I just looked at the label on the back, and in small print, it says the alcohol content is 3.2% by weight, 4% by volume. I knew a 55 calorie beer had to be too good to be true! They're hoping nobody will read that tiny label. I wonder how many other low-calorie beers are getting their numbers down by fudging on the alcohol. I checked the label on a Michelob Ultra, and couldn't find any alcohol info at all. I've also never seen a beer, wine, or liquor with two different alcohol percentages. Do any of you guys know if the percentage is normally listed by weight or by volume?
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage The ABV standard is used worldwide. In the United States, a few states regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight, expressed as a percentage of total mass. Some brewers print the ABW (rather than the ABV) on beer containers, particularly on low-point versions of popular domestic beer brands.
Yeah I never even considered buying that shit, because I knew it would have a low alcohol percentage. Mich Ultra is 4.1%. Check it: http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm
They list Bud Select 55 as having only 2.4% alcohol! Can that be true? 4.1% seems to be about average for a light beer, if this chart is accurate. Back when I was a bartender, everybody assumed that a beer was a beer. We thought they were all around 5%. I think a lot of people still assume that there is no significant difference in alcohol content, and these companies are taking full advantage. What we need is better information on labels, like they have for liquor and wine. What they don't want us to figure out is that with some of these low-calorie beers, if you want to get a buzz, you might be better off to drink a higher-calorie beer, but less of it. You would surely spend less money that way. I guess this is just another example proving that when something seems too good to be true, it usually isn't true. Especially if large corporations are involved. :toetap05:
Select 55 is baby beer. It's for people who only want to be seen at a party holding a beer, but don't want to drink the real stuff. You're right about the $$$ rip-off. You would have about the same beer if you bought regular Bud and poured some water in it at home.
QFT - In the past, an ex-roommate's band came by with a case of the shit... I opened one and choked it down to be polite. For as tasteless as it was, I couldn't shake the feeling that the little taste it had was 'bad.' I felt like a dick when I got out the half a fifth that I had stashed and drank that in front of them. I did offer each of them a shot though... but they were getting drunk on watered down piss... as a consequence of their selection and purchase... And on those measurements... This is Kansas, US. I think that 3.2% beer [gas station] is measured by weight. 6% beer [only at places with liquor license] is measured by volume. But the difference between 3.2 by weight and 6 by volume is actually not as much as you'd think. That's another way they get their trickery in there. I think I've heard that by buying a 30 case of 3.2, you're only losing 3 beers worth of alcohol.
Straight, hard liquor will always be the fastest and best low-calorie way to get plastered. That shit will put hair on your chest, so it might not be the most popular thing with the ladies, but...
The state where I live doesn't have that rule. Any gas station or grocery store can sell 6% beer, so the 3.2% stuff is not commonly seen. I've done my share of shots. I can't say that I've ever experienced the side effect that you mentioned , but it is very hard on my throat to do more than two of them in an hour.
Ethanol (drinking alcohol) has a specific gravity (density) of ~0.79 @ 20 deg C/water at 4 deg C. So in 100 g of beer, 3.2% by wt. corresponds to 3.2 g of ethanol. Assuming beer has a density of 0.99 (wt averaged from densities), 100 g of beer would have a volume of 101 mL. Multiply by 0.06 (6% by volume) gives 6.06 mL of ethanol X 0.79 = 4.79 g of ethanol. This is assuming ideal mixing behavior, but it's known that ethanol/water mixtures are non-ideal. For purposes of this calculation, we'll assume ideal behavior as it's a dilute solution (a reasonable assumption). The difference in alcohol content between 3.2 beer (wt%) and 6% beer (vol%) is (4.79 - 3.2)/3.2 X 100% = 49.7%. In other words, 6% beer by vol has ~50% more alcohol than 3.2% beer by wt. In a 30 beer case, that's 30 X 0.497 = 14.9 beers. That's a helluva lot more than three! This is why I went to college, so I could calculate the alcohol in beer and document my assumptions and calculations!! :cheers2: P.S. When did a case of beer go from 24 to 30 cans/bottles? Then there's the 18 pack. That's a way to hide the price. There's no longer the common denominator of 24 12-oz. cans/bottles. You've gotta take a calculator to do a price comparison .
You're not counting "20 bottles" or even taking into account strange groupings of pounders (16 oz cans) [I've seen 8 of them in a box.]
Almost all micro brews are 6%+. Stop drinking swag beer if you want higher alcohol content. I drink Miller Lite. It's about 4.2%
its plenty easy. when you are standing in the beer store looking at the bud, miller, and coors, take a step or two to the left and take a look at some quality beers like Sierra Nevada, Stone, Rogue, Founders, New Glarius, etc. its actually harder to find a > 4% craft beer. most are at least 5 or 6% if not more. i have at least 4 or 5 10% or more beers in the fridge right now.
Budweiser tastes like water too. But id rather drink that or natty if im playing beer pong or something, due to how fast you might have to drink it. Yuengling is probably comparable to Bud alcohol content wise.. but i prefer the taste of Yuengling, especially the finish. Its slightly cheaper usually, too.. Theres only one or two places where i live that sell 30 packs, the brand is Genny and tastes even worse than keystone light. I find similar tastes in Coors, Keystone, and Genny-- can't stand any of em. Genny is the economical beer gaming choice around here. I really like hefeweizen (wheat) beers. Pale ales are tasty and pack quite a punch, but i usually have to have it with some water here and there. Stout Guiness is probably my favorite at the moment.
A lot of the micro-breweries have them. A Belgian double or triple will damn-near kill a person, LOL! As far as the mass market beers I don't know. I'm usually drinking them for the taste and maybe a mild buzz. I did my share of hard partying when I was younger - no need to puke on my shoes every night!
