I believe I've hit my abv "wall."

I know I'm in the minority here, but anything over 8% is too much for me.

 

I love 2012 BCBS. So much so that I bought 2 cases. It's high in abv, for sure, but the beer is so well-made that you don't taste the alcohol as much as you'd expect. I've had Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, which is somewhere around 18%, and it's very good, too, with some alcohol heat but lots of other flavors to help mask some of the heat. It all depends on how the alcohol is integrated with the other ingredients.

 

For me ABV is like anything else, there is such a thing as too much. However, I enjoy a well crafted big beer that's abv is hidden in the overall balance. There in lies the art of craft, taking big flavors, malts, hops and ABV & creating a smooth balanced work of liquid art that sneaks up on ya and surrounds your senses & warms your soul like a blanket. Then you stand up and realize "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." Some well crafted higher ABV's that spring to my mind Blackout Stout, Backwoods Bastard, FBS, La Fin Du Monde, La Chouffe, Aventinus...

 

What the fuck is an abv threshold?

 

Interesting, I'd be more likely to thank someone for placing punctuation outside the quote; it's much more logical.

I don't see the point in setting an ABV limit for yourself, especially if you haven't tried anything higher. I recommend the OP try to get their hands on some aged WWS and perhaps split the bottle with a friend. It's quite tasty!

 

I dont really believe in this "alcohol treshold" thing. If they can brew and balance it, im in.

 

People dissing BCBS for being too hot and boozy need to have it with at least a year, preferrably 2-3 years on it. The 2009 is flipping stellar now, and I hear it goes over the hill after 5-6 years, though obviously it was lower in ABV back in those days. It's too hot and overwhelming fresh. With this year's ABV on it, it'll probably age gloriously. So yeah, either drink at least a 2011 one, or we'll talk next year.

 

Mine seems to be around 10% A good example of this is that I love Rochefort 8 but the Rochefort 10 is too strong.

 

I really hope you're right. I bought 2 four packs, drank one, and put the rest away.

 

I had 2 high abv beers this week. Black Buffalo at 19.2, it was hard to handle, took me the biggest part of the day to finish it.
Had this 15% abv and it was excellant, could not taste any alcohol at all. You would think it to be around 5% until you had finished it, kinda sneaks up on you.

 

I Like the drinking of he beer, too much abv means less of the drinking, so I am with you, 8 or less is about right for me too.

 

Avery, Fruet, Fort, 120, maybe WWS aged, Toyko* and many more I haven't tried. Some of the best beers I've had. BCBS, Dark Lord and White Chocolate round out that list for beers ~15%.

 

I like the hot mess that is a green high abv brew. Thought this years bcbs was just fine fresh, and I went through a case of uncle jacobs without having the patience to age one. Also whiiiile on the topic of barrel aged beers, if it isn't ready to drink, why are the brewers bottling them up and getting them onto the shelves? I know avery's "barrel wrangler" is always sampling beers and won't release them until he feels they are ready. I would assume that GI would do the same.

 

I thought 2012 BCBS was pretty damn good, didn't find it overly boozy at all.

 

Not all high ABV beers are created equal.

Some get there with cloying sweetnes, making the whole thing a mess.

Others get there with relative dryness, maintaining drinkability. This is where the brewer's technique really takes hold.

 

I haven't had mine yet, but I'm hearing good things about sweet sixteen, I know that's only 1+ but I bet jewbleation 17, 18.... Will be solid if brewed. It's 16% ABV also if that wasn't obvious.

 

I think it's all about the flavor of the beer. I tasted some 16th Anniversary Shmaltz and it tasted muddled and unnecessary. Typically I think the flavor of the beer is compromised by the desire for super high ABV.

 

BCBS tasted too much like a shot to me. My girlfriend bought one at Old Chicago no one at our table could tolerate it, I ended up having to down most of it and didn't have much desire to continue drinking after that. Though I'm new to beer drinking and only 22, so far I've found 12-13% to be about my limit. I like quads and some other strong ales but some of them border on tasting too similar to wine, which I don't care for. I think the ABV range for typical tripels is what I'd ideally like to have in my beer.

 

I haven't given much thought to it. If the beer is well made, balanced and taste good then I'll enjoy it. I've had many cask strength whiskies at ABV's of 55% or more, so 15% - 18% doesn't bother be.