Does anyone regulate alcohol percentage

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by victorytea1, Jul 21, 2014.

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  1. victorytea1

    victorytea1 Initiate (0) Jan 1, 2013 New York

    When I get home I usually put a couple beers in the freezer to cool them quickly. I've noted that some beers can stay in well over an hour without freezing. Just wondering, some beers (like Flower Power) seem to ice up rather quickly. It is listed as 7.50 ABV-can a brewer just list any ABV or are there specifications they have to follow? Thanks- Paul
     
  2. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
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    They have to list within a certain range, i.e within 0.5%

    I don;t know what it is in the US though. I'm sure orval (might be a different belgian brewer though) list higher for their US beers than the EU ones, despite it being the same beer - as it ferments in the bottle it gets higher and I assume listing it higher than it actually might be when they import it is less of a problem than letting it get higher than the EU listed abv
     
  3. Hop-Droppen-Roll

    Hop-Droppen-Roll Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2013 Minnesota

    I brought this up one time and was told by basically everyone that the amount the ABV rises is so miniscule, it's hardly worth mentioning. I brought it up because I wondered at the futility of labeling ABV% on bottle conditioned beers. I think the basic explanation was that there's really no malt left to be fermented, just 'conditioning sugars' or something like that (I'm not a homebrewer).
     
  4. azorie

    azorie Pooh-Bah (2,471) Mar 18, 2006 Florida
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    #4 azorie, Jul 21, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2014
  5. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
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    It's pretty small, less than 1%, but if your country's laws state that it must be quite exact then that poses a problem for bottle conditioned beers. My homebrew will gain about 0.1 to 0.2 % in abv when bottling conditioning

    But orval has brett in it which will continue to ferment sugars that normal brewers yeast can't, so it might go up 0.5% or so or a bit more - not much really, but if the legal limit is only say 0.3% then that's troublesome

    Most excise tax departments will probably only really care if a producer is selling a drink that is over its stated abv - if it's less then they won't care as much
     
  6. AdmiralOzone

    AdmiralOzone Grand Pooh-Bah (4,352) Jun 26, 2014 Minnesota
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I would suggest that you don't put beers in the freezer, doesn't take a lot of effort to put them in the fridge the day before. I actually have a small fridge in the basement that I keep at 50 degrees for stouts and porters so I don't have to let them warm up. The fridge upstairs is colder for food, and I can keep other beers colder. Putting beers in the freezer is asking for trouble.
     
  7. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

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