False ABVs?

From what I've heard, there are in fact breweries that misrepresent their abv more than the legal "fudge" limit. It may be an accident some times from bad testing, but I imagine it has to do with abv limits in certain states.

Out of curiosity, how would one go about testing the abv of a beer if you only have the final product? I thought the only way to calculate it was based on the gravity change so you need an initial and final reading. If that is the only way and I was a brewer that was getting checked, I'd just brew the beer differently when they came in for measurements.

 

You send it to a lab with the correct equipment (Anton Paar alcolyzer). If your brewery is big you have one in your lab. Measure vs. calculate.

 

The only time I'll freeze beer is I'm spontaneous and didn't plan ahead. I wrap the can or bottle up with a moist paper towel, throw it in the freezer at max 20-30mins and Voila!

Other than that, I make sure ahead of time if I'm going to have a beer after work, to put some in the reefer before I leave work so it'll be cold when I get home.

 

Are you sure both beers are resonating on the same frequency on their respective worldline?

 

So the part you missed is the bottles froze to slush but not the cans.

Enjoy

 

Putting a false ABV on a label would be pointless and extremely risky.It would provide a reason for many legal actions.

In the UK , beer duty (tax) is based on actual ABV. This has to be declared to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs who have their sense of humour surgically removed on appointment. The penalties are so great that making false claims would be idiotic.

 

Yeah, I just can't imagine a brewery deliberately trying to deceive in this manor with two different beers, especially one as big as New Belgium. The "freezing first" thing is an oversimplification and there clearly must be other factors at play here, several of which have been already mentioned.

 

Settle down OP, and read the responses.
Your answer is in post #10--Rampant is filtered, FS is not. Rampant will freeze more quickly.

Yea science.

 

stop drinking your good beers so damn cold. Its not swill, you want to taste it. 50-55 degrees seems about right for most styles

 

Beer will freeze in the freezer, beans don't burn on the grill

 

Loads of beers have an ABV different from the one stated on the label. I know this from seeing chemical analyses of commercial beers and talking to brewers.

Typical macro thing: ABV below stated, up to just about the legal tolerance.

New brewers and Belgians: all over the shop. Often higher ABV that stated, sometimes way higher.

One offs: the label had to be approved before the beer had finished fermenting. The brewer could have guessed wrong either way.

No-one is going around testing the ABV of every beer on sale. It would be a mammoth task. In the US, it isn't such a big deal, as it has no tax implications. In Europe, declaring an 8.5% ABV beer as 7% ABV could save you a lot of money in tax. So the chances of getting checked are higher. But with so many small breweries having sprung up in a short space of time, the authorities don't have the capacity. I've heard rumours of outright fraud in the UK.

 

SEE!!! SEE HOW FRESH SQUEEZED IT IS?!?! It's the pulp

 

And given the fact that the 2 breweries in question are New Belgium and Deschutes (2 of the largest craft breweries with top fucking shelf QC), I highly doubt there are any inaccuracies in their labeling.

 

As Kuaff noted, several things in the beer besides abv will impact how fast it freezes. The body of the beer will play a major role and I suspect carbonation levels will have something to do with it as well. Abv is fairly tightly regulated with undoubtedly significant consequences so I doubt that a brewer would mess with that.

 

Seriously? I really think someone needs to invent a sarcasm font. It's totally lost when writing.

 

Have you to tried freezing whiskey? I haven't. But Vodka does not seem to freeze (or can stay there a heck of a long time!).

ps- here is the right answer:

pps-This would make for an interesting PhD dissertation!

 

I dont think people are trolling you dude. You wrote twice twice that you put beer in the freezer to "freeze" it, not to just get it cold quickly although from your other posts it's clear that wasn't your original meaning. If you don't write with clarity, then the reader must assume you are not thinking with clarity.

There are also much easier ways to test for a beers abv than sticking them in the cooler at the same time and seeing how quickly they cool. Two many variables involved lIke thickness/type of glass, original temperature, solids in the liquid, really the list could go on half a page.

 

I test ABV as follows: I beer bong a six pack.
If I wake up with a headache, its 6%ish
If I wake up with a new tattoo its 8%ish
If I wake up naked on the lawn its 10%ish
If I wake up in a Tijuana jail its 12%ish+.

 

I always keep my (cheap) whiskey in the freezer. That way its chilled without ice cubes watering it down. 40% ABV does not freeze at normal freezer temps, regardless of liquor type.
In fact, I've hear multiple stories about teenagers getting busted drinking their parents' alcohol when they tried to refill it with water and put it back in the freezer.

 

The more alcohol, the lower the freezing point. Or, the more non-alcohol,, the higher the freezing point. That's why vodka doesn't freeze in your freezer.

If you're seeing something different, it's a variable besides one of the laws of nature. Maybe the bottles aren't the same temp going in? Maybe they're in different parts of the freezer with different temps?

http://www.howitworksdaily.com/why-doesnt-alcohol-freeze-in-the-freezer/