Your thoughts on ABV?

I went with somewhat important in a general sense. In terms of purchasing beer though, not very. I will avoid most low (sub 5%) beers (more specifically ipas) due to my experiences with them, but I have never bought anything with that as a factor otherwise. Obviously there is a range/level that certain styles should be within (traditionally), but that doesn't mean that a 9% Pilsner automatically won't be any good. I think it is most important to me when deciding what I can drink of a menu and still legally drive home after having.

 

Means nothing to me at this point, I want to know more about the style than anything (which in turn gives me an idea of abv anyway)

 

Seems to be a sweet spot for me. Right around 6%. Get too high and some of the beers get syrupy, too low and they seem to lack taste.

 

Context is just as important when it comes to abv as style is.
In the contexts you bring up, abv is very important because most green behind the ear consumers don't give two tits about the this or that about beer. Does it get you drunk? If so. How fast. How does it taste is next.
At a festival. You need to know how fucked up you will get if you decide in the middle of hour two after dragging your feet through any of several >9%'s that that full pour of a 15% _____ that you just practically inhaled was worth it, and that you are limber enough to roll with the punches it's 12% chaser of _____ has coming for you.

 

I thought Waldo was a very good beer, but you can't get away from the 11.5 Abv. On the other side session IPAs are abysmal, and overly fierce bitter bombs, the price you pay for an under 4% abv IPA. I've had English Milds thst were sub 4 by nature, really a nicely done beer, not a forced style not conducive to session Abv levels. Any beer from 5-8 most can handle two beers if your out, and most places here if it's over 7% reduce the pour to 10 oz, not required, but it's nice they're concerned for their customers.

 

Attn OP: In case you're really unclear on this "ABV" you keep hearing about, please note that it stands for "alcohol by volume"; it's a measure of how much alcohol is in any given beer.

I watch for ABV when shopping for beer and I'm more likely to buy a brew on the lower than on the higher end of the ABV scale. This is due to my interest in limiting my overall alcohol intake (the older I get the more I find alcohol fatiguing) and my preference, more often than not, to quaff several beers rather than sip one. In this, American craft brewing trends tend to work against me: It can be tough to find good beers around 4% that aren't in the "session IPA" style (a style I'm not particularly keen on), though this situation seems to be improving lately.

My drinking habits would be better served by the diversity of lower-alcohol cask ales available in the UK.

 

I didn't vote in this poll because I'm not too clear as to what it's asking. Is it asking high ABV? Or any ABV whether I prefer high ABV or low ABV? If it's the second I'm not so sure what the final poll results are intending to accomplish.

Anyway, I don't care what the ABV is. Sometimes I like a barleywine and sometimes I like a bitter, and I'm not drinking them because I want a certain ABV, I'm drinking them because that is what sounds good at the time. I can say that overall I mostly drink beers between 4.5 and 6.5% alcohol, and rarely any over 7%. I appreciate drinkability as a quality in beer and usually the highest compliment I can give a beer is that I immediately want another, as opposed to being ready to stop or move on.

 

depends on the style im drinking. If i want to chill and drink for awhile I will go with a gose or berliner (really "session"). When it comes to Pales I like them to be the middle of the road like 5-6. Dipas 7-8. Stouts I prefer Imperial or barrell aged so those better be high.

 

The only time I consider it is when trying a new Imperial Stout. I seem to prefer them in the 9-11% ABV range. I voted not to important.

 

I like lots of different styles, hi and lo abvs. And I tend to drink "bigger" beers, so I do note the abv, especially if I'm driving later.

 

It's very important. I need to know how much alcohol is in a bottle before I drink it so I don't overdo it.

 

I don't worry about it, but it is important for style adherence, and if I'm going to cellar it or not

 

I'm guessing that the reason you are seeing or noticing more of it is that New Jersey has a "Dram shop" law in place. That law means that anyone who serves you alcohol when you are intoxicated is liable for damages you cause to third person while under the influence. By alerting you in advance to the ABV they are demonstrating that you had reason to know how much alcohol you were consuming even though you left the tasting site not visibly intoxicated. Thus they are not responsible for the consequenes of your actions. (Or they have a reason to not continue serving you if you were just there for free alcohol.)

I'd even be willing to bet that in recent New Jersey court records you'll find a third person law suit against the alcohol provider in which the suit was filed and allowed to proceed even when the drinker was not visibly intoxicated. That would make lots of folks even more cautious about the ABV they serve and how they provide alcohol.

 

i tend to seek out lower ABV beers more often these days. sprinkle in the big boys once in awhile.

 

I voted not too important. I like high and low abv beers, as long as the alcohol is covered up and the beer tastes good to me. There are smooth high abv beers and boozy beers with lower abv so it's effect on beer isn't always the same. There are certain beers that I can tolerate a moderate booziness in though.

 

There are a lot of high abv beer that I like, and wish they were lower abv so I would get less fat..

 

What have you found under 4.5% that you like?

 

ABV is good info to have, but it shouldn't be the defining characteristic of a beer or the top reason to want a particular beer.

Heck, if they could make a 2% IPA that tasted JUST like an 8-10% double IPA, I'd drink it all day long.

 

ABV is an afterthought for me, though I do expect the ABV to be appropriate for the style. Really rare for me to have more than one beer if I'm anywhere but home.