# Random Beer Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605 "2005-09-27T01:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/21 "2005-09-27T23:22:24Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I’d forgotten all about near beer. Around here, the term “near beer” isn’t the same as 3.2 beer. “Near beer” refers to “non-alcoholic” beer, which has a much lower alcohol content. It has to be under 1% to be called non-alcoholic, if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![glilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/48db29/32.png) [@glilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glilly)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/22 "2005-09-28T03:24:45Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > Since this is a thread that’s likely to attract knowledgable American beer drinkers, please answer a question that has bugged me for years: why, in the United States of America, and nowhere else on the planet, is the alcohol content of beer measured by weight instead of by volume? It’s not like wine or spirits are measured by weight, nor does anywhere else that I’m aware of use that metric. > > So why? Liquor laws are bizarre in the US, and the state variations are worse. IIRC, alcohol content **IS** measured by volume. _Except_ in the context of 3.2% beer, which is measured by weight. I did a calculation and figured that 3.2% was about 4.2% by volume. I believe that was confirmed by a 3.2% bottle of wine cooler which also had the 4.2% by volume measurement. [hijack]Personally, I think weight makes more sense for two reasons. The ratio of weights will always be proportional to the molecular makeup of the beverage. Volume is affected by two things: the different volumetric expansion by temperature rates of alcohol and water, and the non volume-additivity (1 L water + 1 L ethanol do not equal 2 L, but something slightly less). The alcohol industry seems to have gotten around this measurement problem somehow.[/hijack] [hijack #2]Kansas had/has silly alcohol laws. 3.2% malt beverages can be sold at grocery stores, so wine coolers were sold, but they were malt-based instead of wine-based. Liquor stores could not sell non-alcholic liquids, so stores a) have a fenced-off sub-store that sells Coke, and b) have mixes (like margarita mix) with 1% alcohol so it can be sold in the liquor stores. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/23 "2005-09-28T03:49:36Z")
**Random** wrote: > [@](#): > > One thing is funny, though. I’ve heard people complain about 3.2 laws, but choose to drink light beer. What they don’t realize is that light beer is always less then 3.2%, sometimes much less. It’s impossible to signicantly reduce calories in beer without reducing alcohol content. Aside from some negligible (by weight) solids, beer is essentially water and alcohol. While you’re partially right in that alcohol contributes most of the calories in light beer, carbohydrates also play a part, and reducing them may significantly decrease the caloric content without affecting the alcohol content. In fact, I think many, if not most, major market light beers are actually more than 4.05% alcohol by volume (3.2/0.79, the density of ethanol). [Coors Light](http://ratebeer.com/Beer/coors-light/707/) [Bud Light](http://ratebeer.com/Beer/bud-light/474/) [Miller Lite](http://ratebeer.com/Beer/miller-lite/403/) Of these, Miller Lite is highest at 3.6% by weight (4.5% by volume). There may be some rounding errors involved, but I’m sure it’s more than 3.2. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/24 "2005-09-28T17:38:52Z")
> [@Bradlee](#): > > I was visit my father the other day, and his secretary (as is customary sometimes) bought him a six-pack of random beer for a birthday, Why is your dad’s secretary buying gifts for him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/25 "2005-09-28T18:22:26Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Why is your dad’s secretary buying gifts for him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? 😕 If they’re friends, then they should buy each other birthday gifts. If not, neither of them should. Why would you say that he should buy the secretary a birthday present, but not the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/26 "2005-09-28T19:52:01Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > If they’re friends, then they should buy each other birthday gifts. If not, neither of them should. Why would you say that he should buy the secretary a birthday present, but not the other way around? I’m sorry, I misunderstood the OP. I didn’t notice the word “birthday” in there. I thought the guy’s secretary was just buying him gifts at random times. My father once had a job where the guy he worked for made it clear that he expected gifts from his employees if they wanted to keep working there. I thought a similar situation might have been going on. OTOH, a boss giving an employee a gift isn’t all that unusual. My boss hands out movie passes at well-performing employees every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Bradlee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Bradlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bradlee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/27 "2005-09-28T20:13:31Z")
Of course the gift was simply for a birthday… but also, as a side note, I liked Leinies a lot…I had never seen or heard of it before, but I went to Kroger last night and bought some of my normal beer (Miller Lite, Harp, and Labatt Blue) and we picked up some wine (junky merlot and some peach/orange stuff) I also noticed that Leinies was there…I’m a little angry that I didn’t see it before because we always buy beer at the same store (well, unless we’re away from home)… I just wanted to add that I was very happy to see it was cheaper than Harps…another huge advantage for this wondeful wisconsin beer… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605/28 "2005-09-28T21:40:25Z")
> [@August West](#): > > I am the Quality Assurance Lab manager and a staff brewer for the J. Leinenkugel Brewing Co. Glad to see we have some fans on the board! You are assuring quality very well. I can buy cases of Leinie’s for less than almost any other mass marketted beer, and yet people at the grocery store still pay more for Bud. I believe this shows that people are insane. Now get them to go back to selling the sturdy returnable bar bottles in the sturdy returnable cardboard cases instead of these cruddy twist offs in the cheezy flimsy cases. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-beer-question/323605.md?page=1)