What is the alcohol content of beer? There is even beer over 60%?

What are the alcohol content and calories of the beer we drink?

Cass, Terra, and Kelly are commonly seen when ordering beer at convenience stores or restaurants. What are the alcohol content and calorie counts of these beers?

Cass FreshIt has an alcohol content of 4.51 TP3T and is approximately 240kcal per 500ml., TeraIt is about 230kcal at 4.6%, KellyIt is about 230kcal at 4.5%. Three Beer All have an alcohol content between 4.5 and 4.61 kcal, and a calorie content of 230 to 240 kcal per 500 ml can.

Recently, as the number of health-conscious consumers increases Light BeerThey are also gaining quite a bit of popularity. Cass Light is about 125kcal per 4.01 TP3T, and Terra Light is also about 113kcal per 4.01 TP3T (based on 453ml), compared to regular Beer The calorie content was significantly reduced.

Beer	ABV	Calories (500ml)	manufacturing company
Cass Fresh	4.5%	Approximately 240kcal	OB Beer
Tera	4.6%	Approximately 230kcal	Hite Jinro
Kelly	4.5%	Approximately 230kcal	Hite Jinro
Crush	4.5%	Approximately 190kcal	Lotte Chilsung
Cass Light	4.0%	Approximately 125kcal	OB Beer
Terra Light	4.0%	Approximately 113kcal	Hite Jinro

however Beer Is the alcohol content around 4~5% all there is?

In fact, the world of beer is much wider and more diverse than what we encounter at convenience stores. From light beers in the 1% range to those over 15% that are stronger than wine. Beer, There even exists a beer with a 60% range that surpasses whiskey.

Beer alcohol content has a wider range than you might think.

familiar to us Beer The alcohol content is around 4–51 TP3T. However, this is worldwide Beer This is only a very small fraction of the styles. If you move on to craft beer, there are beers with a much wider variety of alcohol content.

Alcohol contentIt is expressed in a unit called ABV (Alcohol By Volume), which refers to the proportion of alcohol in the total liquid volume. Even within the same beer, this figure varies widely depending on the style.

On the lightest side is Europe Table emptyThere is a long cultural tradition of such low-alcohol beer, to the extent that in Belgium, table beer with an alcohol content of about 1 to 2.51 TP3T was even served in some schools instead of soft drinks.

Germany's Berliner WeisseIt is a light and refreshing wheat beer with a pH of around 31 TP3T, and is British Mild AleIt is a beer designed to be enjoyed comfortably in multiple glasses at a pub with an alcohol content of about 3 to 41 TP3T.

All of these low-alcohol beers Session emptyIt is called [name], which means an alcohol content that does not cause significant intoxication even if you drink several glasses during a single drinking session.

Powerful beers are lined up at the opposite end. Double IPAis 7.5~10%, Imperial Stoutis 8~12%, and Barley wineIt boasts an alcohol content ranging from 8 to 151 TP3T.

The name "barley wine" itself means "wine made from barley," and it is actually a beer with an alcohol content comparable to wine.

Beer Alcohol Content by Style at a Glance

Beer style	ABV	characteristic
Table empty	1~2.5%	Belgian traditional ultra-low alcohol Beer
Mild Ale	3~4%	Sessions of British pub culture Beer
Lager / Pilsner	4~5.5%	The most consumed category in the world
Pale Ale	4~6%	hop(HopsAle with vibrant aroma
Porter / Stout	4~7%	The deep flavor of roasted malt
American IPA	5.5~7.5%	Intense hop bitterness and aroma
Double / Imperial IPA	7.5~10%	The most advanced version of IPA
Triple IPA	10~12%	Both hops and malt to the extreme
Imperial Stout	8~12%	A rich dark beer with chocolate and coffee flavors
Barley wine	8~15%	Wine-grade barley Beer

How did the beer alcohol content end up being 4~5%?

Although 4 to 51 TP3T feels like the standard for beer these days, if you look back at history, the alcohol content of beer varied greatly depending on the era.

For most of human history, beer was actually brewed with a lower alcohol content than it is today, and it was closer to a safe means of hydration than a beverage intended to get drunk.

In medieval Europe small beerBeer with an alcohol content of 1 to 31, known as [name of beer], was an everyday beverage. In an era when clean water was difficult to obtain, beer, having undergone a fermentation process, was safer than water because it contained fewer bacteria.

Drinking a light beer with breakfast was a common sight, and there are records indicating that in the UK, even schools provided small beers to students.

Meanwhile, for festivals or religious events, 5~6% or more Regular beerStrong ales reaching 91 TP3T were also brewed. In other words, the alcohol content of the beer was flexibly adjusted according to its intended use.

The alcohol content of beer changed by war and taxes

Beer It was war and taxes that brought about a decisive change in the degree. World War IIt dealt a tremendous blow to the British brewing industry. Amid grain rationing, raw material shortages, and pressure to produce during wartime, the share of beer dropped sharply.

In 1918, the British government mandated that more than half of beer be brewed with an original specific gravity of 1.030 or less, a level corresponding to an alcohol content of less than 31. In addition to this, the large-scale of 1931 Beer With the addition of tax increases, the overall alcohol content of British beer has noticeably decreased.

An even more dramatic event unfolded in the United States. Due to the grain rationing policy during World War I... Beer The alcohol content dropped to 2.75%, and the following Prohibition(1920–1933) banned the production and sale of all beverages with an alcohol content of 0.51 TP3T or higher.

Even after Prohibition was lifted, initially only beer with a tolerance of 3.21 TP or less was legal. This historical experience left a deep mark on consumers' tastes.

Through wars and regulations, people became accustomed to light and easy-to-drink beer, and breweries also produced beer to suit that taste.

Lager's World Domination and the Standardization of 4~5%

In the late 19th century, along with the development of refrigeration technology lagerThe world Beer It began to dominate the market. Lager is made by fermenting at low temperatures and aging for a long time, and this process produces a cleaner and more uniform taste compared to ale.

Both Germany's Pilsner and America's American Lager were produced with an alcohol content between 4 and 5.51 TP3T, and this became the global standard. This was because this alcohol range was commercially ideal as it was suitable for mass production, good to drink chilled, and did not cause excessive intoxication.

The same is true for Korea. Since the competition between Hite and Cass in the 1990s, the alcohol content of domestic beer has remained almost fixed at 4.5–4.61 TP3T. This is not a coincidence, but can be considered a legacy left to the world by the 20th-century lager industry.

Challenging the limits of beer alcohol content

While typical beer remained between 4 and 51 TP3T, some breweries ran in the exact opposite direction.
“The challenge of ”how high an alcohol content can be produced with beer?” began in earnest in the 1990s, and now beers with an ABV of 67.51 TP3T, surpassing whiskey, have been created.

Yeast Alcohol Tolerance — Limitations of Natural Fermentation

The most fundamental factor determining the alcohol content of beer is leavenC. Yeast is a microorganism that consumes sugars in wort and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide; however, if the alcohol concentration rises above a certain level, it becomes addicted to the alcohol it produces and can no longer proceed with fermentation.

general Beer The alcohol tolerance of yeast is approximately 10 to 121 TP3 T ABV. Most brewing yeasts can complete fermentation without any problems within this range, and high-alcohol beers such as Barry Wine and Imperial Stout are also produced within this limit.

However, to climb higher from here, a special method is needed. Champagne yeastIts alcohol tolerance is high, ranging from 17 to 201 TP3T, so general Beer Fermentation can continue even at the point where the yeast gives up.

Samuel Adams of the Boston Beer Company utilized a special strain called "Ninja Yeast" along with Champagne yeast, which has the characteristic of continuing fermentation even at high alcohol concentrations.

Dogfish Head Brewery took an even more extreme approach, reaching 15-201 TP3T ABV. Worldwide StoutTo make it, six different types of yeast were added over a period of seven months. The method involves gradually increasing the alcohol concentration by adding sugar little by little after the initial fermentation.

Freeze Distillation and the World's Strongest Beer War

There is one way to overcome the limitations of natural fermentation. That is. Freeze-dilution, This is a technique called Freeze Distillation in English.

The principle is relatively simple. Since water freezes at 0°C but alcohol does not freeze until -173°F (-114°C), cooling beer below freezing causes only the water to freeze first. If these ice crystals are removed, the remaining liquid Alcohol concentrationIt naturally increases.

This technique was originally German EisbockThe tradition called Beer It originated from a style. According to legend, it is said to have been created by chance about 100 years ago at a brewery in Germany when a wooden barrel containing Bock beer froze on a winter night.

As the water froze, the beer became concentrated, resulting in a richer, sweeter, and higher-alcohol beer. Since the late 2000s, this freeze distillation technique has been “the world’s strongest Beer”It emerged as a key weapon in the fierce competition among breweries for “.

It started in 2008. Germany's SchorschbräuWith the launch of the 31% ABV Schorschbock, the world's strongest Beer Declared the title.

In response, Scotland's BrewDogThe full-scale war of fire began with the response to this 32% ABV's Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

The two breweries took turns breaking records. Whenever Schorschbräu raised the record to 401 TP3T, BrewDog would counter with 'Sink the Bismarck' at 411 TP3T. BrewDog even went so far as to sell 'The End of History' at 551 TP3T ABV inside stuffed squirrels and weasels.

And in 2013, another brewery in Scotland Brewmeister가 Snake VenomIt reached the pinnacle of this competition by achieving 67.51 TP3T ABV with a beer called [Name].

This beer uses smoked peat malt, and, Beer It was produced by adding yeast and champagne yeast together and undergoing multiple freeze distillations.

However, due to the controversy that additional alcohol was added to Snake Venom, Guinness World Records officially recognizes BrewDog's 'The End of History (551 TP3T ABV)' as the world's strongest beer ever sold.

Timeline of the World's Strongest Beers of All Time

year	Beer name	brewery	ABV
1994	Triple Bock	Samuel Adams	18%
2007	Utopias	Samuel Adams	27%
2008	Schorschbock 31	Schorschbräu	31%
2009	Tactical Nuclear Penguin	Brewdog	32%
2009	Shorschbock 40	Schorschbräu	40%
2010	Think the Bismarck	Brewdog	41%
2010	The End of History	Brewdog	55%
2012	Schorschbock 57	Schorschbräu	57.5%
2013	Snake Venom	Brewmeister	67.5%
2020	Strength in Numbers	Brewdog x Schorschbräu	57.8%

The number 67.51 TP3T is higher than vodka (401 TP3T) and most whiskies (40~501 TP3T).

So, Snake Venom has a warning on the bottle to drink it in a 35ml shot glass rather than a beer glass, and you cannot buy more than one bottle at a time.

Of course, these extreme beers are far from beer in the conventional sense. They have almost no carbonation, are highly viscous and flow like syrup when poured, and taste closer to distilled spirits than beer.

So, the debate of "Is this really beer?" always follows.