Alcohol by volume
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Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. This measurement is assumed as the world standard, although in the United States the predominant measurement is Alcohol by weight (also known as ABW). Another, outdated way of specifying the amount of alcohol is alcoholic proof.
Typical examples
- beer: 3-6%
- alcopop: 4-5%
- cider: 5-7%
- barley wine: 10%
- wine: 12.5%
- port wine: 20%
- single malt whisky: 40%
- liqueur: 15-55%
- liquor (aka spirits): Typically 40% and up, but recently introduced (U.S.) 'light' liquors are only 20%
- premium single malt whisky: 60%
- neutral grain spirits: 95%
- Woo Woos: 30%
Conversion quotients
Given a value in ABW you can convert it easily to ABV using the following formula:
- ABV = 1.25 × ABW
or, inversely:
- ABW = 0.8 × ABV
These quotients are a fair approximation to the real values; since the ingredients change from beverage to beverage, it is impossible to have a universal formula, as the density of the beverage minus alcohol varies. The above explained value works best for beers, for example.