What is your ideal ABV?

[dfhar]

5.

 

[urbanmyth]

Most of what I brew are English session ales, which I usually try to have fall between 3.2% and 3.8% ABV. Quality malts and knowing how to use them compensate for the low gravities, flavor wise.

 

[urbanmyth]

Most of what I brew are English session ales, which I usually try to have fall between 3.2% and 3.8% ABV. Quality malts and knowing how to use them compensate for the low gravities, flavor wise.

Also, subtle malt complexities are more enjoyable to me than getting knocked in the face by IBUs and high ABVs

 

[aprichman]

Most of the recipes I'm planning to brew in the near future are around 5%. So far I've brewed everything from 3.8% - 7% beers.

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

7% is the sweet spot

 

[mkyl428]

I like 5-6.5% but I can still appreciate a good 4% beer I live in Oklahoma & here you can only get 4% beer at gas stations & grocery stores, you have to go to a liquor store to get higher abv beers and you have to buy them warm... it sucks they don't allow breweries to self distribute to liquor stores (which are also closed on Sundays), so local breweries have started producing some lower gravity 4% beers so they can self distribute & be more widely available.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Most of what I brew are English session ales, which I usually try to have fall between 3.2% and 3.8% ABV. Quality malts and knowing how to use them compensate for the low gravities, flavor wise.

Truth bomb, right there.

Also, subtle malt complexities are more enjoyable to me than getting knocked in the face by IBUs and high ABVs

As mentioned earlier, subtlety and nuance are not in the normal lexicon of the average craft consumer, and even many a homebrewer.

 

[dfhar]

Agreed, and it's a shame really.

Extremely strong hop, alcohol, roasted malt, weird ingredient, etc flavors are a lot like listening to ear-bleedingly loud rock music. Fun sometimes, but at those volumes you're a lot less sensitive to subtle sounds. There's a reason symphony orchestras don't play that loud. You'd never be able to hear the complexity in the music. Another analogy might be a chef who insists on wrapping bacon around every single piece of food they cook.

Helles, Marzen, Bohemian Pilsner, English milds/bitters etc., when properly brewed, have a particular kind of complexity and depth to their character that IPAs and imperial stouts can't hope to match.

 

[Wolfbayte]

4.85642

 

[podz]

My ideal abv is around a 6%

What is yours?

Depends on the serving size. I don't like high ABV beer too much: 7-8% is the limit for me.

I vote with my wallet and simply refuse to buy any beer that is less than 4.2% ABV. I refuse to pay beer prices for water.

95% of the time, when drinking commercial beer, I buy 500ml bottles or cans. With that size, from 4.5-4.7% ABV is good for me - I can drink 1 per hour without noticeable impairment.

When making my own beer, I usually target between 5.5 and 5.8% ABV, though it depends on the style.

 

[Backslide]

Life and mood varies as does my taste in ABV% 4-10% is ideal