4.5% Or 5.7 % What Do You Prefer

[Pumpy]

I have been brewing my beers @ 5.7 % recently inspired by the Leffe range however I am a bit of a quaffer and am finding that 1% seems to make a big difference .

I only have two kegs so I have to drink what I brew

I hear people brewing 7% beers but must confess I could not drink that strength beer every night as i would be going to bed at 9 o clock .


I am suprised that just over 1% would make a great difference .

I know many people drink strong beers ,I may just drop it to 5.3 perhaps 5.7 is a Friday nigh beer or a bad day beer or a good day beer .

but what is your opinion ?


Pumpy

 

[Doc]

Strong all the way Pumpy. Only keep lower alc beers on tap for guests

Doc

 

[Pumpy]

Strong all the way Pumpy. Only keep lower alc beers on tap for guests

Doc

I must be getting old Doc


Pumpy

 

[Murray]

I occasionally brew big beers, but I do prefer around 5% so I can have 2 or 3 on schoolnights without getting a bit toasted.

 

[InCider]

Don't go to Bindi's house if you like 'em under 5.7%

Whew! they go all the way to 11%

But what bloody good beer!

 

[Screwtop]

Don't go to Bindi's house if you like 'em under 5.7%

Whew! they go all the way to 11%

But what bloody good beer!

I'll second that! :lol: nothing under about 7% from mem mem mem memory! He now has a Kriek on tap, a fantastic sweet n sour beer and very moreish but at about 9% Faaaarrrrk!!!

 

[jayse]

If I had to choose or say anything on the matter I would say this thread is stupid :excl:

 

[hughman666]

i dont think it's stupid, it is a fairly valid point. personally i like to bottle my strong ones (over 5.5%) and keep the session strength (4.5% - 5.5%) on tap.

 

[mike_hillyer]

Pumpy in terms of flavour; the 5.8% of Coopers Sparling Ale beats the 4.6% of the Pale Ale hands down. In terms of damage; the latter is kinder to you the next day.

 

[tangent]

i generally aim for around the 5% mark for most beers other than Belgian styles.
then i can have 3 or 4 imperial pints and still have a few glasses of red

 

[Boozy the clown]

It may surprise one or two of you that it's actually the flavour of a beer I chase more than the alc.

I prefer Coopers pale of Sparking. So i'll kick off with two Pales then have a Sparkling.

If you want to get rollin just have more of the lower %!.

But i'd never buy low % beer, why bother?

I love Belgians, just happens that they are pretty bloody strong. :excl:

 

[Adamt]

My objective is to brew to style, get decent bang for my buck without compromising on taste at all. With that being said, for ales I think bigger (within reason and style guidelines of course) is better. I prefer my light-coloured lagers/pilseners around the 4.5%ish mark.

 

[sinkas]

I generally only have the one beer on most nights, I have a real hankering for the belgian effect, which I guess is alot of flavour, follwoed by a little booze hit, however I can be equaly satisfied by a can of Mackesons stout, at 3.5% maybe it got more to do with calorific content than flavour or alcohol..?

also It doesnt seem to matter what I do, ever mash brew I do come out at 6.5% or higher...

 

[Ken Man Do]

I figure if I'm gonna make beer, I'm gonna give it a little extra "oomph!"
5.5 to 6.0 here.

 

[Maxt]

A wise man once said that there are no stupid questions (only stupid replies) :excl:

I like to have a few stronger alcohol beers, but if it's a summer sesion beer then I much prefer 5% to 6 %.

 

[QldKev]

I used to do 'uni beer' years ago, the more alcohol the more of a man I was; (not attempting to abuse anyone on here, this was just my own ego) Now for me it's 4.5% all the way, at 5% you start to get the slight alcohol/vodka taste that ruines the beer flavour; not enough alochol you don't get a hit from the alcohol for flavour. Maybe with some really dark malt house style you may get away with a bit more alcohol. Also I find at 4.5% you can enjoy 1 more beer at the end of the night, and do it all again the next night.

QldKev

I can feel a poll comming on

 

[warrenlw63]

As soon as I saw the title of this thread I knew it would be you Pumpy. :lol:

I still think that one day I'm going to see a thread entitled by yourself...

"Does This Beer Make My Bum Look Big?"


FWIW and just too add a sensible contribution to this nonsensical thread. I have no qualms about making the occasional low alcohol beer. My 3.5% Milds are always great value. Alcohol plays some part in beer flavour but it's not going to make a great beer. You've got to get everything else right also.

Warren -

 

[colinw]

IMHO, a range of a few points either side of 1.048 and 4.8% ABV (with 75% attenuation) is a point where beers balance out beautifully. Enough alcohol that it isn't dish water, enough malt to balance plenty of hops, but OG low enough that you don't start getting strong ale character or fusels. Low enough alcohol that you can have a few (and get a bit of a buzz), high enough that you don't sit there swilling all night wondering why the beer isn't doing anything except make you pee.

Compare Coopers Pale Ale as it is now (4.4% ABV) against the old 4.8% version. It is a watery shadow of its former self.

 

[DJR]

Compare Coopers Pale Ale as it is now (4.4% ABV) against the old 4.8% version. It is a watery shadow of its former self.

Commercial brewers changing the recipe for more mass-market appeal? Never!

Just to weigh in, i was formulating all my recipes for a while to go to about 1045 or so, assuming 70% or so mash efficiency. When i actually was getting 80% mash efficiency all my beers ended up about the 5.7->6% mark rather than the 5% mark i was shooting for. To be honest i haven't noticed any extra fusel or alcohol notes or huge differences in flavour - just that you get more of a buzz off of the same amount.

I've revised the recipes down a little now to get about 1045-1048, saves me money in the long run as i use less grain, but it's good to know that the yeast has no problem fermenting the extra alcohol if necessary without creating a huge amount of flavour difference.

 

[colinw]

You're right of course - you won't really start noticing any strong ale characteristics until 1.060 or so (higher with some yeasts), but to my tastes there is a difference - the stronger beer is not as refreshing or clean, and more estery. Sometimes this is a good thing, but not always. To use an analogy - Coopers Sparkling Ale is a great beer, but sometimes you want a to be able do drink two Coopers Pales rather than one Sparkling.