25 replies to this topic

[Oflan]

Thought this was interesting. Here's the translated version, so English is a little choppy:https://translate.go...history_state0=

[Seagis]

Wow.27.6% ABV? At what point do you stop calling it beer and start calling it booze?

[HarvInSTL]

Meh, he used ice distillation. I'd give him props if he made/fermented a beer out to 27%+, but he didn't. He fermented a beer out to 21% and then removed the frozen water.

[Oflan]

Meh, he used ice distillation. I'd give him props if he made/fermented a beer out to 27%+, but he didn't. He fermented a beer out to 21% and then removed the frozen water.

Yea, definitely kind of cheated

[ncbeerbrewer]

Sorry can't read article here at work right now (Work Internet Filter). What yeast did he use even to get to 21%?

[BFB]

Pretty impressive...but like Harv said...woulda been nice if he fermented it all the way out instead of making an Eisbier.

[Seagis]

I don't get it. How is this cheating? I mean, I only understand the very basics of eisbier and how it is made, but isn't this just a different method of preparation? I'm not arguing or anything, I'm just asking because, like I said, I don't know that much about the process.

[BFB]

I don't get it. How is this cheating? I mean, I only understand the very basics of eisbier and how it is made, but isn't this just a different method of preparation? I'm not arguing or anything, I'm just asking because, like I said, I don't know that much about the process.

By freezing and removing the frozen stuff (water) it leaves behind a more potent, higher alchol content liquid...Eisbier.

[Oflan]

It's the same concept as distilling by evaporation.. removing water.

[Seagis]

Well, like I mentioned, I understand that part of it. What I didn't understand is why you guys consider it cheating. Isn't eisbier a legitimate style of beer, or is the entire style considered cheating? Or is it because it was made that way but not marketed as such so as to give the impression that it's more noteworthy than it otherwise would have been?

[MakeMeHoppy]

The point is Sam Adams Utopias gets there all by just fermentation. I would have to say in theory you could continue to remove water from beer and attain any high percentage you want. The trick is to get the yeast to attain levels of fermentation that were not achieved before.

[rockon]

Well, like I mentioned, I understand that part of it. What I didn't understand is why you guys consider it cheating. Isn't eisbier a legitimate style of beer, or is the entire style considered cheating? Or is it because it was made that way but not marketed as such so as to give the impression that it's more noteworthy than it otherwise would have been?

I think the gripe is that frezzing is a kind of distillation. You could run a beer through a still a couple times and have it be 80% alcohol, but would it still be beer?

[BFB]

The trick is to get the yeast to attain levels of fermentation that were not achieved before.

IMO....this right here.

[HarvInSTL]

I think the gripe is that frezzing is a kind of distillation. You could run a beer through a still a couple times and have it be 80% alcohol, but would it still be beer?

Exactly. Distillation is distillation is distillation. Doesn't matter if it is ice distillation or if you run your fermented beer thru some scrubbers on a still. It is still distillation at least in my eyes and the eyes of our government.Which brings up another point. I'm sure that other cultures that don't tax distillation out of the realm of hobbyists have a different opinion on this.

The trick is to get the yeast to attain levels of fermentation that were not achieved before.

And this.

Edited by HarvInSTL, 02 April 2009 - 07:59 AM.

[Seagis]

OK. That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.the more you know . . .

[SchwanzBrewer]

Ya, when you distill malted barley you get scotch, not beer. Maybe hoppy flavored scotch.

[japh]

Ya, when you distill malted barley you get scotch, not beer. Maybe hoppy flavored scotch.

Well, scotch is a different creature, really.This is an eisbeer, but eisbeer is a distilled product, and I wouldn't call it the strongest beer in the world.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Ya, when you distill malted barley you get scotch, not beer. Maybe hoppy flavored scotch.

*** mmmmm thinking of hop flavored scotch ****

[Lagerdemain]

Seems to me it would be easier, cheaper and every bit as effective to just add distilled spirits to a standard strength brew. Perhaps I'm a killjoy, but I don't understand all the foofaraw over ludicrously alcoholic beers like this.

[keithd]

It's like climbing Mt. Everest. Adding booze would be like being helicoptered to the summit. Sure, you still get there, but the achievement isn't there. And to claim you're the best climber afterward is well, cheating.The point of the ludicrously alcoholic beers is simply to see how far we can get by yeast alone, at least for Sam Adams Utopias. It's *definitely* not so weez can getz CRunK!!!1, but to see what brewers can achieve.Was there a point to climbing Mt. Everest? Did it help the common man, walking uphill somewhere? No. It's just a testament to human achievement, just like SA Utopias is a testament to brewing.