Sweetness in high alcohol beers

[Easterbrook]

Is there a direct connection between high ABV and the sweetness of the finished/fermented beer?

For example, the higher ABV commercial beers I've had, such as Dogfish Head 120 Minute, Dogfish Head Fort, and various high ABV barely wines, strong ales and stouts (like 14% ABV+), have tasted sickly sweet to me.

I ask because I sometimes see recipes for really high gravity beers that look interesting to me, but I don't want my finished beer to be sickly sweet. I realize you need the sugars for the yeast to convert into alcohol, but in the commercial beers I listed above, it seems like there's still a ton of sugar left after fermentation is complete.

Is that just the nature of high ABV beers? Should I expect anything in the 12%+ ABV range to taste really sweet? Is it the alcohol that I'm perceiving as being sweet?

 

[unionrdr]

It's not the alcohol,it's all the malt used to make it. With all that ABV,you need it to smooth out the alcohol burn you'd get if it was drier.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

It's not the alcohol,it's all the malt used to make it. With all that ABV,you need it to smooth out the alcohol burn you'd get if it was drier.

that about sums it up. many brewers try to leave some residual malt sweetness in high ABV beers to keep them balanced. imagine how hot and astringent something like a barleywine would be if it had a low FG like a pale ale. yark!

 

[Easterbrook]

I didn't think of it as being intentional, but that makes sense. Thanks.

I imagine it's a matter of the brewer arranging things so that as the yeast die off because of the high ABV, that there is still sweetness left in the malt.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I imagine it's a matter of the brewer arranging things so that as the yeast die off because of the high ABV, that there is still sweetness left in the malt.

it's more so that a brewer will mash in a way that leaves some unfermentables in the wort and possibly use a less attenuative yeast to leave some sweetness in the finished beer. i brewed a RIS yesterday, OG 1.097. i mashed at 154 to produce more unfermentable sugars, added malodextrin (unfermentable), and am using a yeast with a middle of the road level of attenuation. the goal is to hit an FG of 1.022-23 to leave enough sweetness to cover up the 9+% abv.

 

[unionrdr]

Every 7-10 days or so,I hit reply & get booted,or when changing pages. WTF???
Anyway,it's not about making the yeast die on cue. But how many un-fermentable long chain sugars are created from higher mash temps. Dito when they make darker extract malts.

 

[Easterbrook]

Ok, thanks for the explanation. Think I'll try brewing a few more lower gravity beers before going bigger.

 

[saintdog327]

As others have mentioned, the sweet taste you're noticing is a consequence of using large quantities of malts - which are inherently sweet - during the brewing / fermenting process. Sometimes these sweet after tastes are apparent due to miscalculations in beer production, especially on the home-brewing level. When individuals are creating high-gravity beers like an 120-minute clone, the recipe calls for so much malt sometimes the brewer doesn't leave it in the fermenter for enough time, meaning the yeast can not eat these excess sugars.

 

[unionrdr]

As others have mentioned, the sweet taste you're noticing is a consequence of using large quantities of malts - which are inherently sweet - during the brewing / fermenting process. Sometimes these sweet after tastes are apparent due to miscalculations in beer production, especially on the home-brewing level. When individuals are creating high-gravity beers like an 120-minute clone, the recipe calls for so much malt sometimes the brewer doesn't leave it in the fermenter for enough time, meaning the yeast can not eat these excess sugars.

I disagree. A large amount of malts are used to get the high ABV,but also with more un-fermentable sugars for flavor & color. Then use a yeast that attenuates the fermentable sugars,leaving the long chain sugars behind.
The problem with home brewers comes in with pitching the correct amount of yeast. And maintaining good temps,possibly raising them a little after initial fermentation to get it to finish at the desired FG range.