Is 9% the New 6%?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom & Ireland' started by Zimbo, Dec 11, 2013.

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  1. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Of course I'm talking ABV here. And bottles for sure. Just can't seem to get too excited by most beers below this threshold these days. And when it comes to Imperial Stouts anything below double digits (ABV) and I just ain't interested either. Of course cask is a different kettle of fish all together but bottles...I'm looking for that extra kick. Does this apply to anyone else even partially?
     
    #1 Zimbo, Dec 11, 2013
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  2. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Please bear in mind that I wrote 'most beers'. There are obvious exceptions.
     
    #2 Zimbo, Dec 11, 2013
  3. EmperorBevis

    EmperorBevis Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,338) Sep 25, 2011 England
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yes I am affected by this
    I love little low strength beers, milds and light ales
    love seeing the strength of hops being far prominent than the alcohol
    but after a walk through Bourbon county in a pair of clown shoes
    a big stout without a heavyweight abv
    it's more of a ticking endured duty lol
     
    #3 EmperorBevis, Dec 11, 2013
  4. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,701) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    "a Walk through Bourbon county in a pair of clown shoes" Good laugh there. Thanks.
     
    #4 rgordon, Dec 11, 2013
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  5. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,113) Jan 24, 2011 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Well actually, I'm drinking a Waen Snowball now, 7% and it's not really got a huge amount of the coconut and vanilla as advertised but it's still a bit boozy and thick and wholesome. Not sure where I'm going with this but then again I have had a lot of port too, a Red Willow Cheerless, Purple Moose Merry X-Moose, and a Tempest Old Parochial.

    I think I'm still too used to the <6% abv beers that make up 95% of my drinking really.
     
    #5 CwrwAmByth, Dec 11, 2013
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  6. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Well made beers from smoking hot breweries like Fyne, Tempest, Cromarty, Luckie, etc are immune from my new bottle ABV prejudice but then again they aren't the ones I can easily find at the local supermarket.
     
    #6 Zimbo, Dec 12, 2013
  7. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (2,084) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah

    I was going to say - but you're missing out on so much. Then I remembered my everyday beer is St. Bernardus Abt. Though I have started drinking Mild M & S opened a shop in Amsterdam again.
     
    #7 patto1ro, Dec 12, 2013
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  8. Padraig

    Padraig Zealot (526) Jan 14, 2013 New York
    Trader

    I'm deliberately going in the opposite direction. Last time I was in a pub (Old Coffee House in Soho) I had the following from Brodies.

    Mild (3.6%), London Sour (3.8%) and Kiwi (3.8%).

    Getting destroyed on barley wines on another recent pub visit is driving this behaviour.
     
    #8 Padraig, Dec 13, 2013
  9. michman

    michman Pundit (751) Oct 14, 2005 Illinois

    Is the trend in the UK to have higher and higher ABV on average? I know when I walk into my favorite place here in chicago almost all of the beers are 7% or higher now. sometimes its frustrating. big beers have been such the trend here for quite a few years now that I find myself going in the opposite direction. revisiting some of the classics that got me into good beer. and finding a lot of them quite enjoyable. i love beers in the 4-6% range these days. I can have 4-5 pints without being really tipsy.
     
    #9 michman, Dec 13, 2013
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  10. graemepattison

    graemepattison Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2012 England

    I am obsessed with big beers, to be honest I don't drink many beers less than 7% I feel most lack in taste. Damn you craft beer.
     
    #10 graemepattison, Dec 13, 2013
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  11. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    It certainly is becoming more of a trend, at least on the bottle front. Beers in the reasonable 4-6% ABV range are still the norm in the pub though, at least in Scotland, and ABV is slowly increasing in 'craft' beers and pubs.
     
    #11 Zimbo, Dec 13, 2013
  12. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Sounds like the American influence is definitely asserting itself. For better or worse.
     
    #12 jmw, Dec 15, 2013
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  13. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,113) Jan 24, 2011 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Luckily Wales is still stuck in the '80s ('90s in the trendier areas of Cardiff) and doesn't seem to be following this pattern. I suppose with most of the Tiny Rebel beers being below 6% also contributes, but even in their tap house it seems rather rare for even the guest beers to be that high. Demand I suppose.
     
    #13 CwrwAmByth, Dec 15, 2013
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  14. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Tiny Rebel shows what tasty brews can be like without being tempted by too much alcohol.
     
    #14 Zimbo, Dec 15, 2013
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  15. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,113) Jan 24, 2011 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah, and there are a few others I have been seriously impressed by. I couldn't believe Cromarty Happy Chappy was only 4.1% when I tried it. It could have easily been a 5-6% offering with those hops!
     
    #15 CwrwAmByth, Dec 15, 2013
  16. Hoppsbabo

    Hoppsbabo Pooh-Bah (2,053) Jan 29, 2012 England
    Pooh-Bah

    I tend to sort higher ABV beers in bottle shops but I think it's the feeling that I'm getting more for my money.
     
    #16 Hoppsbabo, Dec 22, 2013
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