The ABV Atlas

Jörmungandr, the World Serpent in Norse mythology, was a monstrous creature large enough to circle around the entire world of Men, Midgard, and bite into its own tail. This serpent circled the world and according to legend, when it let go of its tail the world itself would come to an end. There can be no better guard for the 23.0-23.9% band, because there is nothing much more distant from the world of beer than this range. A power so great that Hop Horizons is absolutely empty as it stands.

The empty shore

These beers are brewed in hundreds of bottles each, offered as luxury goods and sold out as soon as they appear on the shelves. To have had one is a truly rare experience.

The edge of the possible

And twenty-three percent is just about where any brewing process begins to fall off the cliff. Fermentation long since threw up its hands... no matter how tough and durable a yeast might be, not a one can match it. All of it comes down to freeze concentration – the extreme eisbock process applied over and over, until what’s left seems almost unbelievable. France’s 90 BPM and their Eisbock de Gelato, and some anniversary releases from River North, Upslope and the Netherlands’ Uiltje, all manage these feats through ice and patience. They push the definitions of beer to its limits, then some.

Historical note

A piece of actual beer history... Far back in the days before the current strength wars, an English brewery known as Parish made a beer called Baz’s Super Brew. It was once said to have been the strongest beer in Britain, coming in at around 23%. It is an historical oddity now, but it stands in the same family as everything in this range – the endless, slightly insane human urge to make a stronger beer than has ever been made before. From Baz’s Super Brew through today’s ultra strong freeze concentrated beers, this range is the line where that urge and the limit of possibility meet.

No beers have yet been logged on Hop Horizons in the 23.0–23.9% range. Should one ever be, it will appear here, broken down strength by strength — but a beer this strong is a rare catch indeed.