The ABV Atlas

The Old Gods are not beasts. This is what makes them different from anything beneath. They are gods – the immense, horrible powers of defunct religions, the gods that have been prayed to and then forgotten, still sitting there outside of our world, ancient, patient and no longer receiving prayers. They reside in the 28.0–28.9% bracket, as the beer of this strength has transcended the status of a monster and entered into something one almost needs to kneel down before. It is almost a beer to be approached and not consumed.

Mere steps away from the peak

There is only one clean ABV band above this one. The twenty-eight percent of alcohol content represents almost the peak of the Atlas. So high, but with an odd tranquility – there is almost nothing alive here, and what is there has been created with incredible purposefulness – no accidental or disposable beers, just the ones made with a conscious intention to reach the limits of possibility. These are the beverages for worshiping, brewed to be admired more than drunk.

The old offering

Only one beer at this level is found among the Hop Horizons listings (at the time of writing), appropriately named mead, a traditional English honey ale with 28% ABV. The connection feels appropriate, being at the end of the list of old drinks. Mead is the oldest potent ale humans knew, older than what we now call beer, older than wine – the fermented beverage made of honey which our distant ancestors used to offer to their gods. Seeing such a drink among the ranks of Old Gods, at 28% through the means of natural fermentation, gives an impression that the oldest drink has met the oldest powers in its life. Honey offering, on the edge of the world.

The modern apotheosis

It is the place where the most famous extreme beer of the wider world finds its place. For many years, Sam Adams' Utopias was found at 28% ABV – 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2023 vintage are located at this exact spot, being a blend made of beer aged between 18 and 28 years old, finished in cognac, port, and Pineau casks, issued in small batches, several thousands of bottles per time. While mead can be considered an ancient offering, Utopias is a modern offering: a conscious and intentional product which has been brewed specially to become worthy of reverence. Around it can be found representatives of other beers known for their high ABVs – extreme concoctions produced with freeze concentration techniques by French La Débauche, Dutch Emelisse, Norwegian Nøgne Ø, and Russians brewers. The old way and the new, both aiming at the sublime.

Below is whatever Hop Horizons has actually logged in the 28.0–28.9% range, broken down strength by strength.