# Alcohol In Beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834 "2008-07-26T11:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/1 "2008-07-26T11:56:13Z")
While in South Carolina recently I had two bottles of Budweiser beer (not light) that tasted like beer-flavored Kool Aid. (Let’s not get sidetracked into a discussion of whether Budweiser always tastes that way.) There was absolutely no “kick” to it at all. My sister who was with me and is a resident of that state said beer in South Carolina has less than 3% alcohol. Is this true? Is there a nice list somewhere on the internet that gives the alcohol content of beer in each state and maybe in other countries? I looked, but I couldn’t find one. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/2 "2008-07-26T12:16:41Z")
Couldn’t you have just looked on the bottle? Alcohol content for a vast array of beers [here.](http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/calories.php) ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/3 "2008-07-26T12:21:21Z")
Per [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_the_United_States_by_state) the law in South Caroline allows: > [@](#): > > 14% ABW (17.5% ABV) cap on beer That’s Alcohol by Weight and Alcohol by Volume. Normally, A-B beers are around the 5% mark. When I was younger and we had stranger liquor laws in Missouri than at present, there were certain times and places that you couldn’t get 5% beer, and during some of those times, 3.2% beer would be available. There might be some law local to your sister’s county or community that restricts the alcohol content during some time periods. And, as the **Death Ray** noted, you can look at the bottle of an A-B product; it will state the percentage. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/4 "2008-07-26T12:23:48Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”] Couldn’t you have just looked on the bottle? Alcohol content for a vast array of beers [here.](http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/calories.php) [/QUOTE] 1. In most states beer labels do not list the alcoholic content of beer. Certainly not in the Washington, D.C/Maryland/Virginia area where I live. Nor on the bottles I drank in South Carolina. 2. The list you suggested does not provide a state-by-state breakdown and there is a difference from state to state. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/5 "2008-07-26T13:13:22Z")
[This article](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22958512/) from February says that the 3.2% law was only overturned “recently” in South Carolina. Some places may prefer to continue buying the “old” stuff to keep certain demographics happy/sell lower-alcohol beer that will encourage customers to buy more beers at the same price/out of habit. Edit: The last I checked out a label of a beer from a macrobrewery, alcohol content was not listed. It’s been a while, though. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/6 "2008-07-26T13:24:08Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] Edit: The last I checked out a label of a beer from a macrobrewery, alcohol content was not listed. It’s been a while, though. [/QUOTE] Does it state the number of “standard drinks” in a bottle, or give you any other indication of how drunk you might get? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/7 "2008-07-26T13:31:47Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”] Does it state the number of “standard drinks” in a bottle, or give you any other indication of how drunk you might get? [/QUOTE] Some do (list ABV) some don’t. I’m always surprised when some of the big beers (9%, 10%, 11%) don’t list it. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/8 "2008-07-26T14:13:05Z")
I don’t know how accurate wiki is here, but according to this, there is no state where you can only get low-point beer, and some that limit grocery stores to the sale of low-point beer. South Carolina is not one of the. > **[Low-alcohol beer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-point_beer)** > > Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol content that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in different beer styles such as lagers, stouts, and ales. Low-alcohol beer is also known as light beer, non-alcoholic beer, small beer, small ale, or near-beer. > Low-alcoholic brews such as small beer date back at least to medieval Europe, where they served as ... ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/9 "2008-07-27T01:03:41Z")
The beer label lists the maximum amount of alcohol that may be in the container. There is no minimum requirement. I remember several brewery tours in different breweries where your comment was raised. The answer was always the same. It is quite possible the beer you had is from a batch where the beer was “overcooked” and too much alcohol was boiled off. No brewer is going to dump several thousand gallons of beer with lower than expected alcohol content. It still gets packaged, shipped and sold. ---
**Author:** ![50million](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/9fc348/32.png) [@50million](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50million)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/10 "2008-07-28T15:06:52Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] [This article](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22958512/) from February says that the 3.2% law was only overturned “recently” in South Carolina. Some places may prefer to continue buying the “old” stuff to keep certain demographics happy/sell lower-alcohol beer that will encourage customers to buy more beers at the same price/out of habit. Edit: The last I checked out a label of a beer from a macrobrewery, alcohol content was not listed. It’s been a while, though. [/QUOTE] No, we never had the “3.2” law here in SC. The article you linked said that we just repealed our 6% limit. I think the OP just got a bad batch, or was drinking some of that [Clamato](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/37389) insanity. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/11 "2008-07-28T15:16:20Z")
What you’ve eaten or haven’t eaten recently has a lot to do with the “kick.” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/12 "2008-07-28T15:23:08Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] I remember several brewery tours in different breweries where your comment was raised. The answer was always the same. It is quite possible the beer you had is from a batch where the beer was “overcooked” and too much alcohol was boiled off. No brewer is going to dump several thousand gallons of beer with lower than expected alcohol content. It still gets packaged, shipped and sold. [/QUOTE] I don’t buy that. Major brewers have strict quality control to insure consistency. There is no way they are going to let a bad batch get through on purpose. AB is not going to package 3.2% beer in a bottle labeled 5% just so they don’t have to dump the batch. And every Bud (not Bud light) I’ve ever drank had it’s alcohol content on side the label whether it was the low power stuff I had in Salt Lake City or the regular crap they sell here. For other beers, many of them have their alcohol content listed on [ratebeer.com](http://www.ratebeer.com/default.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/13 "2008-07-28T15:37:02Z")
[QUOTE=pkbites] I don’t buy that. Major brewers have strict quality control to insure consistency. There is no way they are going to let a bad batch get through on purpose. AB is not going to package 3.2% beer in a bottle labeled 5% just so they don’t have to dump the batch. And every Bud (not Bud light) I’ve ever drank had it’s alcohol content on side the label whether it was the low power stuff I had in Salt Lake City or the regular crap they sell here. For other beers, many of them have their alcohol content listed on [ratebeer.com](http://www.ratebeer.com/default.asp) [/QUOTE] As I said earlier, in my part of the country beer does not list its alcoholic content and that includes Budweiser. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/14 "2008-07-28T15:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=pkbites] I don’t buy that. Major brewers have strict quality control to insure consistency. There is no way they are going to let a bad batch get through on purpose. AB is not going to package 3.2% beer in a bottle labeled 5% just so they don’t have to dump the batch. And every Bud (not Bud light) I’ve ever drank had it’s alcohol content on side the label whether it was the low power stuff I had in Salt Lake City or the regular crap they sell here. For other beers, many of them have their alcohol content listed on [ratebeer.com](http://www.ratebeer.com/default.asp) [/QUOTE] Not only that, but the beer doesn’t “cook” after the yeast has been pitched, so there’s no alcohol to “cook out” at any stage. The only heat process I could think of that occurs after the beer ferments and thus becomes alcoholic is pasteurization, and I don’t believe that process gets hot enough long enough for there to be any appreciable alcohol loss. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/15 "2008-07-28T16:04:12Z")
[QUOTE=pkbites] I don’t buy that. Major brewers have strict quality control to insure consistency. There is no way they are going to let a bad batch get through on purpose. [/QUOTE] Sorry, but my comment was from brewery tours of Coors, PBR and Miller from years ago. Sure, things have have changed since then and quality control is better. But quality control is only as good as a company allows, notwithstanding the urge to make a dollar or two. We only have to take the word of the brewers that their product has a consistent alcohol level and all inferior product never makes it into the marketplace. If so, they would be unique among manufacturers never to sell an inferior product to consumers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-in-beer/457834/16 "2008-07-28T16:28:25Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] Sorry, but my comment was from brewery tours of Coors, PBR and Miller from years ago. Sure, things have have changed since then and quality control is better. But quality control is only as good as a company allows, notwithstanding the urge to make a dollar or two. We only have to take the word of the brewers that their product has a consistent alcohol level and all inferior product never makes it into the marketplace. If so, they would be unique among manufacturers never to sell an inferior product to consumers. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I still don’t buy what some tour guide told you. I’ve done consulting work for bottling companies (admittedly soda, not beer) and I know how inconsistencies of the product are dealt with. And **pulykamells** post also raises doubts upon what you were told. And what company employee would tell the general public that bad product is used anyway?