ABV - Where do you draw the line?

Depends on the style to some degree, I couldn't see a 15% DIPA making it as an example. Hopslam at 10% hides it well though, maybe the max. Better at 8% like most big dipas. Stouts are different , big stouts like Uncle Jacobs, BT and the like are well done, no doubt the alcohol creeps in, but they're well done, never had a higher Abv brew. Bcbs at 15% IMO sets the standard for ba stouts, but that's me, I've had sub 10 brews that are terrific. I suppose there should be no absolute limits, if it's good it will work if it doesn't then It won't sell.

 

15% is where I'll draw the line. I don't see the point in drinking anything higher than that because the last couple I had were both boozy beyond what I am willing to tolerate. Plus at 15%, I can still include all BOMB! and Noir variants, as well as a few other select Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.

 

No limit whatsoever.

I mean come on, I tried this "65% ABV" monster: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30178/89801/

 

I really enjoy high ABV beers like Parabola, Sucaba, and other beers of this style. It's not so much the high ABV I like it's the quality that is truly enjoyable.

 

No, not at all. Anyone who has had a Mocha Wednesday or a Grey Monday can attest to the incredible potential of extremely high ABV beers.

 

No limit sir

 

ABV doesn't come into consideration when buying bottles at all. I've had great beers from 3% all the way up to 19%. The only time I care about ABV is when I'm actually drinking the beer, and that's so I can gauge my consumption.

 

To me Beer turns into Malt liquor above 10-11%.

 

The actual ABV of a particular beer has no real relevance to me. If it's masked well, that's all that matters. You can have a 12% beer that has it well hidden or an 8% beer that is nothing but alcohol heat. It's the quality of the beer that matters, not the ABV number.

 

All beer is malt liquor by definition.
Back to the OP , high ABV beers have been for "special occasion only" and are ideally suited for the purpose; personally if I feel like a 15% ABV drink I tend to raid my cellar for a Chateauneuf du Pape instead. For this is beer on the periphery , the very essence of beer is to be drunk rather than sipped.If I'm to treat beer as beer rather than as surrogate wine then it's off to the pub for a few pints of sensible strength stuff.

 

Whiskey distilled from beer is amazing.

 

the only limit I put on is high ABV. IPA's. I will try them but I usually don't repeat. some hold the booze well, most do not.

ie. high res.

 

I prefer like so many IPA's/DIPA's,so ABV isn't an issue. If I have a bomber that's high like a Mirror Mirror, I'll drink it like a bottle of wine. I don't drink good beer just to get messed up, but the buzz is kind of cool too especially when it's Saturday and you can sleep in on Sunday..

 

DFH120 is malt liquor, and if you are drinking for the buzz you need look no further..

 

I tend to buy new beers based on other's suggestions and favorites based on experience.

I never buy/choose a beer based on it's ABV, high or low. Many times I will get a new sixer back to the house and "go over the label". Most of the beers are naturally higher in the ABV because of the styles I enjoy...DIPA, Barleywine, big stouts?

I will also drink session beers when spending an afternoon playing outside...but even with them I never look at the ABV on the bottle or can until after I get home and do my "home inspection". If it says "session" on the packaging I'm pretty sure it will be safe to kill a sixer over an afternoon and if it has been suggested on BA as a good choice, I'm confident that it will be enjoyable.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is that I don't buy my beers based on ABV at all...I buy them to drink and that is based on taste? Some will be high and some will be low...depends on the day, what time of day and what bottle I grab out of the beer fridge at any given moment.

Above 57md said "The only beers that I have had with higher ABVs are WWS and DFH120 - both of which I think suffer from the extremely high ABV.".......I look at it completely different, I think DFH120 is a gorgeous rich beer worth spending two hours slowly sipping. I try not to compare different style but rather look at them in their own spectrum. At 18% ABV it is unfair to compare DFH120 to something in an 8% area...they are purposely crafted as two different animals and should be viewed that way? Just as a 4% would be in it's own classification?

 

Same, my wife and I received a bottle as a wedding present that we sip on once in a while. That said, I typically prefer beers under 8%, or ones that hide the alcohol. Some of the Imperial Stouts and Quads I've had recently do this very well.

 

I would never limit myself, but:

1. I prefer lower ABV beers generally, and if I were to put together a top 20, I'm certain that with one or two notable exceptions, most would be single digit ABV.

2. I've never had a beer over 15% that I've truly enjoyed. Won't stop me from trying more though.

 

No limit....
Curieux +11%
Simtra+ 11%
Parabola +13%
Chocolate rain +18%...give any of these a try, and get back to me how good they are..

 

My experiences with World Wide have been mostly positive. Its a hotter beer but I still found it palatable, unlike any of my experiences with 120 minute. I have had only the finest of experiences with Firestone Walker Barrel Aged (Parabola, Double DBA, Sucuba, 17TH anniversary). Aventinus Eisbock is a regular fave that is great to taste vertically. I think that 12 to 13% range is the perfect range for me though I don't mind stepping out of my comfort zone.

Recently had Carton Boat Beer (4.2%, I think) for the first time. By far the best "session" ale that I have tried to date.

 

It really just depends on where the line is at the time and if I'm feeling like crossing it.