Why 5% Craft Beer Will Get You More Drunk Than 4% Lagers

Picture this. Person A is drinking a craft beer with 5% ABV at a microbrewery. Meanwhile, Person B is watching TV at home and enjoying a Dos Equis with 4% ABV.

Within the hour, Person A drank two craft beers and Person B drank six Dos Equis. Person B is probably feeling more impaired than Person A, right?

Not necessarily. In fact, there’s a big difference in alcohol consumption between the two people.

An article from Draft Magazine by beer connoisseur and journalist, Joe Stange, lays out the reason why someone will get more drunk off a couple of 5% craft beers versus drinking six bottles of Dos Equis.

It all comes down to the science of alcohol, how people process it and some math

The same article uses the U.K.’s alcohol measurement, which is in units. To put the math in perspective, one standard 12-ounce drink in the U.S. is 1.77 units in the U.K.

Here’s two beers for comparison:

• A 12-ounce beer with 4% ABV – equals 1.4 alcohol units
• A 12-ounce beer with 5% ABV – equals 1.8 alcohol units

Because alcohol processes through every person differently, which is dependent on factors such as your age, weight, gender, etc., let’s say we are discussing a casual drinker with an average build.

4% Lagers Versus 5% Craft Beers

Drinking the beer with 4% ABV in an hour means you’ve processed 1 unit of alcohol already.

That leaves you with .4 units of alcohol still in your system.

Let’s keep going. After another hour with one more of the same beer, you’re now at .8 units.

If we switched the drinks, and used a 5% beer in the same situation, you would reach .8 units after only one hour!

Although your level of intoxication would not be much, it is eye-opening to see the difference between the two drinks. If you kept drinking a 5% beer, it could mean you’re getting more intoxicated than you intended.

Smart Start urges everyone to drink responsibly, and to never drink and drive. Ask a sober friend to drive you home, or get an Uber, Lyft or taxi.

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