Today more and more people prefer to drink beer as a natural alcoholic beverage. Even though you can find beer with no alcohol these days, alcoholic ones have a greater demand.
However, do you really know what is the beer alcohol concentration when you consume a 16oz beer can? Most people ignore the fact that beer as an alcoholic beverage could easily get you drunk.
And when you don’t have anything to eat and drink your beer neat, you have more chances to get drunk. That’s the main reason many people lose their driving licenses since they get caught when beer drinking and driving under the influence.
Today we will check how much alcohol you can get when you consume a 16oz beer can. Then you can do the math and estimate what would be the average intake compared to a hard spirit like whiskey and vodka.
What is the Drink Serving?
Most bartenders agree that the average alcoholic beverage serving is no more than 70ml. That could be either neat or diluted in ice.
When you drink hard spirits like whiskey, gin, rum, and vodka, you get a beverage that has more than 40% concentration in pure alcohol. That means your liver needs to work overtime to metabolize it, and don’t let it float into your bloodstream, reaching your brain.
In any other case, you would be intoxicated by alcohol, and your cognitive functions could easily get messy. That’s why you need to drink hard spirits with care.
However, beer is also an alcoholic beverage that has a lower ABV. On the other hand, if you keep on drinking more beers in a row, you will have the nasty symptoms of alcohol intoxication.
That happens because alcohol gets aggregated in your bloodstream, no matter if you consume it through a hard spirit or a soft one like beer.
How Much Alcohol Does a Drink Serving Have?
Another question would be how much alcohol per serving of hard spirits you get on any serving. When we have a 70ml serving portion, you get approximately 10ml of pure alcohol.
That is more than your liver can safely metabolize within a day. When you consume more than one drink per night, you allow alcohol to float freely in your veins.
It’s what we call absolute intoxication that could easily lead you to get drunk. If you are home, there is absolutely no problem with it.
However, when you need to drive home or operate machinery, you should never try to have more than one serving of hard spirits at a time.
You will easily get drunk, and you can either lose your ability to drive or even harm other people. So being responsible with drinking is a great attitude you need to have when you are with others and want to be social.
What is the Average Alcohol Concentration in a 16oz Beer?
Drinking a 16oz beer can means getting more than 5 grams of pure alcohol each time you sip one. That could be enough for a person that weighs less than the average body mass weight.
It is true that alcohol can easily get diluted into fat tissue. That means people that are obese or have a higher body mass index could easily have alcohol absorbed by their fat tissue and metabolize it later in the day.
However, as you can imagine, that changes according to the type of beer you have in front of you. Not all beers have an average ABV of 4.5%, which is the worldwide common one.
You can find monasterial beers that have an ABV that is close to 8% being a wine instead of a beer. That could lead to serious intoxication since you can have more than 20ml of pure alcohol, even from one 16oz can.
Do All Beer Types Have the Same Alcohol Concentration?
As mentioned before, not all beer types have the same alcohol concentration. European beers like the lagers and ales have a higher ABV, while the American ones tend to be lighter.
It’s important to know that the ABV is written on the 16oz beer can you are about to consume. That is a federal mandate from the government to ensure that consumers know how much alcohol they will get and take measures.
On the other hand, you can never be sure about the fermentation and the alcohol. When you drink home-brewed beer, the actual alcohol concentration could be higher, so be ready to get a cab to get home or rest in the other place during that night.
Is it the Same Type of Alcohol in Hard Spirits and Beer?
Researchers have shown that the fermentation of products coming from wheat or other cereal produces the same type of vegetarian alcohol. As a result, you have the same type of alcohol in beer and other hard spirits like vodka and whiskey.
However, since the concentration may vary, you need to be very careful what you drink and how you accompany that serving. Most people eat fatty food during their alcohol intake and do that for two reasons:
- Fat in your stomach can severely relent alcohol from reaching your duodenum and intestine. In that case, you will have more time to digest alcohol, and you will not get drunk.
- Alcohol gets diluted in fatty acids. That’s why you may easily get some alcohol metabolites instead of pure alcohol and reduce the chances of a hangover.
Can You Get Drunk when Drinking Three 16oz Beer Cans?
So when you have three 16oz beer cans, you may have the same amount of alcohol as in a hard spirit drink. So you better get these beers to drink them across the whole night.
Otherwise, you risk getting drunk and severely intoxicated. Not to mention that the carbonization of the beer makes it more possible to have better penetration of alcohol in your stomach.
Final Words
Drinking your beer cans wisely could be the best advice for you. Keep on looking for the ABV on the beer can to be sure about the alcohol you consume.
Only then will you be sure that you can drive a vehicle or operate machinery and ensure you are 100% legit in everything you do.
