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Beer (rec.drink.beer) Discussing various aspects of that fine beverage referred to as beer. Including interesting beers and beer styles, opinions on tastes and ingredients, reviews of brewpubs and breweries & suggestions about where to shop. |
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Alcohol content
I'm relatively new to the US (California, to be exact.)
I'm used to being able to tell what the alcohol content in a given beer is. Most beers sold here (maybe just the ones made in CA, or maybe all US beers?) don't have the content indicated. Why is this? Is it a law? In Canada, where I'm from, it's always clearly labelled. |
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Alcohol content
Relaxification > wrote:
>I'm relatively new to the US (California, to be exact.) California? My sympathies. Just don't start thinking that's representative of the whole US. >I'm used to being able to tell what the alcohol content in a given >beer is. Most beers sold here (maybe just the ones made in CA, or >maybe all US beers?) don't have the content indicated. > >Why is this? Is it a law? In Canada, where I'm from, it's always >clearly labelled. It used to be a law that beer could not have the alcohol content listed (while liquor and wine had to have it; go figure). That law changed several years ago, so it's up to the brewer/importer whether it's listed. FWIW I see more beers with abv listed than otherwise. -- Joel Plutchak "Senza la birra tutto diventa orfano." plutchak@[...] - Italian proverb (slightly revised) |
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Alcohol content
Joel > wrote:
> [...] > It used to be a law that beer could not have the alcohol > content listed With a notable exception: If a given state chose to require beers to list alcohol content, like Oregon does/did. Not all beer sold here *did* have alcohol content listed, though, I suppose due to slackery on the part of out-of-state brewers. > (while liquor and wine had to have it; go > figure). That law changed several years ago, so it's up > to the brewer/importer whether it's listed. FWIW I see > more beers with abv listed than otherwise. I think it's still a requirement in Orygun. |
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"Relaxification" > wrote in message
om... > Hey, I love it here in Venice! I wouldn't live anywhere else. Why > don't you like CA? It's a bit of a joke in the rest of the country to make fun of California to compensate for how depressed everyone else is that they don't live here. If you're in Venice, you're down the street from some excellent beer places in Santa Monica - the Library Ale House and Father's Office. Haven't found anything real top-notch for beer in Venice itself. -Steve |
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Alcohol content
"Steve Jackson" > wrote in message news:<78Pxc.6033$K45.5285@fed1read02>...
> "Relaxification" > wrote in message > om... > > > Hey, I love it here in Venice! I wouldn't live anywhere else. Why > > don't you like CA? > > It's a bit of a joke in the rest of the country to make fun of California to > compensate for how depressed everyone else is that they don't live here. > > If you're in Venice, you're down the street from some excellent beer places > in Santa Monica - the Library Ale House and Father's Office. Haven't found > anything real top-notch for beer in Venice itself. > > -Steve Yeah, the Ale House is great. Haven't been to Father's Office yet, but I hear it's good. It's true - life in SoCal is amazing. I've just got to figure out a way not to have to drive as much as I do and I'll be completely happy. As long as that way doesn't include being unemployed. |
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Alcohol content
Relaxification > wrote:
>It's true - life in SoCal is amazing. I've just got to figure out a >way not to have to drive as much as I do and I'll be completely happy. That's one big minus about SoCal. Smog is another. (Gee, think they could be related? ;-) -- Joel Plutchak "Senza la birra tutto diventa orfano." plutchak@[...] - Italian proverb (slightly revised) |
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Relaxification wrote:
> > ers (Joel) wrote in message >... > > Relaxification > wrote: > > >It's true - life in SoCal is amazing. I've just got to figure out a > > >way not to have to drive as much as I do and I'll be completely happy. > > > > That's one big minus about SoCal. Smog is another. (Gee, > > think they could be related? ;-) > > The trick is to live by the beach. No smog in Venice. Of course I > work in Hollywood, which is another story... Getting back to the original question, even if the bottle doesn't have the alcohol content many times you can find it on the company's web site. I've got a small alcohol content data base on my Palm so I can compare depending on the mood I'm in. -- Nels E Satterlund I don't speak for the company, specially here <-- Use this address for personal Email My Lurkers motto: I read much better and faster, than I type. |
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Alcohol content
Paul Sherwin a écrit :
>Don't some states require alcohol to be stated as a percentage by >weight rather than by volume? > > IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA -- Warning : you may encounter French language beyond this point. Le chiendent est un être mi-canin mi-végétal, et qui, pour se nourrir, profitant du sommeil des humains, va s'agripper sur leur poitrine, en enfonçant profondément ses racines jusqu'aux organes vitaux... Jusqu'au coeur... Arrr... D'où l'expression "Mal de chien". (F'murrr) Laurent Mousson, Berne, Switzerland |
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Alcohol content
"The Submarine Captain" > wrote in message
... > IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA Mainly in the "maintstream" beers. Pretty much every craft brewery that lists it does so by volume, at least from what I've seen. The large brewers, if they label, will usually do so by weight. Largely because certain states - Minnesota and Oklahoma come to mind - allow sales of only "three-two" beer in groceries and the like, and stronger beers have to be sold in liquor stores. The three-two beers reference the max alcohol content, measured in ABW, of 3.2 that is allowed to be sold in groceries. Since they often had to brew different versions of their beers to reflect that, it became customary for a time to list by weight. -STeve |
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Steve Jackson a écrit :
>"The Submarine Captain" > wrote in message ... > > > > >>IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA >> >> > >Mainly in the "maintstream" beers. Pretty much every craft brewery that >lists it does so by volume, at least from what I've seen. > >The large brewers, if they label, will usually do so by weight. Largely >because certain states - Minnesota and Oklahoma come to mind - allow sales >of only "three-two" beer in groceries and the like, and stronger beers have >to be sold in liquor stores. The three-two beers reference the max alcohol >content, measured in ABW, of 3.2 that is allowed to be sold in groceries. >Since they often had to brew different versions of their beers to reflect >that, it became customary for a time to list by weight. > Ah right... thanks for the precisions Steve. I assume this situation with brewers using ABV and brewers using ABW does little in terms of easing the average consumer's confusion ?... -- Warning : you may encounter French language beyond this point. Le chiendent est un être mi-canin mi-végétal, et qui, pour se nourrir, profitant du sommeil des humains, va s'agripper sur leur poitrine, en enfonçant profondément ses racines jusqu'aux organes vitaux... Jusqu'au coeur... Arrr... D'où l'expression "Mal de chien". (F'murrr) Laurent Mousson, Berne, Switzerland |
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Alcohol content
The Submarine Captain wrote:
> > Steve Jackson a écrit : > > >"The Submarine Captain" > wrote in message > ... > > > > > > > > > >>IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA > >> > >> > > > >Mainly in the "maintstream" beers. Pretty much every craft brewery that > >lists it does so by volume, at least from what I've seen. > > > >The large brewers, if they label, will usually do so by weight. Largely > >because certain states - Minnesota and Oklahoma come to mind - allow sales > >of only "three-two" beer in groceries and the like, and stronger beers have > >to be sold in liquor stores. The three-two beers reference the max alcohol > >content, measured in ABW, of 3.2 that is allowed to be sold in groceries. > >Since they often had to brew different versions of their beers to reflect > >that, it became customary for a time to list by weight. > > > Ah right... thanks for the precisions Steve. I assume this situation > with brewers using ABV and brewers using ABW does little in terms of > easing the average consumer's confusion ?... > all they have to be able to do is multiply by 3/4th's or is it 4/3rd's Nels -- Nels E Satterlund I don't speak for the company, specially here <-- Use this address for personal Email My Lurkers motto: I read much better and faster, than I type. |
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Alcohol content
The Submarine Captain wrote:
> Paul Sherwin a écrit : > >> Don't some states require alcohol to be stated as a percentage by >> weight rather than by volume? >> >> > IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA > This whole thread seems to be some sort of "retro pre-internet" 20 year old thread. MOST of the US beers I see these days have alcohol content listed on the label (and it happened quietly and without much fanfare, IIRC)- I didn't realize that it was still a state-by-state thing. AND, checking my refrigerator, Victory, Avery, Yards, Dogfish Head & North Coast all list ABV (as does Anheuser-Busch- I found a Bud can in the road and just check the label in the recycle can). Couldn't find any alcohol listing on a couple of Brooklyn and Heavyweight products, tho'. But, since I take it the Submarine Captain isn't in the US, one can't expect him to know this. He is right about recalling the former preference of US beers to list alcohol by weight, which gave their beer a lower number than, say, Canadian beers, since alcohol weights less than water. And thus the myth (currently being repeated in the thread called "American beer compared to others") that American beer has less alcohol. |
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Alcohol content
"The Submarine Captain" > wrote in message
... > Ah right... thanks for the precisions Steve. I assume this situation > with brewers using ABV and brewers using ABW does little in terms of > easing the average consumer's confusion ?... Very little. And it's not just the States. It's what prompts Canadians to claim their beer is so much stronger than American, never mind the fact that the respective ABW and ABV values end up coming out to show startlingly similar levels of alcohol. -Steve |
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Alcohol content
> wrote in message
et... > This whole thread seems to be some sort of "retro pre-internet" 20 year > old thread. MOST of the US beers I see these days have alcohol content > listed on the label (and it happened quietly and without much fanfare, > IIRC)- I didn't realize that it was still a state-by-state thing. Most American beers? I remain skeptical. It's less of a state-by-state thing, but that's a recent development. It's only in the last couple years that the Supreme Court weighed in saying that states can't prohibit the display of that info, as some did. Or the bureau formerly known as the ATF. Can't remember whose rule was struck down, the states' or theirs. > But, since I take it the Submarine Captain isn't in the US, one can't > expect him to know this. He's Swiss. -Steve |
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Alcohol content
Steve Jackson wrote:
> > wrote in message > et... > > >>This whole thread seems to be some sort of "retro pre-internet" 20 year >>old thread. MOST of the US beers I see these days have alcohol content >>listed on the label (and it happened quietly and without much fanfare, >>IIRC)- I didn't realize that it was still a state-by-state thing. > > > Most American beers? I remain skeptical. No, no, remain skeptical, I said "most of the US beers I see..." by which I meant "whose labels I bother to read" since technically I do 'see' all those doors of A-B, Miller, Pabst and Coors brands. I WAS surprised to see it listed on A-B brands. I only mentioned it because the OP in Calif. DIDN'T find it on the beers he was looking at. > It's less of a state-by-state thing, but that's a recent development. It's > only in the last couple years that the Supreme Court weighed in saying that > states can't prohibit the display of that info, as some did. Or the bureau > formerly known as the ATF. Can't remember whose rule was struck down, the > states' or theirs. IIRC, didn't Coors (or Miller) go to court over not being able to list alc. content a few years ago? I thought that's what did it. > > >>But, since I take it the Submarine Captain isn't in the US, one can't >>expect him to know this. > > He's Swiss. > I understand. (Hey, so was the first "Kidden" in the America, circa 1740...) |
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Alcohol content
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:36:46 -0700, "Steve Jackson"
> wrote: >"The Submarine Captain" > wrote in message ... > > >> IIRC it's usual to use ABW instead of ABV in the USA > >Mainly in the "maintstream" beers. Pretty much every craft brewery that >lists it does so by volume, at least from what I've seen. > >The large brewers, if they label, will usually do so by weight. Largely >because certain states - Minnesota and Oklahoma come to mind - allow sales >of only "three-two" beer in groceries and the like, and stronger beers have >to be sold in liquor stores. The three-two beers reference the max alcohol >content, measured in ABW, of 3.2 that is allowed to be sold in groceries. >Since they often had to brew different versions of their beers to reflect >that, it became customary for a time to list by weight. I guess the big brewers like A-B and Coors don't export beer, they own subsidiaries who brew beer for local markets. Any beer sold in the EU has to have the ABV stated on the bottle (and the 'Best before' date). US craft brewers are obviously interested in selling beer in international markets so use ABV. Best regards, Paul -- Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk |
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Alcohol content
Paul Sherwin wrote:
> > > I guess the big brewers like A-B and Coors don't export beer, they own > subsidiaries who brew beer for local markets. Any beer sold in the EU > has to have the ABV stated on the bottle (and the 'Best before' date). I don't know- I'd guess that the small amount of craft brew that's exported from the US probably has separate labels from the stuff they sell at home, to meet the particular rules of the importing countries. Certainly most of the imports we get obviously are labeled for the US (including some who leave the BEST BEFORE date off the bottle, even tho' there's a place for it on the label). > US craft brewers are obviously interested in selling beer in > international markets so use ABV. I'd say that's a small percentage of the total craft brewers- most can't even handle shipping their beers one or two states away... But, getting back to original question (so, NO store clerks read this newsgroup? We really have to wait until someone goes to the store tomorrow and check out the megabrew labels?) do ANY US beers that DO list alcohol content still use ABW (other than in 3.2 states)? |
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Alcohol content
"Paul Sherwin" > wrote in message
... > I guess the big brewers like A-B and Coors don't export beer, they own > subsidiaries who brew beer for local markets. Any beer sold in the EU > has to have the ABV stated on the bottle (and the 'Best before' date). > US craft brewers are obviously interested in selling beer in > international markets so use ABV. Label requirements are different for different countries, anyway, so they're likely to have separate labels for the foreign markets. For instance, A-B isn't allowed to call Bud "Budweiser" in most of Europe, so they have to have containers that simply say Bud. -Steve |
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Alcohol content
> wrote in message
et... > IIRC, didn't Coors (or Miller) go to court over not being able to list > alc. content a few years ago? I thought that's what did it. Sounds about right. I don't recall the case history for sure. I know Coors has been involved in some other legal issues due to their concentrate method of beer production. -Steve |
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[OT] Alcohol content
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Alcohol content
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:58:33 -0700, "Steve Jackson"
> wrote: >"Paul Sherwin" > wrote in message ... > >> I guess the big brewers like A-B and Coors don't export beer, they own >> subsidiaries who brew beer for local markets. Any beer sold in the EU >> has to have the ABV stated on the bottle (and the 'Best before' date). >> US craft brewers are obviously interested in selling beer in >> international markets so use ABV. > >Label requirements are different for different countries, anyway, so they're >likely to have separate labels for the foreign markets. For instance, A-B >isn't allowed to call Bud "Budweiser" in most of Europe, so they have to >have containers that simply say Bud. A-B own plants all over the place, and also have beer contract brewed for some markets. They own the old Watneys brewery at Mortlake, West London where they brew UK 'Budweiser' (ABV 5%, a bottled beer). They also brew Irish 'Budweiser' in Ireland (ABV4.3%, a draft beer). Best regards, Paul -- Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk |
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[OT] Alcohol content
On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 10:55:46 +0200, The Submarine Captain
> wrote: >On the other hand, 1740 is not that long after my own ancestors arrived >in Switzerland... like tenth of thousands of French Huguenots >(protestants), who were suddenly denied the very right to live on French >soil. It was a massive boost to protestant Europe, as many of the >Huguenots who had the financial means to leave were merchants, doctors, >printers, chemists, lawyers, weavers etc. and brought their trade and >know-how with them. Lots of them came to England, and were important in the growth of the English economy in the eighteenth century, especially textiles. Best regards, Paul -- Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk |
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[OT] Alcohol content
Paul Sherwin a écrit :
>On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 10:55:46 +0200, The Submarine Captain > wrote: > > > >>On the other hand, 1740 is not that long after my own ancestors arrived >>in Switzerland... like tenth of thousands of French Huguenots >>(protestants), who were suddenly denied the very right to live on French >>soil. It was a massive boost to protestant Europe, as many of the >>Huguenots who had the financial means to leave were merchants, doctors, >>printers, chemists, lawyers, weavers etc. and brought their trade and >>know-how with them. >> >> > >Lots of them came to England, and were important in the growth of the >English economy in the eighteenth century, especially textiles. > > Yup, the silk trade, notably, was almost entirely created by this wave of immigrants... Nvertheless, contemporary accounts show that these refugees did not receive too warm a welcome in the placed where they settled. -- Warning : you may encounter French language beyond this point. ... je me suis souvent demandé à quoi servaient les deux machins tordus que j'ai sur la tête... Maintenant je sais : ça sert à donner des coups ! (F'murrr) Laurent Mousson, Berne, Switzerland |
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Alcohol content
"Steve Jackson" > wrote in message
news:1_wyc.14892$K45.3871@fed1read02... > > wrote in message > > IIRC, didn't Coors (or Miller) go to court over not being able to list > > alc. content a few years ago? I thought that's what did it. Coors. > Sounds about right. I don't recall the case history for sure. I know Coors > has been involved in some other legal issues due to their concentrate method > of beer production. "Concentrate method?" That's Budweiserian for "high gravity method," right? -- Lew Bryson www.LewBryson.com Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both available at <www.amazon.com> The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it, or respond to it. Spam away. |
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Alcohol content
"Lew Bryson" > wrote in message
. com... > "Concentrate method?" That's Budweiserian for "high gravity method," right? It's Jacksonian for "I couldn't remember the proper term and came up with something that communicated the jist." -Steve |
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Alcohol content
"Steve Jackson" > wrote in message news:l5tzc.4121$US1.2856@fed1read02... > "Lew Bryson" > wrote in message > . com... > > > "Concentrate method?" That's Budweiserian for "high gravity method," > right? > > It's Jacksonian for "I couldn't remember the proper term and came up with > something that communicated the jist." > > -Steve wouldn't that be "something that communicated the giss." giz gyz |
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Alcohol content
"What?" > wrote in message news:h4uzc.93012$3x.53456@attbi_s54... > > It's Jacksonian for "I couldn't remember the proper term and came up with > > something that communicated the jist." > > > > -Steve > > > wouldn't that be "something that communicated the giss." > giz gyz > Try gist... Brian |
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Alcohol content
Brian Lundeen wrote:
> "What?" > wrote in message the jist." >>> the giss." >>giz gyz > > Try gist... Who brews it? |
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