I’d like to do a good cellarable (high gravity) beer, but my days of doing BDBs (Big Damn Beers) just ‘cause I can is over. There’s more of a challenge to making a lighter beer with a clean flavor profile and on style. And by lighter, I don’t mean no flavor. We made a Belgian Golden ale that was surreal.
Oh, and hangovers suck, especially when you’re over 50.
When I was young and just starting, I was buying Fischer's Biere d'Alsace for the flip top and the rubber gasket (I still have dozens of bottles)... 14%. That's not beer. It's damage.
Back then I could take it.
I may not be wiser, but I'm older and a hell of a lot more careful.
/johnny