Exploring the Top 5 Highest ABV Beer Brands

One of the reasons why some people prefer to take beer over other alcoholic beverages like vodka, gin, whiskey, and rum is because of its moderate alcohol by volume (ABV). Beer is designed for people who don’t want to consume too much alcohol or hard liquor.

However, this doesn’t imply that no beer brands have high ABV. Several types of beer exceed the average ABV for beer brands. Just check their labels for details about their ABV percentages.

These beer brands are ideal for people who want to have slightly higher percentages of alcohol in their drinks without taking hard liquor. This article explores the top 5 highest ABV beer brands on the market today to help you make an informed choice.

Top 5 Beer Brands with the Highest ABV

1. Snake Venom by Brewmeister

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With a whopping 67.5% ABV, Snake Venom is currently touted as the strongest beer in the world, although this title is debatable. The beer is a creation of Brewmeister and it’s brewed in Moray using roasted and peated malt and two types of yeast – one for champagne and the other one for beer.

The fermented beer is frozen three times and the iced water content is removed, leaving a highly concentrated alcohol liquid. The freezing process also enhances the flavor and density of the beer.

Once all the water content has been removed, the remaining alcohol content is fortified with more alcohol to make it stronger. This results in a powerful, sticky, and strongly flavored beer. The beer is uncarbonated due to the thickness of the liquid.

It’s too thick to carry the carbon dioxide foam. The beer is so strong that Brewmeister has issued a warning to its consumers advising them to enjoy it in moderation.

2. Start the Future by Koelschip

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Start The Future is a creation of Brouwerij ‘t Koelschip – a popular brewery in Almere, Netherlands. The beer is made using the traditional Eisbock technique, which gives it 60% ABV.
With such a massive ABV, this beer deserves all the recognition it can get and has, without a doubt, earned its spot in the annals of history. It was once considered the world’s strongest beer.

It has a pale-yellow appearance and a sweetened and spicy taste. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Furthermore, it is dense and uncarbonated. Some consumers describe its flavor as spicy and soapy.

3. Strength In Numbers by BrewDog and Schorschbräu

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With an ABV of 57.8%, Strength in Numbers is undoubtedly one of the world’s strongest beers. The other most interesting thing about this beer is the fact that it’s owned by two of the leading breweries in Europe: BrewDog and Schorschbräu.

The partnership was born out of competition between the two companies. In 2009, BrewDog produced a beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin with 34% ABV, which claimed the title of the strongest beer in the world.

However, Schorschbräu responded almost immediately with Schorschbock 57, which had an ABV of 57.5%. This competition continued for a while until the two breweries decided to come together to produce one strong beer.

This gave birth to Strength in Numbers. The beer has a massive ABV of 57.8%, claiming the title of the strongest beer globally.

It’s brewed using the ancient Eisbock procedure that requires the fermented beer to be frozen for an extended period to remove all the frozen water content, leaving behind a highly concentrated liquid, which is then packaged in limited 40ml pint bottles.

4. Schorschbock 57 by Schorschbräu

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Considered one of the world’s strongest beers, Schorschbock 57 is a popular German bock beer produced by the Schorschbräu brewery, which is located in Gunzenhausen, Bavaria. This iced bock beer has an ABV of 57.5%, which makes it one of the strongest beers globally.

It has a dark malt color and a deep, sweet fragrance with chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and honey nuances. This beer offers a prolonged alcohol note, as well as a warm and elongated finish.

Schorschbock 57 is very sweet despite its high ABV, which makes it the preferred choice for people who want to drink more alcohol but can’t stand the strong, bitter taste of hard liquor.

This beer is made through the Eisbock technique, which involves extracting water from fermented beer to raise its alcohol content. First, the beer is brewed using the normal process of brewing bock beer.

Once fermentation is complete, the beer is kept in a cold room or refrigerator at -180 c to freeze the water content in it. However, this process leaves the alcohol and aroma in their liquid state.

The solid beer is rained off to extract the liquid beer. Unlike other bock beers, Schorschbock is taken through the freezing process twice. The first process reduces it to 20 percent of its initial volume while the second one reduces it to 10 percent.

The first part of freezing helps to boost the alcohol content while the second freezing phase intensifies the taste of the beer. It’s an elaborate brewing process that has earned the beer its status.

5. The End of History by BrewDog

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The End of History is the latest creation by BrewDog – a popular Scottish brewery. This beer offers 55% ABV, slightly below Strength in Numbers and Schorschbock 57. It’s a specially brewed blonde Belgian ale mixed with nettles sourced from the Highlands of Scotland and juniper berries.

Another unique aspect of this beer is its packaging. Every bottle of The End of History is packed inside a taxidermy squirrel designed by a gifted taxidermist. All squirrels used for packaging were “road kills”.

Additionally, each bottle has a certificate for authentication. With 55% ABV, The End of History carries more alcohol content than some vodkas and whiskeys. Initially, the company produced only 12 bottles of this beer, making it an ultra-limited commodity for beer lovers.

However, BrewDog recently announced that the beer will be coming back, albeit at a much higher price than the last batch. A bottle of this rare beverage is likely to set you back $20,000.

Final Thoughts

Most of these beer brands are only available in limited numbers, making them very rare. Nonetheless, they are a true representation of the highest levels of modern brewing, especially in terms of alcohol content.