders. I now shoot for the 3.5-5% range much of the time. Especially nice on a weekend when I can have a beer with lunch, get back to whatever project I'm working on, sip another beer or two through the afternoon and not be falling asleep by dinner. I keep a cider on tap now that has no additional sugar or honey added at fermentation, so it works out right about 3.5%. Planning to brew up a mild and a session IPA here in a few weeks.

My ability to drink more than a few beers and not wake up with a raging hangover has disappeared over the last 2 years. Through college and into my late 20's - no problem. Now that I'm approaching mid 30's, any more than a couple higher ABV beers just lays me out the next morning. That's not to say that I don't keep higher abv beers around - there's generally a 6-8% IPA on tap, I've got a couple cases of barleywine and a batch of RIS ready to bottle - but I generally hold off on those for the weekend.

 

[brew_ny]

I do a mild brown beer that starts at an OG of 1.038 and finishes at a FG of 1.011-1.008

which gives me an ABV of 3.6 - 3.8 %

nice to be able to drink more then a few and enjoy them

all the best

S_M

 

[Orthobrewsky]

My current taps:

 

[GHBWNY]

I think most people like craft beer or brew their own because they covet and strive for a good tasting beer. When I was in Germany, we would go out to the local gasthaus. We'd each get a pint of this delicious, unpasteurized ale and it was not uncommon for our beers to sit on the table for 2hrs.+ while we'd talk and laugh, eat and have a good time. Maybe it was because we knew the beer --- unlike anything in the states we'd ever had --- would remain fresh and tasty and carbed all the way down to the last lacing, even as it warmed up. Like my homebrews do now.

If someone wants to drink beer just to get buzzed, they'll drink whatever and however much it takes to get there, be it several 4.5's or a couple 9.0's. For those whose quest is not the buzz, it may be a single 4.5 (or 2), or an 9.0 enjoyed over a longer period of time.