What does "high gravity" mean when its on a beer?

Question

its on a bunch of beers like o e forties

Answer 1

High gravity means higher alcohol content, but not all of it is bad.  I like Steel Reserve,  even though its cheap.  But to answer the question,  higher alcohol is what it means.

Answer 2

it means its a cheap crappy malt liquor with a high alcohol content. if you have no tastebuds and dont care about the hangover you can get drunk cheap.

Im just giving the facts,  you are the one mentioning 40s of Old English. Old English malt liquor is for drunks. I guess the truth hurts. You being 25 I would hope you knew better.

Answer 3

High gravity refers to the concentration of sugars in the brewing process.

Liquids can be compared to the density of water which is considered 1 (1.000 S.G.). Each liquid has a different or nearly different S.G. An instrument called a hydrometer is used to measure specific gravity (S.G.). It is a bulbous long glass tube with graduated readings along its stem. A liquid is placed in a cylinder and the hydrometer is dropped in. The S. G. is read at the highest point on the stem where the liquid reaches.

Beers are brewed from a liquid called wort. Wort is a sweet sugar solution produced in a brewing step called mashing. By adding more or less barley or by increasing or decreasing the mash temperature, the brewer can produce more sugar. The greater the S. G. is from water the greater potential for alcohol. In addition the increased S.G. contains more of the unfermentable sugars called dextrins. Dextrins give more body to a beer.

When the S.G. gets above OG: 1.080 – 1.120 it is called a high gravity beer.

It is understood that high gravity beers will also be high alcohol beers (but exceptions do exist).

Answer 4

high gravity beers generally do have a higher alchohol content (7-9%).. but they are not bad tasting or bad quality! Belgian beers are high gravity and quite tasty and the absolute best beers around!

And belgian beers aren't cheap.. it's cheaper to get drunk of a case of nasty naty light than high gravity beers.

Answer 5

It's related to specific gravity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_gr...

And is measured with a hydrometer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrometer

It does not simply measure the %ABV.  There is also the amount of sugars left over which will affect the gravity.

It is only by knowing the gravity before fermentation and after fermentation that you can understand what the %ABV is, as given here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_%28... .