Stronger then ABV would suggest?

The Nogne O (too lazy to open character map for the Nordic letters) Imperial Stout is 9%, which I pretty much consider bottom of the line for the genre alcohol-wise. It's boozy as hell though. I usually find that incredibly annoying, but the flavor profiles in this one are finger-licking good and the alcohol supports it somehow.

 

Yep. I have a pretty wavy recollection of this being particularly potent.

 

Gotta love the people who seem to think that drinking a sixer of something or a 9% beer don't expect to notice the alcohol's effect much...

To the OP it's just in your head. I know plenty of people who think that certain beers get them drunk quicker because of what beer it is vs similar beers.

Now, it is entirely possible for an 8% beer to be hot/boozy which would cause you to perceive the alcohol more than another beer of the same or even higher abv. I haven't ever had a fresh Deviant Dales so I can't speak to that beer specifically, but if you perceive it to be "hot" then maybe you are interpreting this as "hitting you harder." I definitely find it harder to drink multiples of a beer that is boozy or burns going down.

 

To me it's more about the taste than the actual effect. I've tasted way more potent beers than that 9% stout (13% Black Albert being a perfect example, just ask anyone that's had it) that had no alcohol astringency whatsoever. Sure, you have the warmth in your stomach as it goes down and it will mess you up like nobody's business if you drink it fast, but there is no tasting that alcohol in a good few 10%+ beers.

You do have a point about "preparing" yourself for something really boozy and then not getting it though.

 

I've heard rumors of breweries possibly slightly skewing posted percentages for distribution sake, but that seemed questionable to me, as I'm sure there'd be penalties for outright lying.. (i was unaware of 0.3% rule).
But the number of magically 12.0% beers in Ohio always amused me..

 

At some places they'll have the abv listed as ???... so that pretty much says "we shouldn't have this"

 

Do you drink them faster because you really like it?

 

i thought stone levitation had the flavor of a stronger beer..it sits at under 5 i think

 

though i've never tried to drink more than one per night (or every few months for that matter) I would imagine Lindeman's Framboise @ 2.2% might have this effect on me.

 

could be all the hops, they have a sedative effect

 

What about the buzz from wines versus beer versus tequila versus vodka etc. Even if you consumer the same amount of alcohol, many people claim the buzz is different that they get from tequila versus what they get from bourbon

 

I believe this could be placebo. The first time you had it you were dehydrated/empty stomach/whatever and it hit you like a tank. Now you just assume it's gonna hit you like a tank. Idk... Woah I'm drunk!

 

Yep.

 

I hate these claims - there's no reason why that would be the case. IMO, when people "get crazy" from Tequila it's because people mostly drink shots of Tequila while partying raucously. They drink vodka which has virtually no taste/odor, so it's easier to claim that it affects them in a less perceivable manner. If you drink cheap bourbon when you're looking to get drunk after being pissed off all day then you're going to turn into an angry drunk. If you're spending $30 on a pour of finely aged Scotch then it's more likely to "mellow" you out - because your mood at this point is already introspective and calm if that's how you're drinking for the night.

It's all the behavior you associate with the type of alcohol, not the other way around.

 

I recall seeing 3 different ABVs for Lagunitas (who can blame them, considering...) Undercover either last year or the year before. The package said one thing, the bottle said something slightly different, I forget where the third was maybe online.

Just grabbed my Undercover from this year, bottle says 9.8 and the 6pack says 9.9. Im pretty sure the other number I saw was 9.75, it definately had 2 decimal places. Either way, its not much difference, but thats all for the same beer in one package, so clearly someone is not exactly sure whats going on.

 

Mostly true, but there can be differences in how they can make you dehydrated, and also the large amounts of sugar in some drinks can alter the effects too. Im not much of a wine drinker, but it is my understanding that wine has ingredients that will dehydrate you faster and can lead to a harsher feeling intoxication.

Also, hops are closely related to cannabis, and there is some evidence that lupulin is a psychoactive compound. As with most psychoactive compounds people will experience them differently, some stronger than others. Since the OP noticed this with hoppy beers, maybe thats why.

 

I'll buy that. I know that I have been told from vintners that organic wine can produce milder hangovers than other wines. I also believe that part of the reason that good vodkas are distilled 3, 4, 5+ times is to have a similar effect. I don't really feel that this results in the types of behaviors that some claim they only exhibit from drinking certain types of alcohol though.

 

From what I know this is likely due to batch variation in abv. They decided (likely years ago) to put the current abv on the six pack holder. Today, the batches are not coming in at that same level of attenuation so they are printing the accurate abv on the label. Unfortunately it can be a costly endeavor to change something as simple as a six pack holder, plus they might have a huge inventory of the old (incorrect) ones they want to use up before changing anyways. This sucks, but from a small business standpoint I get it.

Also, many companies do a horrible job of updating their websites - so again their webpage might have an old (but not the same age as the sixer printing) abv listed. Or, if you were looking at the abv listed on BA then the brewery is not to blame, and as the user you have the right to submit a change. I do this all the time when I drink a fresh beer and see an inaccurate abv listing on BA.

In any case, I can almost certainly promise that Lagunitas is not "unsure of what's going on."

 

Oh I got nothin but love for Lagunitas, they brew some awesome beers. Just kind of referencing their extra curricular activities, which also I got nothin but love for.