This video documents an attempt to create a beer with an extremely high alcohol content. The initial premise, to concentrate twenty 5% ABV beers into a single 100% ABV beverage, is quickly abandoned due to the large volume of non-volatile solids. The creator pivots to a new method: using a freeze-dryer to dehydrate the beer, creating a powdered, alcohol-free flavor concentrate. The core of the video is a series of trial-and-error experiments attempting to dissolve this beer powder into pure ethanol to create a high-proof drink. They discover that the powder is largely insoluble in pure ethanol, requiring water as a solvent. This leads to further complications, including the precipitation of a tasteless, gummy substance when ethanol is added to the aqueous beer concentrate. Through a careful balancing act of adding water and ethanol, they produce a final liquid that retains beer-like color and flavor. Using a refractometer, the final product is measured at 80% ABV. The creators find it surprisingly palatable.
An Experimental Approach to Creating 80% ABV "Super Beer"
0:00 The video's premise is established: to overcome the low alcohol percentage of commercial beer by creating a "super beer" with an ABV potentially as high as 100%.
4:13 The chosen method is freeze-drying, intended to remove water and concentrate the beer's essence. This differs from the fractional freezing used by commercial high-ABV beers.
9:18 The freeze-drying process successfully removes both water and the original alcohol, resulting in a dry, crispy, alcohol-free beer powder with a highly concentrated flavor.
12:08 The first major attempt to create the super beer fails. The creator tries to mix the powder from all 20 original beers with pure ethanol, but the powder merely absorbs the liquid, creating a voluminous, unappetizing paste. This plan was flawed from the start due to basic mass conservation; the solids from 20 beers were never going to fit in one can.
16:30 The strategy is revised: use the powder equivalent of a single beer to flavor a standard drink volume.
19:25 Experiments reveal that the beer powder is largely insoluble in pure ethanol. Water is required to dissolve the flavor components.
23:25 Further experimentation shows that adding ethanol to a water-based solution of the beer powder causes a tasteless, white, gummy substance to precipitate out. This demonstrates that different components of the beer solids have different solubilities.
26:41 A final, successful process is developed by carefully titrating water and ethanol to keep the desired flavor and color components in solution while maximizing the alcohol concentration.
28:23 The final concoction is measured with a refractometer and shown to be 80% ABV. As far as I can tell, the accuracy of this measurement is questionable, given the complex mixture of sugars, proteins, and other compounds from the beer powder, which would likely interfere with a device calibrated for simpler ethanol-water solutions.
29:43 The 80% ABV "super beer" is tasted and deemed a success. The flavor is described as genuinely beer-like and surprisingly palatable despite the extreme alcohol content.
32:28 The video concludes with the creator making a website for the "Superbeer" product, claiming this will protect the trademark, which I doubt has any legal merit. I don't care.