I understand that we stated we were going to use this blog to introduce people to craft beer and to really "keep things simple" in the interest of actually getting said people interested in said craft beer. I also understand that beer in any form is delicious, no matter if it blurs the lines of what beer really is, which is why this post has materialized from my hops and barley laced brain onto your ‘puter screen.
According to Wikipedia, the gospel of all information, ever, in the world, beer is defined as:
"…an alcohol beverage (yum) that is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains - most commonly malted barley (malt), although wheat, corn, and rice are widely used. Most beer is flavored with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other such flavorings as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included."
Obviously, we could go into unlimited detail and build on that definition, but it has served its purpose for this post and we need to move on.
Why have I given you this info and what is the title of this post, you ask? It's simple, up until a week ago, Sam Adams Utopias claimed the esteemed title of "most potent beer in the world", checking in at 27% ABV for their latest collector's batch (technically, a German brewer called Schorschbrau had a beer at 30% for some time and a 40% for like two days, but it's German and I've never heard of it, so MOVING ON). On February 16th, BrewDog released a beer called "Sink the Bismarck!", which besides being a fantastically awesome ode to Churchill's famous command to sink the German battleship of the same name during WWII, it's actually advertised as a quadruple IPA containing four times the hops, four times the bitterness, and four times frozen to create a staggering 41% ABV "beer".
When reading that article for the first time and immediately after treating the hangover I received just thinking about “pounding” that beer on a Friday night, two things caught my attention – 1) the mind bottling (name that movie) ABV and 2) the beer is frozen four times to get to that crazy ABV. It got me thinking, when does a beer cease to be a beer and start to be something closer to resembling what you just used to clean the kitchen counter (I kiiiid, I kiiiid)? It’s time to go to the judge, jury, and executioner (me, go figure) to argue for/or against it being a beer – a decision I will make as I’m writing this blog because I’m wishy washy like that and haven’t made up my mind yet.
First, let’s understand what “four times frozen” really means.
I’m not a very smart man, but to me it sounds like the process used to brew ice wines or ice beers/Eisbocks (freezing of a doppelbock to raise its ABV and “clean” the taste). Instead of the normal process where yeast is added to wort during the process of primary and/or secondary fermentation (breakdown of sugars in the wort to create our friend, alcohol) and that being the “end all” to creating the alcohol in the beer, the beer is then freeze distilled and the ice removed to concentrate the alcohol (if you have questions about freeze distillation, look it up, I’m already in over my head here). In this case, this freeze distillation is being done a whopping four times, which increases the ABV each time!
My argument is this – while it seems to fulfill the technical specifications of being a beer, what beer do YOU sip two fingers of out of your brandy snifter, with your Hugh Hefner smoking jacket on, in your high-backed leather chair, circa 1960’s New York ad men? To me, because of the sole fact that you have to treat its consumption like that of a liquor, it isn’t a beer. I may be in the minority, but I feel like I’m right here. After all, right now you’re thinking about trying to locate a beer that is 80 proof.
What’s your opinion? We haven’t attempted yet because we’re poor, but if you’re interested in trying “Sink the Bismarck!” it’s available only on BrewDog’s website at http://www.brewdog.com/. If you do fit the profile of our heros and decide to give ‘er a go, please email us and let us know your thoughts. If it truly looks, acts, and tastes like a beer, we're very open to changing our opinions.
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