# What the heck is "Dry" beer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918 "2002-03-25T00:01:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hayduke\_Lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Hayduke\_Lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hayduke_Lives)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/1 "2002-03-25T00:01:23Z")
I saw “Bud Dry” in the store last night. What is it? How can beer be dry? Is it light beer? How much alcohol is in it compared to regular Bud? ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/2 "2002-03-25T00:05:33Z")
Dry in an alcoholic beverage refers to the lack of sweetness in the taste. In other words, it is not like the fruity sweetness of a fruit juice. (But it isn’t sour like Grapefruit juice either.) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/3 "2002-03-25T00:10:26Z")
Dry means “not sweet” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/4 "2002-03-25T00:27:42Z")
According to [This Site](http://www.benekeith.com/pages/beer/products/bud_dry.html) Bud Dry was first produced in 1990, and is brewed longer than normal beer, producing a less sweet beer(with no aftertaste). It also contains 5% alcohol. This would fit in with the strategy of the major brewers in the last 10-15 years, producing higher alcohol content beers, marketing them to a young audience at a higher price, in order to try to make up for the loss of profit from their old-line beers(which I drink). ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/5 "2002-03-25T02:05:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*It also contains 5% alcohol. This would fit in with the strategy of the major brewers in the last 10-15 years, producing higher alcohol content beers, marketing them to a young audience at a higher price, in order to try to make up for the loss of profit from their old-line beers(which I drink). \*\* It’s funny that you should mention this. I’m in Canada and I am drinking Molson Dry right now. The alchohol content is 5.5% but it i sactually cheaper that the other beers. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/6 "2002-03-25T02:08:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kwyjibo \* > \*\*The alchohol content is 5.5% but it i sactually cheaper that the other beers. Go figure. \*\* Shoule be… “The alchohol content is 5.5% but it _is actually_ cheaper _than_ the other beers. Go figure.” ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/7 "2002-03-25T08:02:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kwyjibo \* > \*\* > > _Shoule_ be… > > “The alchohol content is 5.5% but it _is actually_ cheaper _than_ the other beers. Go figure.” \*\* That 5.5% is obviously strong stuff 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/8 "2002-03-25T10:17:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*According to [This Site](http://www.benekeith.com/pages/beer/products/bud_dry.html) Bud Dry was first produced in 1990, and is brewed longer than normal beer, producing a less sweet beer(with no aftertaste). > > It also contains 5% alcohol. This would fit in with the strategy of the major brewers in the last 10-15 years, producing higher alcohol content beers, marketing them to a young audience at a higher price, in order to try to make up for the loss of profit from their old-line beers(which I drink). \*\* I’m pretty sure that regular Budweiser is around 5% alcohol as well. I used to have a site that had the alcohol content of hundreds of beers on it and I remember being surprised that Budweiser was one of the stronger big-name American pilsners. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/9 "2002-03-25T12:27:33Z")
The Japanese are the ones that first came out with “Dry” beer. IIRC it was Asahi. Japanese brewers introduce maybe a dozen test beers into the market every year, and occaisionally they get a hit. Dry beer was their grandslam home run. ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/10 "2002-03-25T15:36:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\* > > I’m pretty sure that regular Budweiser is around 5% alcohol as well. I used to have a site that had the alcohol content of hundreds of beers on it and I remember being surprised that Budweiser was one of the stronger big-name American pilsners. \*\* Might [this](http://www.sotallytober.com/) be the site? ---
**Author:** ![Beastal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Beastal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/11 "2002-03-25T15:47:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kwyjibo \* > \*\* > > Shoule be… > > “The alchohol content is 5.5% but it _is actually_ cheaper _than_ the other beers. Go figure.” \*\* Should be “Should be”? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/12 "2002-03-26T04:39:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bromley \* > \*\* > > Might [this](http://www.sotallytober.com/) be the site? \*\* Nope, that ain’t it… ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-dry-beer/99918/13 "2002-03-26T05:16:55Z")
[http://www.brewery.org/brewery/library/AlClbinger.html](http://www.brewery.org/brewery/library/AlClbinger.html)