60% ABV beer

[hudsonj6]

I was reading in the paper today that a dutch brewer has made a beer called start the future thats 60% ABV. How is this even possible??

 

[cheezydemon3]

Distillation or freezing.

 

[JNye]

congratulations he made the news. I've only been in the hobby 4 months and this is getting old already. no offense to the OP.

 

[DrinkinSurfer]

Brew Dog was using freeze distillation on there super high ABVer. I have fundamental issues with distilling beer. Non-distilled malt beverages can be beer. Distilling them results in things like whiskey(or whisky depending on where you are from). So calling it beer seems pretty ridiculous. Just to be clear, I am not saying if you brew, lets say an IPA, and you distill it you get whiskey. All I am saying is it surely is no longer truly beer.

 

[Retarded_Penguin_Brewing]

technically by freezing the beer it's not considered distillation. distillation by definition is the process of seperation through boiling. hopefully this ends soon, I'm with JNye, I'm tired of hearing about this highest abv war. it's a practice for certain styles like an eisbock, but the shock value thing is getting old.

 

[lumpher]

i guess if you froze it enough you could get in excess of 170 proof, but why? i like beer; it makes me a jolly good fellow

 

[tomlivings]

technically by freezing the beer it's not considered distillation. distillation by definition is the process of seperation through boiling. hopefully this ends soon, I'm with JNye, I'm tired of hearing about this highest abv war. it's a practice for certain styles like an eisbock, but the shock value thing is getting old.

Maybe getting old, but Ive still never tried one...and Id really like to! Variety is the spice of life and both ends of the spectrum should enjoy their day in the sun. Its not often a 3% session beer makes the news....but that's because its unremarkable. Bigger is not better, but bigger is more newsworthy, just the way it is.

Its funny, Im new on this forum, but there are so many parallels to my usual forum hangout: www.cgarchitect.com The big question there right now is similar to this, they are discussing whether digital building rendering is 'art'. Here the question is whether distilled beer is still beer. Im sure both questions have been knocking around for quite some time....

 

[SumnerH]

technically by freezing the beer it's not considered distillation. distillation by definition is the process of seperation through boiling.

Freeze distillation is definitely a form of distillation (it's also know as fractional distillation).

Legally there may be some silly distinction, but as far as what's historically meant there isn't--distillation just means any method of concentration.

 

[Retarded_Penguin_Brewing]

Freeze distillation is definitely a form of distillation (it's also know as fractional distillation).

Legally there may be some silly distinction, but as far as what's historically meant there isn't--distillation just means any method of concentration.

okay, I'll submit, I didn't wiki far enough to see that, but you are correct. and yes there probly is some weird distinction between the two methods, but for this discussion I don't feel like sifting through a law book.