# Alcohol content of Olde English malt liquor \[new title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210 "2003-05-19T08:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rico776](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@rico776](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rico776)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/1 "2003-05-19T08:16:56Z")
What’s the alcohol percentage of Olde English 800, rather than the 300 (or is it 3000?) ---
**Author:** ![mrcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@mrcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcrow)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/2 "2003-05-19T09:21:10Z")
[here](http://www.ratebeer.com/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=2416) may lie a tale 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/3 "2003-05-19T11:01:06Z")
Did you _deliberately_ give this thread a misleading title so as to entice teetotal linguists to open it just so you could laugh at them?! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/4 "2003-05-19T11:30:55Z")
LOL - **JomoMojo** - I also expected a language question. Well, sorry **rico776** , but I can only suppose the drink in question is not sold here, although there is a brand of cider (OK “hard” cider if you will) named Olde Englishe (made by Gaymers, I think.) So, does this means that the alcohol by volume content is not printed on labels in the U.S.? Here the ABV must be be shown on the bottle: it is intended to make it easier for people to be clear about whether they are drinking a weak beer or a sort of blow-your-head-off-Orkney-Skullcrusher sort of thing, thereby being able to stick to chosen limits, and of course, not being able to claim that you "had no idea how strong it was, officer. "🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/5 "2003-05-19T12:25:34Z")
And ich secge thussum ga than he gaeth, and ich secge thissum cum thanna cumth he, and ich secge thissum do this and he daeth. ---
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/6 "2003-05-19T13:22:35Z")
**RealityChuck** , I don’t speak Old English to any braggable level, but shouldn’t _ich_ be _ic?_ ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/7 "2003-05-19T13:30:42Z")
Perhaps in the context of the thread, it could be “ **Hic** ”? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/8 "2003-05-19T13:30:51Z")
In the USA, ABV on labels is frowned upon because the nannies (you know you I mean, the same people who want to ban tobacco use) fear that it would be used to help people get hammered if they wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/9 "2003-05-19T13:32:41Z")
“… so old that it belonged to an age when there were far more e’s around.” – Terry Pratchett, _The Wee Free Men_ ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/10 "2003-05-19T13:43:54Z")
Ah, thanks, **Dogface**. I think that is nicely funny - the Nannies in the U.K. wanted ABV to be stated clearly to assist people to manage and control and aware of what they are drinking, and in the U.S., then, the equivalent Nannies take the opposite view? hahahahahaha - since they can’t _both_ be right - one set of them (at least) is being silly. Oh dear, I forgot, the Nannies are _always_ right - what a nice conundrum. 🙂 \ Oddly, though, I think there is no requirement for the alchohol level to be shown in bars, (although Real Ale pubs often do it - I think because if someone wants to try one of the guest beers, well they might very well not want to drink some rocket fuel unknowingly. And yet - you’d have thought people drinking in bars are possibly at more risk of evilly driving home (boo) or finding themselves more inebriated than expected as they set off to walk home. And I suppose this is all a bit of a hijack - so I’m sorry **rico776** ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/11 "2003-05-19T13:47:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lodrain \* > \*\ ***RealityChuck** , I don’t speak Old English to any braggable level, but shouldn’t _ich_ be _ic?_ \*\* That’s how my Old English prof spelled it, though probably either is correct. I believe the original had a velar fricative in it. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/12 "2003-05-19T14:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*"… so old that it belonged to an age when there were far more e’s around." > – Terry Pratchett, _The Wee Free Men_ \*\* > [@](#): > > - > > There’s a guy in the place > He’s got a bittersweet face > And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode > His friends call him Eezer and he is the main geezer > > … > > Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode > He’s Ebeneezer Goode > > - [http://www.cuttlefish.net/universalshamen/lyrics/bossdrum.html#boss5](http://www.cuttlefish.net/universalshamen/lyrics/bossdrum.html#boss5) LOL - we still don’t know about th is **Olde English** without even thinking of any other drugs! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rico776](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@rico776](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rico776)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/13 "2003-05-20T05:55:09Z")
Think you guys took this a little too far- just a college student who likes to get messed up on weekends, looking to see how much i’m puttin into me with my OE’s… ---
**Author:** ![ata66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@ata66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ata66)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/14 "2003-05-20T06:12:16Z")
i think you guys should cut the language debate and grab a smooth, refreshing, intoxicating OLDE ENGLISH(so i lie about the description, i drink it to get trashed.) get out for once and have a drink instead of spending your nights arguing about a dead language… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/15 "2003-05-20T06:19:40Z")
My point was: Be a little thoughtful of other people, and use a properly descriptive thread title. ---
**Author:** ![rico776](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@rico776](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rico776)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/16 "2003-05-20T06:32:23Z")
Jomo Mojo- isn’t your name supposed to be Mojo Jojo from television? you couldn’t even type it in right- dylexia kickin in there buddy? Anyway, be thoughtful to me, don’t waste more time replying to what YOU deem appropriate. It seems to me that if you ask a college student, which i am, what olde english refers to it is beer, not an archaic (look, i’m in college AND i am intelligent enough to use the right vocab) language… so MY point is that if you open a thread and it isnt what you thought, feel free to leave, don’t lecture me on being thoughtful or using a proper description- it’s all relative to age and opinion, namely the latter ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/17 "2003-05-20T10:17:09Z")
As to the original question, 8% ABV (see [here](http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/publications/iprc/factline/high_potency.html)). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/18 "2003-05-20T10:54:50Z")
Wrong, my name has been Jomo Mojo since 1981, long before that stupid cartoon ever was thought of. Haven’t you ever heard of Jomo Kenyatta, a great world leader? Or is all your learning devoted to getting drunk and watching TV? Not everyone here is an alcohol-addled college kid, as you seem to imagine. We have grown-up serious intellectuals here who actually do discuss ancient languages more often than alcohol in GQ. The Mods would appreciate it if you use descriptive thread titles; that’s why they placed a sticky for everyone to read explaining that it’s more considerate of the readers. If you want to use this board, newbie, first learn how things are done here. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/19 "2003-05-20T19:05:55Z")
See what alcohol has done to us, people? We’re at each other’s throats! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210/20 "2003-05-20T19:38:12Z")
Let’s all take a deep breath and step back. There, isn’t that better. I have edited the thread title. **rico776** , in the future please try to choose more descriptive titles. I think I have mentioned this to you in the past, but we really do appreciate descriptive and detailed thread titles. It cuts down on the amount of time and bandwidth wasted by people who, for instance, don’t know and don’t want to know anything about Olde English malt liquor. bibliophage moderator GQ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-content-of-olde-english-malt-liquor-new-title/176210.md?page=2)