A common assumption about alcohol content in beer is that beers higher in alcohol are usually a darker brown in color and of a thicker consistency — think of a Guinness or a porter. Many people think that the darker a beer is, the “stronger” it is. A darker beer, they think, has more alcohol than a light-colored beer. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The color of dark beers has nothing to do with their alcohol content. Instead, it is the darker malts that are used, which have been roasted longer, that give these beers their dark color and more ‘malty’ flavor. In fact, many dark beers have very low alcohol percentages, while very pale beers can have the highest.
Dark Beer Alcohol Content
Look at the aforementioned Guinness. This Irish mainstay is the darkest beer most casual beer drinkers know, and in a typical bar, it is probably the darkest beer on draft, or even on inventory.
As well, it probably is among the lowest-alcohol beers. Regular Guinness Draught, at around 4.2% alcohol by volume, has about the same punch as a Bud Light. They do make stronger versions.
This is not to say that dark beers should be assumed to be light on alcohol! While dark beers are not automatically the strongest beers, many can pack a punch.
For example, Bocks can be light or dark, but both tend to come in at over 6% alcohol by volume. Many assume the word ‘Bock’ refers to any and all dark beers, but it’s really a German word for strong beer (derived from Einbeck). Then, of course, there are Doppelbocks, which are even stronger.
There are other dark beer styles that are associated with fairly high alcohol content, as well. Stouts tend to be 7 or 8% alcohol-by-volume and Imperial or Russian Stouts are even higher than 9% alcohol. However, many dark beers such as black lagers, porters, dry stouts, Schwarzbiers, etc. contain around 4 to 6% alcohol by volume.
By and large, there is no rule that dark beers should be expected to contain more alcohol or higher calories.
Dark malts, which are classified as color malts, caramel malts, or roasted malts, cause significant changes in color, flavor, and aroma but they contain less fermentable sugars than regular malt and are typically used in amounts of 5% or less. It takes very little dark malt to cause intense changes in color and flavor.
Notes on the words Strong and Light in Beer
Some beer drinkers might consider the term ‘strong; to reflect the taste of a beer. Therefore, any beer with bold strong flavors may qualify, even if the beer is low in alcohol but high in hops, for example.
For beer brewers, however, the strength of a beer is related to its alcohol content, which can be determined by measuring its specific gravity or by measuring the percentage of alcohol directly.
What beers are considered strong, however, depends on the country. In America, we consider an ‘American Strong Ale’ to be an ale with an alcohol content of higher than 7%, whereas, in England, a strong ale is an ale with higher than 5% alcohol.
Flek Dark Double Lager at 13°P, comes in at 5% ABV. Strong, but not that strong.
Image by Øyvind Holmstad via wikimedia
The opposite of a strong beer is not “mild beer.” The term mild in beer usually relates to flavor, and specifically to hops content. So a mild beer will be a beer with fewer hops, and therefore less bitter flavors.
On the other hand, the term ‘light beer’ doesn’t help much, either. The meaning of the word light applied to beer is not consistent. Just as with the word strong, the meaning of light and low-alcohol varies from country to country.
In Australia, beer is considered light if it has between 2.2 and 3.2% ABV (alcohol by volume). And, in Canada, beer is light if it has between 2.6 and 4% ABV.
The United States muddies the water a bit. Beer in the U.S. is light if it has around 4% ABV.
However, the term light is usually related to calories. Beer is light if it has around 20 to 33% fewer calories than regular beer.
It is possible to have a low-alcohol beer that is not lower in calories. If you see the term ‘low-alcohol’ applied to a beer, this should not be assumed to be a low-calorie beer. Consistent with the information already presented here, low-alcohol beers do not tend to do well in the United States! In the early 1980s, Anheuser-Busch introduced a low-alcohol beer (LA) that pretty much flopped. Despite this, light beer has the strongest market share in America.
You might also be interested in reading about how Miller tried to sue other beer companies for using the word light in their beers.