Alcohol by volume

ABV redirects here. For other uses, see ABV (disam- 2 Alcohol proof
biguation).
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or Another way of specifying the amount of alcohol is
alcohol proof, which in the United States is twice the
alcohol-by-volume number, while in the United Kingdom it is 1.75 times the number (expressed as a
percentage).[7][8] For example, 40% abv is 80 proof in
the US and 70 proof in the UK. However, since 1980,
alcoholic proof in the UK has been replaced by abv as a
measure of alcohol content.

3 Alcohol by volume and alcohol by

weight
In the United States, a few states regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight (ABW),
The alcohol by volume shown on a bottle of absinthe.
expressed as a percentage of total mass. Some brewers
alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol print the ABW (rather than the ABV) on beer contain(ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic ers, particularly on low-point versions of popular domesbeverage (expressed as a volume percent).[1][2][3] It is de- tic beer brands.
ned as the number of millilitres of pure ethanol present One can use the following equation to convert between
in 100 millilitres of solution at 20C. The number of ABV and ABW:
millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20C, which is 0.78924 g/ml. The
ABV standard is used worldwide. The International OrABV 0.78924 = ABW g/ml in 20C at beverage of density
ganization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of
waterethanol mixtures at dierent concentrations and
At relatively low ABV, the alcohol percentage by weight
temperatures.
is about 4/5 of the ABV (e.g., 3.2% ABW is about 4%
In some countries, alcohol by volume is referred to as ABV).[9] However, because of the miscibility of alcohol
degrees Gay-Lussac (after the French chemist Joseph and water, the conversion factor is not constant but rather
Louis Gay-Lussac),[4] although there is a slight dierence depends upon the concentration of alcohol. 100% ABW,
since Gay-Lussac used 15 C.
of course, is equivalent to 100% ABV.
Mixing two solutions of alcohol of dierent strengths
usually causes a change in volume. Mixing pure water
with a solution less than 24% by mass causes a slight in- 4 Prediction of alcohol content
crease in total volume, whereas the mixing of two solutions above 24% causes a decrease in volume.[lower-alpha 1]
More information on the phenomenon of volume changes During the production of wine and beer, yeast is added
due to mixing dissimilar solutions is discussed in the ar- to a sugary solution. During fermentation, the yeast organisms consume the sugars and produce alcohol. The
ticle on partial molar volume.
density of sugar in water is greater than the density of
alcohol in water. A hydrometer is used to measure the
change in specic gravity (SG) of the solution before and
1 Typical levels
after fermentation. The volume of alcohol in the solution
can then be estimated. There are a number of empirical
Details about typical amounts of alcohol contained in var- formulae which brewers and winemakers use to estimate
ious beverages can be found in the articles about them.
the alcohol content of the liquor made.
1

4.1

Wine

[6] Robinson 2006, p. 279.

The simplest method for wine has been described by English author C.J.J. Berry:[8]

[7] Regan 2003.

[8] Berry 1998.
[9] Alcohol Content In Beer.
www.realbeer.com.
Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved
2008-07-05.

ABV = (Starting SG Final SG)/7.36

4.2

EXTERNAL LINKS

Beer

[10] Calculate Percent Alcohol in Beer.

Beer.com. Retrieved 2014-07-03.

Main article: Beer measurement Strength

BrewMore-

[11] Anon, 2012, Industrial Microbiology Beer Fermentation

Practical, School Of Applied Sciences, RMIT University,
Melbourne

The calculation for beer is:[10]

1.05 is the number of grams of ethanol produced for every [12] Get to Know Your Alcohol (By Volume)". BeerAdvogram of CO2 produced, and .79 is the density of ethanol,
cate.com. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
ABV =

1.05
0.79

Starting SGFinal SG
Final SG

100 [11]

7 Bibliography

However, many brewers use the following formula:[12]

ABV = 131 (Starting SG Final SG)

Berry, C. J. J. (1998). First Steps in Winemaking.

Nexus Special Interests. ISBN 978-1-85486-139-9.

See also
Alcohol proof

Regan, Gary (2003). The Joy of Mixology. Clarkson

Potter. ISBN 978-0-609-60884-5.

Unit of alcohol

Robinson, Jancis (2006). The Oxford Companion

to Wine (3rd ed.). Oxford: OUP. ISBN 978-0-19860990-2.

Standard drink
Apparent molar property
Excess molar quantity

8 External links

Volume fraction

Hehner, Otto (1880). Alcohol Tables: giving for all

specic gravities, from 1.0000 to 0.7938, the percentages of absolute alcohol, by weight and volume.
London: J & A Churchill, ASIN B0008B5HOU.

How do brewers measure the alcohol in beer? HowStuWorks

References

Alcohol strength and density

[1] See data in the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics,
49th edition, pp. D-151 and D-152. Mixing a solution
above 24% with a solution below 24% may cause an increase or a decrease, depending on the details.
[1] Lafayette Brewing Co.. www.lafayettebrewingco.com.
Retrieved 2012-02-04.
[2] Glossary of whisky and distillation.
celtic-whisky.com. Retrieved 2012-02-04.

www.

[3] English Ales Brewery Monterey British Brewing Glossary. www.englishalesbrewery.com. Retrieved 201202-04.
[4] Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (17781850)".
istry.about.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
[5] Robinson 2006, p. 10.

chem-

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Alcohol by volume Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_by_volume?oldid=697803495 Contributors: SimonP, CatherineMunro,

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