The ABV Atlas

The term juggernaut originates from Jagannath, a powerful Hindu god whose huge temple chariot was pulled through the city streets in processions - such a large and unstoppable thing, the Europeans, who were impressed by it, used to say that there was no way to stop it once it started rolling. This term came to refer to a powerful and unstoppable force that crushes everything on its way. This is why the term is appropriate for the 22.0–22.9% category. Beer produced in this strength range is created thanks to another kind of an unstoppable force... coldness.

The domain of eisbock

There is one brewing technique that dominates this strength, and that is freeze distillation, or the eisbock technique. The principle is primitive and brutal - freeze the strong beer and remove the ice, which freezes sooner than alcohol due to the different freezing point of each substance, and you get a stronger and more concentrated beer. Apply this technique several times, and the beer becomes more and more powerful.

Concentration as craft

There is more to it than just freezing. Add too much water and you'll wind up with something hot, aggressive and out of balance, something of the spirit rather than of beer and none of its qualities of refinement. But the best eisbocks manage to maintain the balance between flavour, body and alcohol levels, producing something that feels still recognizably beer, a colossal, warming, malt-driven thing filled with dried fruits, toffee and bread flavours rather than pure alcohol. It is something the German and Low Countries brewers have been doing for centuries now, and the eisbock is by far the most authentic way of achieving such qualities.

Out there

There are only two beers listed on Hop Horizons at the time of writing, still on deck, and from Estonia. This is a good indicator of how rare a truly 22% beer is. There are more of them however, and they include all the notable representatives of ice brewing... freeze-concentrated beers of the Belgian breweries De Struise (Black Damnation series) and Brewery De Meester, the Netherlands' Hertog Jan, the French La Débauche, and the US extremists Anchorage and River North with their many barrel aged anniversary stouts. Of course, there will always be the giant - The Bruery's Black Tuesday Grand Reserve, which often climbs well above 22%.

Below is whatever Hop Horizons has actually logged in the 22.0–22.9% range, broken down strength by strength.