Posting from my phone, so no linkage, but I’ll throw out Dogfish Head (out of Delaware) with, among others that are quite flavorful and alcoholic, Raison D’extra (brown ale) and World Wide Stout, both over 18%.
First time I’ve seen that on the SDMB… but go away from the boards for a year or two and technology does that…
You really, seriously need to drink some real American beer.
If, however, the joke said, “Why is Coors Light like making love in a canoe?” it would be funny.
Minor nitpick perhaps, but you can’t call something with 18% ABV a “brown ale” or a “stout.” That’s almost triple the recommended alcohol content for those styles, requiring multiple fermentations, different yeast, and truckloads of malt. The taste is far sweeter than style guidelines would call for. I’d classify both of those as barleywines. In some (most?) states, you can’t even use the word “beer” legally to describe those–you’d have to call them malt liquors.
That said, I’m going to have to find a source and give them a taste, although I usually don’t go for the super-sweet beers. I’ve brewed a fair amount of beer in my time, and I have to say the thought of putting raisins in them never occurred to me.
Just an anecdote:
I was at a wedding a few years ago with my (then) girlfriend, and two of her close friends. The four of us, knowing how boring the wedding would be, decided to get sloshed. As soon as we had our table, we started making regular trips to the open bar for mixed drinks.
In good time, we had each consumed at least 4 or 5 drinks, and we were acting decidedly silly. Nevertheless, I realized at once that I didn’t feel drunk - not even tipsy. I remarked this, and all of a sudden, the silliness ended and everyone agreed that they didn’t feel even slightly drunk.
(I still don’t know what the deal was, but I assume that they had severely watered down their drinks to save on money or to reduce fun behavior.)
There has been some research into the cultural effects of perceived alcohol consumption, which tend to bear out the theory that people “act drunk” because they are expected to, and that this is to a large degree independent of the actual physiological effects that alcohol will have on the body.
Dogfish Head is probably my 2nd favorite American brewery (Bell’s, out of Kalamazoo MI being number one) and the Raison d’Etre is my favorite of their brews. I’d definitely second the advice to give it a shot. I did think it was 9% ABV rather than 18%, though.
That’s the Raison d’Etre. They make a high-octane version called the Raison d’Extra. I had it on Halloween at the Clark Street Ale House in Chicago, and though I’m used to drinking higher-alcohol beers, I really had to nurse the Extra.
I really like Raison D’Etre. D’Extra, not so much. Same with WW Stout. They’re fun experiments in high-alcohol beer/barleywine, and I mentioned them upthread for that sake alone. I’m sure we can all name plenty of beers we love in the 6% to 10% range, which are still far above water.