Utopias boast a reddish hue and around 18% ABV. It may not have the strongest ABV percentage on this list, but it is undoubtedly one of the most popular high-ABV beers. This “beer” is agreeable to drink, unlike many of the other super-strength offerings, although it’s still more akin to drinking a whiskey or a brandy than a pint of lager. The steps to brewing beer are fermentation, adding yeast, adding sugars, and boiling. The yeast consumes the fermentable sugars during the brewing process, resulting in ethanol. Fermentation

Why We Like It:BrewDog, a Scottish brewery, has established its name within the realm of strong beer – producing some of the most prominent and strongest beers in the world.It’s aged in oak barrels to add to its flavor – this might be another super-strength beer, but this one is brewed for taste rather than just to show off how much the brewers can raise the ABV. This high-ABV beer is the only double-cask aged Imperial Stout of the BrewDog Brewery. It’s matured in an Isle of Arran and an Islay whisky cask for over eight months. Regardless, it also seems to be a withdrawal from the battle, as BrewDog’s blog states, “The End of History”, at 55%, is the final instalment of our efforts to redefine the limits of contemporary brewing.” While most of the world’s strongest beers can be found outside of taprooms, they’re often rare and expensive. Extremely strong beers can be found the world over, in styles ranging from Belgian blond ale to IPA. The race to produce the strongest beer has been running for quite some time, with breweries all over the world clamoring to win the strongest brew accolade. Special techniques like re-pitching with Champagne yeast or freeze-distilling mean that beer has long ago transcended its average realms of 4.5%-5%. In 1994, the strongest beer listed by the Guinness Book of Records was a beer called Vetter that was just 10.5%. By 2011, the strongest beer was BrewDog’s Ghost Beer at 28%.

The reason this knowledge is important is that the very definition of what is and isn’t a beer is highly contentious. Some people argue that changing the traditional brewing process isn’t innovation, but blasphemy. It’s a big reason you’ll see more than one brewery claiming to have the strongest beer in the world. Technically, they’re all correct, it just depends on what definition you are running off.

Add sugar to flocculate or gather the yeast. This process turns sugar into alcohol and settles to the bottom. Yeast consumes the remaining sugar. Boiling This Double IPA, which used to be classified as an Imperial IPA, is a strong, bitter IPA that benefits from aging and mellowing. The beer is amber-colored with a white, foamy head. Dogfish Head, which merged with The Boston Beer Company in spring 2019, describes the beer as “the Holy Grail for hopheads.” Another version of the Deal with the Devil beer from Anchorage brewing, this is a double oak-aged iteration with just a touch less alcohol. Another entry from De Struise Brouwers, this time a Russian imperial stout. With a slightly more modest ABV of 22%, this beer is more approachable. Most beer will range from 4.0 to 7.0 percent ABV or alcohol by volume. If beer is over 7.0 percent, it is considered a high alcohol content beer. ABV

The 16.2% ABV is also very apparent in the flavor, making this an indulgently boozy beer to enjoy in moderation. Minute IPA has “quite a heavy hop charge, with toffee, sherry, and fruity notes. You’ll taste apricot, peach, citrus and pine,” said Mark Safarik, brewmaster at Dogfish Head Brewery. Again, serve this after dinner and you’ll appreciate it as an aperitif – just don’t try drinking it like a regular beer because that’s just not what it’s meant for.Beer isn’t just about alcohol, and there are some very tasty brews out there at the lower end of the ABV scale. Koch said the brewers have to blend the beer down from over 30 percent ABV “to keep Utopias from being too ferocious.” With that, allow us to show those beers to you. Without further ado, here is our list of the 14 strongest beers in the USA today! The 14 Strongest Beers in America There are a variety of different sugars used in beer. By adding more sugar, you add to the strength of its flavor. Some sugars, such as malt sugar, add more alcohol without the added sweetness. Many of the following sugars are in beer: