I admit, this idea stemmed in no small part from a personal dislike of the trending approach in brewing to make all things quaffable also sessionable. Don't peg me as ignorant as I understand the idea behind session beers, they're just not something I plan on embracing anytime soon. I like my beers to be above 5% as a rule. I've tasted plenty of good session beers, but I tend to want to make beer that has a little more danger associated with it. Session beers are a little too reserved. I try hard to find something sexy about them, but the chemistry just isn't there for me.
Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
I really liked Stone's 12th Anniversary Ale and I set out to do something similar with this beer. The idea was to showcase bitterness from the dark roasted malts, providing a counter to the alcohol bite. Hops took on a background role, with barely 15 AAUs added throughout the process. Two pounds of Flaked Oats provided the base needed to handle all of that bitterness. The result is smooth and drinkable but also intensely alcoholic and bitter.
Hoodoo Imperial IPA
A simple grain bill, with just enough residual sweetness and a ton of hops made this beer the counterpoint to the Bitter Stout. The bitterness needed to cut through the ABV came exclusively from hops, though there was also plenty of aromatics meant to compliment the significant heat in the end result. This beer came out intensely floral and finished just a bit too sweet at around 1.020. If it had dropped another 8 or 10 gravity points, the result would have been significantly less cloying.
I'm honestly the complete opposite. I prefer less than 5%, not that I don't enjoy DIPA's, RIS's, but I'll drink session beers, milds, and Berliner Weisses 10:1 to other bigger styles.
ReplyDeleteI honestly feel to brew them is much more difficult, you are walking a much thinner line of so little malt, so percise hopping to nail something light, but enjoyable.
Either way, both of your beers sound interesting and tasty. Is the 10% well hidden? I didn't have an issue hiding it in my RIS, but that beer has so much malt that it's hard to say anything can stand out.