Monks in the Middle Ages created strong beer to keep them going during fasting periods - a tradition that's celebrated at Munich's Starkbierfest over the next weeks. Here's a tour of the world's strongest beers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gebert
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10 of the world's strongest beers
Munich celebrates its strong beer festival, the Starkbierfest, over the next several weeks. Here's a tour of beers that have pushed the alcohol by volume limits of the popular beverage.
Image: Brewmeister
Samuel Adams Utopias - 28%
Inside this ceramic bottle made to look like a copper brewing kettle is a beer aged for up to 22 years in sherry, brandy, cognac, bourbon and scotch casks. The Boston-based brewer Samuel Adams releases new batches of the strong brew every two years. With its suggested retail price of $200 (about 190 euros), this sought-after strong ale is the most expensive beer in the United States.
Image: Samuel Adams
BrewDog Tactical Nuclear Penguin - 32%
The Scotland-based brewery BrewDog has been setting records for years; when it was released in 2009, this was the world's strongest beer. Imperial stout is frozen, then the frozen liquids are removed to leave behind more alcohol - inspiring the name. It's to be enjoyed in small servings, just like "a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost," its creators say.
Image: BrewDog
Struise Black Damnation VI - Messy - 39%
De Struise Brouwers is a Belgian microbrewery. Their Black Damnation series is made from a dark Russian imperial stout beer, and among their different brews, VI - Messy is the strongest, with 39% ABV. It has never been released commercially, but connoisseurs who've tasted it at beer festivals say it still actually tastes like a real beer, compared to other very strong brews on this list.
Image: De Struise Brouwers
Schorschbräu Schorschbock 40 - 40%
Competing against BrewDog, the German brewery Schorschbräu was one of the two serious contestants in the arms race to create the world's strongest beer. It had already demonstrated its will to push the limits of beer with its Schorschbock 31%, an Eisbock stronger than any other beer available when it was released in 2008. Their 40% version was brewed at the end of 2009, beating BrewDog's Penguin.
Image: Schorschbräu
BrewDog Sink the Bismarck! - 41%
BrewDog released this even stronger beer a few months later, in 2010. In a clear reference to its German competitor, it was named after the Nazis' largest battleship. It is described by BrewDog as a "quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times." At a 100 euros ($105) a bottle, it's also at least 40 times more expensive than a conventional beer.
Image: BrewDog
BrewDog The End of History - 55%
Aiming to end the battle for the world's strongest beer with this 55% blond Belgian ale, BrewDog also added a controversial visual touch to The End of History by encasing each beer in preserved roadkill. Only 12 bottles were initially made in 2010. New editions were released for a 2016 crowdfunding campaign. Supporters who invested $20,000 in the company were rewarded with this collector's item.
Image: BrewDog
Schorschbräu Schorschbock 57 - 57%
Schorschbräu upgraded to a Schorschbock 43% in 2010 and retaliated with a yet stronger beer in 2011, the Schorschbock 57. The German brewer claims it would be impossible to reach a higher ABV without violating Germany's 500-year-old Beer Purity Law, which they apply in their creations. Only 36 bottles of this beer were initially made, each costing 200 euros (about $210).
Image: Schorschbräu
't Koelschip Start the Future - 60%
Dutch brewer 't Koelschip, which translates to "the refrigerated ship," has also created a few ultra-strong beers. This one was released a month after The End of History - its name, Start the Future, was an obvious reference to its predecessor. The limited batch was also reasonably priced: 35 euros a pop was a bargain compared to the 750 euros for each bottle of BrewDog's dead squirrel creations.
Image: Koelschip
Brewmeister Armageddon - 65%
Another Scottish brewery, Brewmeister, tried to claim the title of the world's strongest beer by releasing a line called Armageddon in 2012. However, lab tests demonstrated that ethanol - pure alcohol - had been added to the product. It has since been removed from Brewmeister's lineup.
Image: Brewmeister
Brewmeister Snake Venom - 67.5%
In 2013, Brewmeister replaced its previous strongest beer, Armageddon, with the stomach-burning Snake Venom. One bottle is equivalent to drinking 15 shots of hard liquor. A label on the bottle recommends not exceeding 35 milliliters in one sitting. Not for purists, this beer is considered unratable by the site RateBeer as the Scottish brewer also admitted to correcting its ABV with pure alcohol.
Image: Brewmeister
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Several strong beers that are celebrated in Munich during the Starkbierfest, or Strong Beer Festival, were initially created by monks. The "Salvator," which is Latin for Savior, is a doppelbock beer that has been brewed by Paulaner friars since 1629. Their brewery became known as the Paulaner.
Interestingly enough, the doppelbock, or double bock, was developed to keep monks going during fasting periods. Nowadays, some people choose to avoid alcohol during the 40 days of the traditional Christian fasting period, from Ash Wednesday to Easter - but these monks followed other rules.
For Paulaner monks in the Middle Ages, that period could extend to up to 130 days. They not only avoided meat, milk, butter and eggs, but all forms of solid foods were also forbidden during the day. However, the Church determined that "Liquida non frangunt jejuneum" - liquids didn't break the fast.
That's why the friars decided to create a strong, substantial beer to serve as "liquid bread" during the day.
To make sure everything was approved by the Pope, they had a sample of their beer sent to Rome. But, repeatedly tumbled along the mountainous way through the Alps, the beer was ruined by the time it reached the head of the Church. The pontiff's reaction: If monks want to drink something that disgusting, they should feel free to do so.
Beer tasting in the brewery of a Bavarian monastery Image: picture-alliance/dpa
With 7.7 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), this "liquid bread" probably had an interesting impact on an empty stomach, however.
Munich celebrates its traditional strong beers
The Paulaner Salvator is still brewed according to the monks' traditional methods. Following this tradition as well, most doppelbock beers add "-ator" to their name, such as the Augustiner Maximator, the Ayinger Celebrator or the Hacker Pschorr Animator. There are now around 200 "-ator" doppelbock beers registered in Germany.
Munich celebrates its strong beer tradition every spring with its Starkbierfest, or Strong Beer Festival, held this year from March 10 to April 2. Like Oktoberfest, each brewery holds a beer tent where their freshly brewed Starkbier is served. However, unlike the better-known Bavarian beer festival held in the fall, this one is not an all-day party: Tents open towards 6 p.m. and close by midnight.
All beers must be brewed in the Munich region, which is not the case for the world's strongest beers presented in the gallery above. The beers served in Munich's traditional festival are also somewhat more reasonable in their alcohol content, which ranges from seven to nine percent.