If you enjoy going to breweries or make beer yourself, you should know that craft beers are not always the same as standard beers in terms of their alcohol by volume (ABV) levels. Breaking things down a little further, it’s normal for a 12-ounce beer to have an ABV of 4% to 7%. The average is 5%.
At a local brewery, however, the craft beers may be stronger. A craft beer could have as much as .9 ounces of alcohol per serving rather than .6 like in a typical beer. As a result, you could get drunker faster and stay impaired for longer.
What makes a craft beer different?
The majority of craft beers are made to have a higher alcohol content than standardized beers. The average is 5.9% ABV, which is .9% more concentrated than an average beer.
Why is the higher alcohol concentration an issue?
The greatest issue with the higher alcohol concentration is that most people keep a count of how many beers they’ve had to determine if they are too intoxicated to drive safely.
For example, a man may know that he can drink two beers in two hours and be safe to drive home. He might then go to the brewery and have two beers assuming that he will be fine when the event is over. If he tries to drive home, he could be surprised to find out that he is still impaired despite drinking the same number of beverages as usual.
There are extremely strong craft beers that are concentrated enough to equal three traditional store-brand beers. That single drink can’t be counted as only one alcoholic beverage and should instead be counted as three, but if someone doesn’t pay close attention, they may not realize that the beverages aren’t comparable.
If you are drinking, plan not to drive
Whenever you decide to drink, you should plan to get a sober ride home even when you think you know when you’ll be sober. There are many factors that can influence how quickly your body processes alcohol, and you don’t want to make an error that leads to a crash or DUI.
