The ABV Atlas

The Frost Giants · 8.0–8.9% ABV

Colossal frost giants striding through a bleak frozen mountain landscape, representing rich, warming strong beers from 8.0% to 8.9% ABV.

The Frost Giants

Beers from 8.0–8.9% ABV

First of the giants... vast, cold-weather beers of deep malt and slow warmth.

The 8.0% to 8.9% band, the threshold of the giants. Imperial stouts, barley wines, tripels-into-quads and big Belgian strongs live here. Rich, warming, formidable beers made for cold nights and slow sipping.

The frost giants - jötnar of Norse myth - were the vast ancient beings of ice, mountain and storm, elder even than the gods and forever at war with them. Ymir, first of their kind, was a giant from whose body the world was made. They're the first true giants of the Atlas, marking the passage from the world of beasts to the age of colossal, elemental powers.
A towering frost giant of ice and storm looming in dim light - emblem of Hop Horizons' 8.0–8.9% ABV strong winter-beer category, The Frost Giants.

It is here that the Atlas switches from one set of species to another. What follows is not any sort of animal at all but rather a giant: an element itself, a mountain — now something to endure, not battle with. Leading the giants are the Frost Giants — the jötnar of the ancient north, great beings of ice and tempests who predate the gods. And 8-point-something is genuinely winter beer: rich and warming, meant for the cold nights.

The warming-and-strong core

This is the place where many of the best big styles of beer are made. It is here that the reign of the imperial stout, the rich, dark, thick beer with notes of chocolate, coffee and fruit, starts. Here comes the barleywine with its huge malt flavors. Quadrupel ales from Belgium and other strong ales add the warmth and flavor of dried fruits. They are not refreshing beers and do not strive to be.

And it is here where the Atlas goes from one range of beers to another. There are no small creatures here at all but rather the giants — elements themselves, mountains — something that should be endured, not fought against. The giants are led by the Frost Giants — the jötnar of old north, great and mighty creatures of the ice and tempests who lived before the gods. And 8-point-something is truly winter beer — strong and warm, suitable for the freezing nights.

The warming and strong core

And here is where many of the best big beers are brewed. It is here where the era of the imperial stout, the strong, dark, thick beer with hints of chocolate, coffee and fruits begins. Here come the barleywines with their powerful malts. Here are the quadrupels, Belgian strong ales with a taste of the dried fruits. They are not refreshing beers, and they do not intend to be.

Below is whatever Hop Horizons has logged in the 8.0–8.9% range, ranked and broken down strength by strength.

This category at a glance

1732
Unique beers
1662
Scored
72.1%
Mean score
74.1%
Median score
88
Styles
728
Breweries
48
Countries

Score range 22.73%–91.13%, standard deviation 9.65 (population, over 1662 scored beers). Most common style: imperial IPA (602). Most represented country: England.

Top beers across 8.0–8.9%

Unique beers by exact strength

884
8.0
80
8.1
116
8.2
58
8.3
113
8.4
340
8.5
33
8.6
43
8.7
46
8.8
19
8.9

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.

71.4
8.0
72.7
8.1
70.8
8.2
73.9
8.3
72.8
8.4
73.1
8.5
71.7
8.6
74.9
8.7
73.9
8.8
69.9
8.9

Style distribution

imperial IPA
602 (34.8%)
tripel
118 (6.8%)
imperial stout
110 (6.4%)
Belgian-style strong pale ale
89 (5.1%)
Belgian-style strong dark ale
74 (4.3%)
New England IPA
63 (3.6%)
sour beer
58 (3.3%)
DDH IPA
48 (2.8%)
European strong lager
33 (1.9%)
doppelbock
33 (1.9%)
imperial porter
27 (1.6%)
export stout
25 (1.4%)
Other (76 styles)
452 (26.1%)

Every strength in this range

8.0% ABV

884 unique beers · average score 71.39% · 36 not yet scored

Show all 848 scored beers at 8.0%
8.1% ABV

80 unique beers · average score 72.65% · 1 not yet scored

Show all 79 scored beers at 8.1%
8.2% ABV

116 unique beers · average score 70.75% · 3 not yet scored

Show all 113 scored beers at 8.2%
8.3% ABV

58 unique beers · average score 73.90% · 3 not yet scored

Show all 55 scored beers at 8.3%
8.4% ABV

113 unique beers · average score 72.85% · 13 not yet scored

Show all 100 scored beers at 8.4%
8.5% ABV

340 unique beers · average score 73.09% · 11 not yet scored

Prime imperial stout and barley wine territory... deep, dark and warming, with the kind of slow complexity that rewards cellaring. Some of the most contemplative beers gather around here.
Show all 329 scored beers at 8.5%
8.6% ABV

33 unique beers · average score 71.71%

Show all 33 scored beers at 8.6%
8.7% ABV

43 unique beers · average score 74.92% · 1 not yet scored

Show all 42 scored beers at 8.7%
8.8% ABV

46 unique beers · average score 73.89% · 1 not yet scored

Show all 45 scored beers at 8.8%
8.9% ABV

19 unique beers · average score 69.93% · 1 not yet scored

Show all 18 scored beers at 8.9%
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