The 70% Beer That Was: Het Koelschip's "Mistery of Beer"
For a time, the Dutch brewery Het Koelschip claimed the top spot for the world’s strongest beer with its product, "Mistery of Beer," which reportedly reached 70% ABV. However, this legendary brew is now out of production. Its creation was achieved through the Eisbock technique, a method of freeze-distillation that pushes a beer's alcohol content far beyond what is possible with standard fermentation. In freeze-distillation, the brew is chilled until the water begins to freeze, allowing the brewer to separate the ice from the more concentrated, high-alcohol liquid. This process can be repeated multiple times to achieve an incredibly high alcohol volume. The achievement was controversial, with many purists debating whether freeze-distillation disqualifies a beverage from being considered a "true" beer, since the alcohol is concentrated mechanically rather than produced solely by fermentation.
Current Title Holders: Beithir Fire and Snake Venom
Today, the record for the world's strongest beer is held by more contemporary creations, often using similar extreme methods but with slightly different interpretations of what constitutes beer. These are powerful drinks, meant to be sipped in small measures, more like a fine whisky than a pint of ale.
Beithir Fire (75% ABV)
Produced by Scotland’s 88 Brewery, Scottish Beithir Fire holds the top spot at an astonishing 75% ABV. The brewery candidly states that this is achieved by blending a high-ABV Scottish barley ale with a powerful distilled spirit. This fortification process is a key part of how it reaches such an extreme alcohol level. The process takes several months and involves triple filtering to ensure a balance of strength and flavor.
Snake Venom (67.5% ABV)
Another Scottish creation, Brewmeister's Snake Venom, stands as one of the most famous and potent beers in the world, with a 67.5% ABV. Its brewing process is complex, involving smoked peat malt and a combination of beer and champagne yeasts. Like other high-ABV contenders, it is freeze-distilled multiple times to concentrate the alcohol. Snake Venom is notable for its viscosity and lack of carbonation due to its thickness, and it comes with a strong warning for consumers to enjoy it only in small doses.
The Extreme Brewing Process: How to Achieve High-ABV Beers
Creating beers with an ABV exceeding 60% requires specialized and often unconventional techniques. The journey goes far beyond traditional brewing methods that typically max out around 12-14% ABV before the yeast dies from alcohol toxicity.
List of Advanced Brewing Techniques
- High-Gravity Wort: The process starts by creating a very sugary wort, or unfermented beer. Brewers achieve this by using significantly more grains, malt extract, or other fermentable sugars like honey.
- Specialized Yeast Strains: A high-alcohol-tolerant yeast strain is crucial. Many extreme brewers use a combination of beer and champagne yeasts, or even breed hardy yeast cells over generations, to ensure the fermentation process can continue in a high-alcohol environment.
- Multi-Stage Fermentation: Some brewers use a multi-stage fermentation process, sometimes with different yeasts, to maximize alcohol production and prevent the yeast from becoming 'stuck'.
- Freeze-Distillation (Eisbock): This method, originating from the German Eisbock style, is used to increase alcohol concentration. The beer is chilled, and as the water freezes, the ice is removed, leaving behind a more potent brew. This technique is central to creating beers with an ABV over 20%.
- Fortification: The final step for some of the most potent brews, like Beithir Fire, is to blend the beer with a neutral spirit. This moves the beverage into a gray area for beer purists, but it is an effective way to achieve truly astronomical alcohol percentages.
Comparison of Extreme ABV Beers
| Beer Name | Brewery | Country | ABV | Technique | Fortified? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish Beithir Fire | 88 Brewery | Scotland | 75% | Freeze-distilled + Spirit blend | Yes |
| Mistery of Beer | Het Koelschip | Netherlands | 70% | Eisbock (Freeze-distilled) | No (Pure Eisbock) |
| Snake Venom | Brewmeister | Scotland | 67.5% | Freeze-distilled + Spirit blend | Yes |
| Armageddon | Brewmeister | Scotland | 65% | Freeze-distilled | No |
| Start the Future | Koelschip | Netherlands | 60% | Eisbock (Freeze-distilled) | No |
| Schorschbock 57 | Schorschbräu | Germany | 57.8% | Eisbock (Freeze-distilled) | No |
| Sink the Bismarck! | BrewDog | Scotland | 41% | Quadruple IPA, Freeze-distilled | No |
Conclusion
While the legendary 70 percent alcohol beer, "Mistery of Beer," is no longer in production, the quest for the world's strongest brew continues among craft brewers. Today, creations like Scottish Beithir Fire and Snake Venom hold the highest alcohol titles, achieving their extreme potency through a combination of high-gravity brewing, specialized yeasts, and often, freeze-distillation and spirit fortification. For beer connoisseurs, these are not drinks for casual consumption but rarities to be savored in small, appreciative measures, similar to a fine spirit. The ultimate definition of what qualifies as "beer" at these extreme ABV levels remains a subject of spirited debate within the brewing community.
