When it Comes to ABV, How Low Can We Go?

Ding ding ding!

 

Had a Berliner Weiss from Burn Em Brewery recently that is 3.6% ABV. Had good flavor still, but it did bring down my buzz so I had to catch back up.

 

Stuck in a scene of Double IPA this, Double IPA that, I definitely plan on drinking more "low" abv beers this summer. Living in the North East, where double IPA's make up 90% of beer sold at local breweries, it's time for more Gose's, sours, berliners etc. Don't get me wrong, double IPA is one of my favorite styles, but it's not good to keep drinking these 16oz 9% beers over and over. I must say, I recently picked up a 4 pack of Burial Ceremonial Session IPA, and at 4% abv, it may be one of the best "sessions" I've ever had.

 

Well Written and Spot on Sir. Thank You for your efforts to bring this to the forefront of our culture.

 

"Session connotes a longer drinking experience, but Americans are drinking less, for a variety of reasons. Americans tend to drink in shorter bursts, a beer or two with friends or co-workers or more likely, over a meal. Alcohol levels during these quick drinking episodes matter less, as opposed to having four or more beers during a night out. We don’t as a culture consume and share rounds as our European brethren do. We’re just not wired that way. We’re also a car culture."

Without fully understanding the context, I don't agree with this at all. By context, I mean is the author talking specifically about craft beer, and is "session" defined as 4% ABV or less?

If not, than I definitely don't agree with this premise. The best selling beer in American is Bud Light at 4.2% ABV. I also believe there's many occasions Americans session beer. Football Sundays (whether at the stadium or at home), watching any sporting event, afternoon/night long BBQs...Friday/Saturday night at a bar.

If anything, I think America has a problem with moderate drinking. There's two segments of beer drinkers I often see. Those that may have a few over the course of a week or a month, and those that binge drink. In Europe it's woven into their culture and viewed as more acceptable. This culture is taught at an early age too.

Even in the craft segment, the best selling beers are Sierra Nevada at 5.6% (5% on draft), and Boston Lager at 4.9% ABV. Admittedly, this is trending more towards IPAs, so this could change. Although, the author mentions All Day IPA which is Founders' best seller. And it's not like Founders is lacking in heavy hitters (KBS anyone?).

The rest of the article I agree with...the US craft scene lacking in flavorful lower ABV styles, more specifically English session ales and Pilsners. That being said, Pilsners appear to be on the rise, and not Imperial Pilsners.

 

I've been trending toward more sessionable beers as well. It can be hard to find low-ABV beers on tap or on the shelves, and when you do find them, it is often hard to justify spending the same amount of money on a six pack of a 3.5% beer as you would on a 7% one.

However, that's where it pays to be a homebrewer. The last two beers I brewed were an Amarillo and Citra dry hopped grisette that weighs in at 4.0% and a peach Berliner Weisse which comes in at a hefty 3.0% ABV. Both are packed with flavor, and crushable thirst quenchers. It's nice to bring a growler (stainless steel of course) to the pool and be able to drink these beers all afternoon.

 

Although I am more about quality than quantity or ABV, I do agree with you here to a point. I have to stick to my budget by necessity, and when I see two beers side by side and one is 3.5% while the other is 7%, if they are both of approximate cost, the economical side of me tends to choose the higher ABV brew, simply because I instinctively feel I will get more bang for my buck. Even though I am no longer pounding beers and trying to get hammered like I did many years ago in my younger days, pounding AAL, that frugal side makes it hard to get past this sometimes. I am no longer drinking to get drunk (altho a pleasant light buzz does not hurt after a long day at work) but there is still that part of my brain that instinctively tells me I am paying more for less.

You are right that it helps to be a homebrewer in this case. When I brew, I am focused on making a balanced, flavorful brew, and am not generally concerned about ABV. In fact, I only recently bought a hydrometer, because I had to order everything for my homebrew setup online, and lacking a brick and mortar store to go to, picking up a hydrometer was not a big priority, until I started shooting for more precision in my brewing practices.

 

I don't see anything wrong with the American beer drinking culture when compared to Europeans. It's just different. Craft beer styles have evolved organically over the years. Brewers make beer that they themselves love and hope it sells. If it doesn't then they scale it back or stop making it, and try other things they like and hope they can sell. Occasionally they hit on something new, special, and fantastic. Beer geeks start loving it, write about on places like Beer Advocate, and then others start to seek it out. The more the word gets out, the more people want it. Then another brewer tries it and thinks they can make a better one, and maybe they do. We've seen this time and again with beer styles that become popular. If low alcohol beer becomes the "thing" (in whatever style it takes) it will be because somebody made something great, we love it and want more, and other brewers see the writing on the wall.

 

I think it depends on what part of America you live in. Some parts of this country have a great regional beer drinking culture. Here in West Virginia its pretty bad, even though it is getting better. A lot of people here are either teetotalers and think anything with alcohol in it is "the cup of devils" or you have a lot of people on other end of the spectrum who are binge drinkers/alcoholics (and they tend to care more about quantity than quality). Its gotten better as craft has gained more of a footprint in the population centers of the state, but in the small, isolated communities like the one I live in, this is still kinda the status quo.

So in this regard, I definitely wish the drinking culture of my regional subculture was more like Europe.

 

*Cough* Notch Brewing *Cough*

 

Yes! The English mild (dark or pale) is just sitting there waiting to be exploited. I expect brewers to start cooking it up any day now.

@TongoRad sent me a Yard's Brawler Pugilist (4.2% ABV) a couple years ago or so for an NBS BIF, and out of that entire box of goodies, that English dark mild sticks out more than any other. And I liked ALL those beers, especially Neshimany's pilsener.

 

Yards Brawler is a first rate brew.

 

Glad to see Yards Brawler getting some love here. Easily my favorite low ABV beer. When I suggest something for non-craft drinker to try this is one of my go to options. People are amazed at how a beer can be dark in color have plenty of flavor and yet be low ABV and highly drinkable.

 

Over the last year or two my stomach has been getting more sensitive with regards to consuming large quantities of things. I can hardly have even one beer with dinner without getting upset stomach. I would rather have one or two higher alcohol beers than 3-5 low alcohol beers.

 

The really cool thing about Brawler isn't that they went and made a Dark Mild in this day and age, nor is it that they pulled it off so well- it's that it managed to build a following, and is still one of their most popular beers.

 

I'm only 22 and I'm not big on alcohol. I drink beer because it's tasty and fun and complex. I keep it at 8% or less. I would love a low ABV beer that I can forget about that doesn't taste like crap.

 

Founders All Day IPA sells so well because of the marketing, packaging and economy of scale good pricing. One of the major deterants of low ABV session craft is that its not a good bang for the buck. I don't want to slug down 3 low beers in an hour and be $10 poorer. Might as well by a 30pack of a BMC product.

Anyway, that is why Founders has cracked it.

 

It seems like the more popular and cult beers which cost more also have higher ABV. One could argue that the price is higher because of the higher ABV, though not sure it costs much more to make a higher ABV beer. I wonder if breweries are trying to make buyers feel they are getting more for their money by boosting ABV. Is it worth paying $6 for a beer that has 3 times the ABV of a Bud? Some might feel so, but I'd like more low-ABV stouts to choose from.

 

0.01% ABV before it's no longer considered beer.

@bbtkd I've found myself in this high abv predicament lately. In fact, for the past 2 years I've found myself laughing at BA stouts that are below 10%. I really want some fruit forward farmhouse/saison, but I'm not willing to pay $12-$16 for a 375ml under 7%. I am, however, willing to make it rain for a BA stout that is viscous, barrel forward, and high abv.

 

I have a bunch of beers under 5% that I really like, but if we're talking about beer that's really, really actually sessionable, where you don't even have to worry much about dehydration, then under 4% is a requirement, and that's where good beer becomes hard to find. The best beer under 4% I've had was Prison City's Berliner Weiss called "Klink" which came in at 3.5% and was bracingly sour, complex, even funky. I would drink it all the time if I could. The other factor that you have to consider is expense. Low abv session beer has to be cheap. Yes, you can buy -4% lambics, but if you're going to spend $15 on a 750 mL, then, no, you're not going to choose that to session; the average beer consumer to going to go for that six pack that's $12 even if it's 8% abv. I think price is one of the biggest factors that holds back session beers. I mean, there's a reason why my coworker boasts about getting a 12 pack of Busch Light for $6 when I told him I got one bottle of BCBS for $8. Hell, All Day IPA is the perfect example of how and why they popularized session IPAs. $18 for a 15 pack of a decent IPA in cans is perfect for camping and picnics, as far as craft beers go. Price is a hugely important factor here.