Beer, Taken to It's Inevitable Extremes

I like beer. Not the water-down domestics that permeate our society through Frat parties, lower-income housing, and ironic hipsters, no - I'm talking about the rich, dark, full-flavored brews that are as complex as wines, and are slowly being realized as legitimate competitors to the fermented grapes that have been sniffed, savored, and collected for hundreds of years. There's an ever-growing contingent of beer aficionados in our society, and the good ol' U.S.of A. is at the forefront of the craft brewing movement. Just take a look at the multitude of inventive full-flavored beers available,* and I've only been keeping track the last six months or so. AND, that's only a sampling of what I could get my hands on - regional selection varies depending on the distribution of the brewery.

*Last year, I met someone who collected beer bottles. I thought this was a novel idea (and something that, once again, people sometimes do with wine), so I thought about joining in on the fun. The problem is, cleaning and transporting shitloads of beer bottles would be expensive and fragile, so I chose to photograph them as a compromise)

Something that is talked about amongst hop heads are the strong beers - the ones that can top out at nearly 20% alcohol by volume. Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, at 18% ABV, was one of the more popular super IPAs that pushed the limits of the alcohol, but recently there's been a battle of alcohol content going on in Europe - surprising, given that many of the countries over there hold the brew in such high regard that they pass laws governing what can be used to make the stuff.

The battle has been between BrewDog, a Scottish brewery, and Schorschbräu, from Germany. The former came out with a 32% ABV beer, which the latter combated with a 40% product. BrewDog then upped the ante 1% to create Sink the Bismarck, for which they currently hold the record for the world's strongest beer. Given BrewDog's willingness to disregard interstate (intercountry) shipping laws regarding the shipping of alcohol, I bought a bottle. It wasn't cheap - 40 GBP to purchase, and another 40 to ship, which equated to $130 once the exchange rate had its way with my wallet. All the same, how can you put a price on tasting history?

Several weeks later, the beer arrived heavily wrapped in a BrewDog-branded box, which I thought was a bit silly, given their attempt to skirt the product past the Feds:

Inside was a bottle of the Holy Grail of beers, along with a stopper - in case you don't want to finish it in one sitting - and a free bottle of their Tokyo* as an apology for the long wait (not that this beer isn't without its own share of controversy).

Given that the beer has as much alcohol as your typical bottle of liquor, I was expecting some very harsh notes from the beer. I was actually pleasantly surprised - there's a ridiculous amount of hops, giving a very piney taste, followed by the harsh end of the alcohol. There was no masking this much alcohol, but it was certainly more drinkable than other beers with high ABVs. Needless to say, this one was a sipper, but it met its end eventually.

It's certainly not a beer you're going to be drinking on a regular basis, and admittedly half the novelty is in the unseemly amount of alcohol, but it's a legitimate beer in its own right, too. I don't know about you, but a regular part of my hobbies involve either seeking the best or most of something. This firmly falls into the "most" category, and while I'm sure someone will someday release a 42% ABV beer, for the time being, I can relish in the fact that my lips have tasted the strongest beer in the world.