How big is that beer?

Alcohol content varies among beers; a 'facts' label may be next

Thursday, October 06, 2005
By Bob Batz Jr., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Even if you really love beer, your beer can be too big.

Or too "huge," to use a term in vogue for "high alcohol."

Some of my favorite brews are powerful seasonals such as Great Lakes
Brewing Co.'s Halloween-inspired Nosferatu and those Christmas-time
treats, Great Lakes Christmas and Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.

If you're sitting by a fire and slowly sipping one, any of those beers
is a delicious experience.

But if you just want to have a beer or two after work and still be
awake to do anything else, you might want to drink something a little
less potent.

This hit me hard last month when I bought a case of the new canned
beers from Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, Colo. In mixed cases made
especially for Pennsylvania, where distributors must sell it by the
case, the offbeat brewery offers a dozen cans each of its Dale's Pale
Ale and Old Chub Scottish Style Ale. I wrote about the brews'
Pittsburgh debut last month because canned craft beer is rare and
Dale's had been named the top American pale ale in a New York Times
tasting.

Both beers are quite tasty, but whoa -- on the night I tasted three of
them, I woke up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth and a
slight headache.

The next morning I looked up the alcohol content and the pale ale is
6.5 percent alcohol by volume and the Scottish ale -- whoa, 8 percent
alcohol by volume.

That's twice the alcohol content of some regular beer. Or "gonzo," as
put by Oskar Blues.

But it's not an uncommon level these days, as certain brewers keep
raising the alcoholic stakes. Oskar Blues has an Imperial India Pale
Ale that weighs in at 9.2 percent alcohol by volume. At a recent
farewell for a newspaper colleague, I sipped a 9 percent 90 Minute IPA
(India Pale Ale) from Dogfish Head, which is renowned for its big brews
(its 120 Minute IPA claims to be the biggest ever at an unbelievable 21
percent).

Alcohol can be measured two ways: by volume, which is the world
standard, or by weight, which still is the legal standard in some
states that regulate beer's alcohol content. Pennsylvania does not.
According to Liquor Control Board spokesperson Molly McGowan, brewers
don't have to, but they may print on packages the alcohol content as a
percentage of volume only.

The federal government lets states determine whether to require alcohol
content declarations, but currently is considering changes to labeling
rules.

Some consumer groups have petitioned federal regulators that all
alcoholic beverages should bear standard "Alcohol Facts" labels to show
both percentage by volume and amount in fluid ounces per serving, as
well as calories per serving, ingredients, the number of standard
drinks per container and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines advice on moderate
drinking for men and women. An extended public comment period ended on
Sept. 26.

Tens of thousands of comments poured in, said federal Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau spokesman Arthur Resnick. "This is a hot
topic," he said, noting that the final ruling could take some time.

Again, I love generally stronger craft beers and many of the big
bruisers, but for a beer after raking leaves or while watching a
football game, I'd rather have something less potent.

The English coined the term "session beer" for such brews, because you
can drink a couple during a session with your buds at the pub and still
make it home.

But being "mild" in alcohol content doesn't have to mean mild on
flavor.

Here are a few ideas:

You could try many of a number of classic British brews of a style
called "bitter" (though it almost never is). My beer buddy and I
recently split a case of LongLeg (named for stilt-wearing hops pickers)
from the U.K.'s Cameron's Brewing that is 4.8 percent alcohol by
volume.

Beer aficionado Ed Vidunas also gets peeved about all the big beers, in
part because he practices moderation because he's diabetic. He loves
drinking "milds" on his trips to England.

We're planning to talk about this over a 3.1-percent alcohol dark mild
made by Heavyweight Brewing Co. (and available at a few places locally,
including the Sharp Edge in East Liberty and Mad Mex in Oakland).

Heavyweight, despite its name, is pushing the pendulum the other way
with an experimental line of four draft-only milds it started releasing
in July. As founder Tom Baker told the Celebrator Beer News, "I like to
make beers nobody else is making."

There are a few voices out there for smaller beers -- or at least
smaller glasses of big beers -- including Vecenie Beer Distributor
salesman Tony Knipling, who agrees, "You don't need high alcohol to
have good beer." Besides the Brits he carries, such as Bluebird Bitter
at 4.2 percent, he suggests Harrisburg's Troeg's Rugged Trail brown ale
at 4.4 percent and almost any pilsner such as Victory Prima Pils at 5.3
percent.

Don't think that darker beers are necessarily stronger: Canned
"draught" Guinness Stout is 4.2 percent. Types that are high in alcohol
include malt liquors and barleywines as well as brews described as
"imperial" and "strong" or "double," "triple" or "quadruple." If the
alcohol content isn't on the label, you should be able to get the
percentage from your distributor or the brewery's Web site.

It pays to know about and respect the amount of alcohol you consume for
reasons from DUI laws to health. There's no shortage of information
about how abusing alcohol is bad for you. One food-for-thought Web site
that focuses on alcohol in moderation is www.beerandhealth.com.

Go to www.realbeer.com/edu/health/calories.php for a list of beers and
their alcohol contents (by volume) as well as calories. Ratebeer.com
also provides alcohol statistics for hundreds of brews.

Some quality choices that are widely available and below 5 percent
including Pilsner Urquell at 4.3 percent and Anchor Steam at 4.9
percent. San Francisco's Anchor even makes an Anchor Small Beer, a
revival of an old-recipe table beer, that's only 3.3 percent.
(Interestingly, it's made by making a second brew from the mash, or
malt, used to make its highest-test beer, 8- to 10-percent Old Foghorn
Barleywine Style Ale.)

Alas, the Small Beer only comes in big -- 22-ounce -- bottles, packaged
six to a case and not available here. One factor is, Pennsylvania
requires beer to come in a case of 24, which, according to a brewery
sales representative, "would obviously not sell in quantity."

On 6 Dec 2005 05:16:45 -0800, "tomkanpa" wrote:

One factor is, Pennsylvania
requires beer to come in a case of 24, which, according to a brewery
sales representative, "would obviously not sell in quantity."

I know different states have various bizarre liquor laws, but this is
a first. Do any other states have this rule? What's the thinking
behind it?

All American beer imported commercially into the EU has an ABV figure
and best before date added by the importer.

Best regards, Paul
--
Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk

I know different states have various bizarre liquor laws, but this is
a first. Do any other states have this rule? What's the thinking
behind it?

*I'll let resident Penna. expert Lew fill us in on this, but IMO you assume
too much in believing that there actually was "thinking" behind it.

All American beer imported commercially into the EU has an ABV figure
and best before date added by the importer.

Whereas in nearly every jurisdiction in the USA wine and spirits are
required to have the alcohol content on the bottle/label, but in many
jurisdictions beer makers are actually prohibited from putting the same on
their beer bottles/labels.

Recommended reading:
"Drink: A Social History of America" by Andrew Barr
"Beer Blast" by Philip van Munching (ex-Heiniken executive)

On 6 Dec 2005 05:16:45 -0800, "tomkanpa" wrote:
One factor is, Pennsylvania
requires beer to come in a case of 24, which, according to a brewery
sales representative, "would obviously not sell in quantity."

Rubbish! PA has goofy laws about alcohol, but not that cases must be
24. You can easily acquire 12-750ml cases, and 30 or 36 count cases.
Now to sell in smaller quantities requires a different license (which
then does not permit you to sell more than 12 bottles/can or over a
particular volume at once)

Bill

You can buy a six pack in bars in PA but it will cost you. When I live
in Pa on my way to any were
out of State, I would fill up my car. and most of the time It would be
on my way to ME so NH was
always a good stop.

Cheers

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/aabmhome.html

There are a few voices out there for smaller beers -- or at least
smaller glasses of big beers ...


Yes--some brewpubs serve their barleywines in smaller, precious little
glasses, or even snifters (unlike a local here, Tyranena, that serves their
barleywine in pint glasses for $3).

These smaller glasses not only contain less barleywine, but they are an
enjoyable way to sip the barleywine (outstretched pinky finger optional).
A few of those could easily make you just as happy as the $3 barleywine
pint, depending upon who is paying.

Here is an article about 6 pack shops in Western PA.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05341/618096.stm

wrote in message
ps.com...
You can buy a six pack in bars in PA but it will cost you. When I live
in Pa on my way to any were
out of State, I would fill up my car. and most of the time It would be
on my way to ME so NH was
always a good stop.

Cheers

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/aabmhome.html

San Francisco's Anchor even makes an Anchor Small Beer, a revival of an
old-recipe table beer, that's only 3.3 percent.


I've bought it once.


Has anybody here bought it more than once?


At www.ratebeer.com it is at the 19th%ile for all beers rated. I mean,
Anchor is a great brewer, and all. But...

Douglas W. Hoyt wrote:
San Francisco's Anchor even makes an Anchor Small Beer, a revival of an
old-recipe table beer, that's only 3.3 percent.

I've bought it once.

Has anybody here bought it more than once?

Yup. I bought it twice. The first time it was thin, grainy,
and tannic. The second time it was just thin and grainy. Better,
but not worth a third try.
--
Joel Plutchak "Too often, our cultural emphasis on freedom and individual
plutchak@[...] rights gets taken to the extreme, becoming a kind of selfish
entitlement that undermines our ability to function as a
civil community.�

"Alexander D. Mitchell IV" wrote in message
...
I know different states have various bizarre liquor laws, but this is
a first. Do any other states have this rule? What's the thinking
behind it?

*I'll let resident Penna. expert Lew fill us in on this, but IMO you
assume too much in believing that there actually was "thinking" behind it.

The case law was put through by the state's beer sellers, who just didn't
want to deal with selling anything less than a case. Worked out well for
them for decades, too.

--
Lew Bryson

"GOOD or SHITE?" -- Michael Jackson, "Thriller", 1982
www.lewbryson.com