Beers from 19.0–19.9% ABV
The primordial sea-serpent - the deep, classical monsters of extreme strength.
The 19.0% to 19.9% band... the last stretch before twenty percent. A rarefied depth where traditional barley wines and colossal barrel-aged imperial stouts dwell. Beers so strong that only a handful have been logged, and the wider world does much of the talking.
Leviathan is the sea serpent of the Bible and legend, the great coil of the abyss itself, set against the terrestrial Behemoth as its oceanic counterpart. While Behemoth represents mass upon the earth, Leviathan represents the unfathomable depths: an ancient creature of enormous size dwelling far below the light. It is the perfect guardian of the 19.0–19.9% range, the final fathom of darkness before the twenty per cent threshold, where only the greatest beers descend.
Broadly speaking, two very different kinds of beer dominate this level. There is the traditional route represented by the traditional barley wine, brewed from an enormous malt-rich wort and brought to strength through patient fermentation, specialist yeast and time. Then there is the contemporary American giant: the barrel-aged imperial stout, fermented to extraordinary strength before spending months or even years absorbing bourbon, whisky or rum character from the wood. Barrel ageing does not ordinarily create all that alcohol by itself, but it transforms an already immense beer into something darker, richer and more confection-like. Both kinds can finish at 19%, but their personalities could hardly be more different.
As of now, only one beer within this band has been logged by Hop Horizons: Mikkeller’s Forêt du Centre, a French oak-aged traditional barley wine at 19.3% ABV. More importantly, it is an excellent one, with a Hop Horizons score above ninety per cent. Such rarity is understandable: beers of this gravity are difficult and expensive to produce, often released in tiny batches and seldom encountered by chance. At this depth, one outstanding barley wine is already quite a catch.
The wider world of nineteen-per-cent beer is dominated by colossal barrel-aged imperial stouts, and one recurring name is The Bruery’s Black Tuesday. Its strength changes from vintage to vintage: numerous releases have landed between 19.1% and 19.9%, while others have fallen immediately below or risen above this band. Around it is an entire family of similarly enormous beers, including Chocolate Rain, Mocha Wednesday and PB & Thursday. River North has explored the same territory through its exceptionally strong barrel programme, while European brewers such as Mikkeller and Brouwerij de Molen have reached it through bourbon-barrel ageing and freeze concentration. Most examples are imperial stouts, but barley wines and eisbocks still surface from the depths.
The beers below have not yet been logged by Hop Horizons, but each is known to have entered the 19.0–19.9% range. Where the strength changes over time, the qualifying vintage or edition is identified explicitly.
Eight further leviathans known to have entered the 19.0–19.9% band.
The Bruery
The defining beer of The Bruery’s extreme barrel programme. The 2015 vintage reached the very ceiling of this band after extended maturation in bourbon barrels, combining immense sweetness with dark fruit, chocolate, vanilla, oak and warming spirit character.
The Bruery
A dessert-like transformation of Black Tuesday, enhanced with cacao nibs and vanilla beans after bourbon-barrel ageing. Its strength has changed considerably between vintages, with the 2017 edition reaching 19.6%.
The Bruery
Another member of The Bruery’s formidable Days of the Week family, combining the bourbon-aged foundations of Black Tuesday with coffee and cacao nibs. The 2021 bottle was labelled at 19.1%, with coffee, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon packed into an exceptionally rich body.
The Bruery
A peanut-inspired member of The Bruery’s Days of the Week series, produced from bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with peanut flour. At 19.8%, it turned the familiar combination of peanut butter, chocolate and bourbon into an immense after-dinner beer.
Mikkeller
A rare edition of Mikkeller’s already formidable Black, matured in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels. The result brought together molasses, dark chocolate, vanilla, oak and forceful bourbon warmth at precisely the same strength as Hop Horizons’ solitary logged beer.
River North Brewery
River North’s enormous barley wine brings a welcome change from the imperial stouts dominating this band. Barrel maturation deepens its characteristic fig, caramel and oak flavours, pushing an already contemplative style into genuine leviathan territory.
River North Brewery
An intensified version of River North’s Shadowman, subjected to two stages of barrel maturation. Dark chocolate, stone fruit, vanilla and whiskey character gather around a 19.8% foundation, leaving it only two-tenths short of the next Atlas band.
Brouwerij de Molen
Created for the 2024 Borefts festival, this freeze-concentrated beer was matured in Château Talbot wine barrels. Raisin, caramel, coffee, wood and vinous tannin give it a distinctly European identity among the band’s predominantly American bourbon-aged giants.
Below is everything Hop Horizons has actually logged in the 19.0–19.9% range, ranked and broken down strength by strength.
Score range 90.45%–90.45%, standard deviation 0.00 (population, over 1 scored beers). Most common style: traditional barley wine (1). Most represented country: Denmark.
Bars are on a 0–100% scale; a missing bar (—) means no scored beers at that strength, not a score of zero.
No beers at exactly 19.0% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.1% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.2% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
1 unique beer · average score 90.45%
No beers at exactly 19.4% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.5% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.6% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.7% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.8% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.
No beers at exactly 19.9% ABV have yet been added to Hop Horizons.