Have you ever noticed that beer labels in the U.S. do not identify the alcohol volume in their beer?

It’s amazing that this information isn’t more visible to society. Whenever you buy food or a non-alcoholic beverage, we know exactly how many calories, fat, proteins, fiber, etc are in that product. How can it not be required that we know how much alcohol is in a bottle of beer? Especially since each brand is different and each brand has different alcohol volumes.

The reason is because alcohol is regulated by the Department of Alcohol, Tabacco and Firearms and not the US Food and Drug Administration. When alcohol was legalized after prohibition, they didn’t want to put the alcohol percent on beer bottles. Why they decided this is still unclear. What does seem to be clear is that we need to look at this law and reevaluate for today’s purposes.

I sent an email to Dr David Hanson from Potsdam University. He’s considered an expert on my questions related to alcohol. Upon asking him why beer doesn’t mark their alcohol by volume on their labels, he responded with this email:

After the repeal of National Prohibition in 1933, limits were placed on
brewers prohibiting them from indicating the alcohol content of their
beers. There was a fear among some that brewers would compete on the basis
of their proof: “Our beer is the strongest on the market,” etc.

It’s interesting to note that wine is required to mark their alcohol by volume. Spirits is also required. Also, if you were to buy a Budweiser in Germany, they would have their alcohol by volume posted on their labels.

Maybe it’s time we revisit this question – should beer manufacturers be required to put this information on their label? You would think that this information is pretty important.

Check out these examples that I did. I created the same conditions with 2 different beers. Here is what I got:

Bud Light at 4.6% alcohol

Sam Adams Noble Pils at 6%

As you can see, I’m under the limit when drinking 3 Bud Lights but I’m over the limit – nearly by .02% – when drinking Noble Pils.

Do you know your buzz limits? Try a BAC Calculator and keep yourself out of trouble!

How much alcohol is in the beer that you drink?

What does it say on the label? What does it say on the packaging? Do you have any idea of the alcoholic content in your beer?

Look hard. Can you find it? Astonished?  Why can’t we find the alcohol volume percentages on the beer labels or packaging in the U.S.?

It is absolutely amazing that such pertinent information isn’t on beer labels. If the law states we can’t drive over a BAC level of .08%, we need to educate ourselves on how many beers we can drink before we are over the limit. If the beer companies aren’t transparent and they aren’t telling us how much alcohol is in their beer – then doesn’t that seem a bit unfair?

Let’s do a comparison:

Bud Light has an alcohol content percentage of 4.2% and Sam Adams Octoberfest at 5.7%.  There is a 1.5% difference of alcohol volume between these 2 beers – which you wouldn’t think would be that much of a difference…..wrong. There is a HUGE difference.

Using this state of the art BAC Calculator - I figured out that if I had 4 Bud Lights, I would eventually reach a .088 BAC Percentage. If I had 4 Sam Adams Octoberfests, I would eventually reach a .151 BAC percentage! That is almost twice the percentage of the Bud Light! That’s a big difference.

I then did an exercise comparing Bud Light (4.2%) to Budweiser (4.9%). If I were to drink 4 Bud Lights, I would once again be at .074% (still under the limit). Yet if I had 4 Budweisers – I would be at .115% and very much over the limit! Who would have thought that such a small percentage could make such a difference in our BAC levels?

My point in all of this is that a) 78% of drinkers have no idea what their BAC level is and b) alcohol companies aren’t being very transparent and telling us how much alcohol is in those bottles of beer. Is it our fault that we don’t know the alcoholic content in the beer that we’re drinking?

It’s odd to me that hard liquor needs to state this information on all their bottles and packaging but beer companies don’t. The alcoholic content is also stated on wine bottles.

When I first made this realization, I wondered – why do food and beverages state extensive amount of info (calories, proteins, carbs, etc) and alcohol doesn’t? The best “explanation” that I received is that alcohol is regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (not the FDA). So, obviously different rules and laws apply here. With that said, it’s amazing that we are being told how many carbs are in bread but we don’t need to know how much alcohol is in beer.

The reason this is becoming more important is craft beers. Craft beers are making an incredible and positive impact on our society – we’re given so many more choices than what we had before. However, craft beer tends to have more alcoholic content in their beer than the “big beers” – Miller and Budweiser.

Beer companies really should have more transparency when it comes to publishing their alcohol volume percentages. Even on some of their websites, I was unable to find this information!

Do you know the alcoholic content in beer?  We’ve started a good list and encourage you to learn your BAC (blood alcohol concentration) limits by visiting our BAC alcohol calculator. Stay out of trouble – keep yourself and others on the road safe – know your BAC limits!