The ABV Atlas

The Wyverns · 13.0–13.9% ABV

Wyverns wheeling above jagged mountain crags at dusk, representing extreme-strength beers from 13.0% to 13.9% ABV.

The Wyverns

Beers from 13.0–13.9% ABV

The lesser dragons, fierce, winged and wild. Circling just below the true dragon's domain.

The 13.0% to 13.9% band. Rarefied, extreme-strong territory. Colossal barrel-aged stouts, the biggest barleywines, imperial quads and strong eisbocks live here - beers approaching fortified-wine strength, brewed and aged with real ambition.

The wyvern, which is the smaller cousin of the dragon, is a winged serpentine beast with only two legs instead of four, with its wings functioning as its front limbs, its barbed tail curling behind it. It is wild and fierce where the dragon is majestic; it is a heraldic beast. It defends the rank that is below the dragon's.
A two-legged winged wyvern poised on a crag in dim light... emblem of Hop Horizons' 13.0–13.9% ABV extreme-strength beer category, The Wyverns.

The Wyvern is a lesser cousin to the dragon – two legs, compared to the dragon's four, its wings serving as its forelegs, more a feral creature than a king. It flies in the skies just beneath the range of the dragons, and that is precisely what the 13.0 – 13.9% bracket represents – strong, undeniably dragon territory, yet falling short of the peak of the greatest dragons' range. These are wild beers, extreme enough to inspire fear, yet still second to the most majestic of the Atlas monsters.

Taking on the strengths of fortified wines

At 13% alcohol content, beers are equal to a powerful red wine and only slightly weaker than the lighter fortified wines. The process of fermentation is reaching its limits at this percentage, so only bold beers manage to make it here – monstrous barrel-aged imperial stouts, gigantic barleywines, immense imperial quadrupels from Belgium, very strong old ales, and potent eisbocks. Each of these beers carries an unmistakable note of heat and liqueur-like flavor, while refreshment seems distant and rich flavour the only priority.

Brewing on the very edge

Getting a brew to just below 14% ABV is a tightrope walk. It cannot be done using regular yeasts; it can only be done using yeasts that are extremely alcohol-resistant, step-feeding the sugars slowly, a lot of patience, and sometimes using the freezing and ice removal technique used by the famous eisbocks. Getting the drink smooth and not rough at such a high alcohol percentage is no easy task either; the most excellent Wyverns have been able to mask their high alcohol percentage with dark fruits, wood and malt.

Very rare, very sought-after and can age well

This sort of beers is very rare and designed to be aged. They come in limited amounts in small bottles and are designed to age well over time, with the young, fierce character turning into port wine, sherry, figs and leather. It is an occasion to open one of these bottles. The Wyverns turn just at the threshold of the Dragons.

Below is whatever Hop Horizons has logged in the 13.0–13.9% range, ranked and broken down strength by strength.

This category at a glance

130
Unique beers
88
Scored
86.2%
Mean score
89.1%
Median score
26
Styles
77
Breweries
24
Countries

Score range 47.48%–98.02%, standard deviation 10.30 (population, over 88 scored beers). Most common style: imperial stout (46). Most represented country: England.

Top beers across 13.0–13.9%

Unique beers by exact strength

75
13.0
3
13.1
6
13.2
2
13.3
7
13.4
24
13.5
3
13.6
5
13.7
4
13.8
1
13.9

Average score by exact strength

Bars are on a 0–100% scale; a missing bar (—) means no scored beers at that strength, not a score of zero.

87.2
13.0
91.8
13.1
90.6
13.2
94.9
13.3
91.0
13.4
81.4
13.5
69.6
13.6
87.4
13.7
78.9
13.8
—
13.9

Style distribution

imperial stout
46 (35.4%)
New World barley wine
11 (8.5%)
mead
10 (7.7%)
Russian imperial stout
9 (6.9%)
traditional barley wine
9 (6.9%)
milk stout
8 (6.2%)
pastry stout
5 (3.8%)
saké
3 (2.3%)
New World strong ale
3 (2.3%)
quadrupel
3 (2.3%)
imperial IPA
3 (2.3%)
Belgian-style strong pale ale
2 (1.5%)
Other (14 styles)
18 (13.8%)

Every strength in this range

13.0% ABV

75 unique beers · average score 87.18% · 25 not yet scored

Show all 50 scored beers at 13.0%
13.1% ABV

3 unique beers · average score 91.79%

13.2% ABV

6 unique beers · average score 90.63% · 2 not yet scored

13.3% ABV

2 unique beers · average score 94.95% · 1 not yet scored

13.4% ABV

7 unique beers · average score 91.01% · 2 not yet scored

13.5% ABV

24 unique beers · average score 81.43% · 8 not yet scored

Rarefied barrel-aged-stout and big-barley wine territory, level with a strong red wine. Warming, liqueur-deep and built to cellar. The beers that reach this far are ambitious by nature, and the best of them wear their strength with real poise.
Show all 16 scored beers at 13.5%
13.6% ABV

3 unique beers · average score 69.62% · 2 not yet scored

13.7% ABV

5 unique beers · average score 87.38% · 1 not yet scored

13.8% ABV

4 unique beers · average score 78.89%

13.9% ABV

1 unique beer · 1 not yet scored

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