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

[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.

 

[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...