Do You Have an ABV Sweet Spot?

I would have to say no or that it depends on the style.

 

7%

 

6 to 8% for me, especially stouts. But the right beer in the 3 to 4% range can also be a beaut.

 

Do you have a thing against the 5%ers?

 

5 to about 7.2% As far as bock strength a more sensational beer starts at 6%

 

I kind of like my ABV to follow the style and I am very flexible. Summer beers are great at 4 to 5 but if I am going for an imperial IPA or a big Russian or imperial stout I like to go above an 8.

 

5.5% pale ale and 11% BA stout

 

Don't have rules other than it be cold and within reach. For higher ABV beers I like more flavor to balance it out.

 

Hah! Neither here nor there, man.

Those may be my sweet spots, but I have other spots, too .

 

Can't really identify a sweet spot beyond the fact I've noticed a reluctance to buy much of anything over about 8%.

Other than that is seems to float almost at random.

 

I'm partial to anything hovering around the 8%ABV mark.

 

I, too, have found myself shying away from high abv beers. They can be hard for us older guys to handle. I really appreciate it when I find a beer in the 5 to 6% range with a lot of flavor. Personally, I try to avoid most of those with over 7% abv.

 

Have to sneak up on 'em myself.

 

I have no precise sweet spot, but it's definitely under 9%. I have a hard time drinking high abv beers anymore. I enjoy the flavor of a well-made 6% oatmeal stout as much as a 10% imperial stout. In fact, if I had to pick a number, I would probably say 6% is my sweet spot for most styles.

 

Some others have already posted my thoughts of it depends upon the beer style.

When Session IPAs became available a few years ago I thought this could be a cool idea but when I tasted a few of them they all came off as watery for my palate; I did not enjoy these watery beers. I came to the conclusion that a beer with the words "IPA" in the style name is best when it has an ABV > 5%.

Cheers!

 

maybe the best beer in the world would be a 12% RIS
but I would not drink it a hot day on the beach
especially not if I had an hangover

 

I really enjoy high abv beer IF the flavor is well balanced. Often I only have one or two beers if I'm busy and only have limited time at night to enjoy a beer. As high as 11 or 12 doesn't bother me at all

 

DIPA/IPA: 7.5
BA Stout: 12-14
Gueze/AWA: 4-5

I definitely enjoy well done porters like Edmund Fitzgerald in the 6% range, but for big time stouts "that I've looked forward to opening" I am almost always disappointed in ones with less than 12%. I liked Velvet Merkin and love the BA Framinghammer series, but all things being equal I'd take Parabola 10/10 times over VM.

IF there was a lower abv BA porter/normal stout readily available and in 6pk cans, that would be a gamechanger for me, as I love FW DBA. I get the appeal of a lower abv BA'd beer, it's just that the pricepoint and packaging make the bang for buck/time spent much on the richer higher abv examples. For me at least.


I do NOT care for higher abv sours. Sour Monkey is the only one I've really enjoyed (and threw a bunch of b1 750s in my "cellar") and when the 6pks came out I was beside myself. That's one of the best beers that's come out in a long time, IMO, I'm including pricing and availability heavily in that claim.

 

I'm with @TongoRad , 6-8 covers most of my beer choices with the exception of summer session beers. Just had a couple crux pilz last night that really hit the spot for me. I also find that, like @JackHorzempa stated earlier, hoppy beers have to be higher in abv for me. I need that body to carry the hops, or its just hop tea. Stouts, nothing over 11% these days. While I enjoy tweak, or kds, la cumbre malpais stout is hands down my favorite in the style. It's not too big or boozy, but it has the body and flavors I enjoy with a bigger stout.