Why Big Beers?

[Kealia]

And I drink pale ales and ambers year-round since I don't care for darker beers. I'm not really a brew-to-season kinda guy.

[jivex5k]

I brew them because they are awesome.
Nothing like a nice thick Russian Imperial Stout, full body and flavor, a swirling vortex from which no light escapes.
The high ABV is simply a result of brewing for big mouthfeel and flavor.
Plus the bigger beers are better suited for things like adding oak cubes and bourbon....mmm, I still have one left.
In the case of a super hoppy double IPA, you need that much malt to somewhat balance the massive amount of hops.

All in all, because they taste great!

[mashani]

I am weird, in that although I brew maybe 50% Belgians/Saisons, only about 10% of them are big beers. The rest are 1.05ish or even 1.04ish. My IPAs tend to not go over 1.06ish, I would rather add munich to bump up malt to balance out more hops then brew a 1.07-1.08ish beer to accomplish it.

[mtsoxfan]

FIT... had my first barleywine this week... damn good. I've been missing out. Wife loved the taste, but she isn't much of a drinker, so I had to help her out.

[haerbob3]

Most of the beers I brew are big beers. Mostly Belgiums because that is what I enjoy. I also have either an IPA or a pils on the other tap. I rarely drink 2.

[John Sand]

Great discussion. Thanks for the viewpoints!

[Rebel_B]

I noticed a similar vein at my local homebrew club. Everybody brings their extreme brewing examples! The reason? To get objective feedback, comments, and criticisms on their brews. Everyone already is dialed in on the basic pale ales, etc. and they are working on improving their experimental and creative brews. Noticed quite few people getting into distilling as well.