Alcohol percentage

Chris P. Bacon

I was in the off licence tonight getting ten cans of Heineken,when i get to the counter the fella says to me that 8 of them are 5% i said yeah so what are the other two he says 4.3%,no bother ill put the 4% ones back and get two more 5% ones,no sorry he says thats the last of them,they sell out quickly he says,grand so ill take em anyway.

When i get home i notice the 5% cans are dented to shit and flat as fuck,but still a nice bang off them,and they are imported from the look of the can.Now i know you can get imported Guinness that's a higher percentage.But my question is why dont they sell imported stuff the same as the stuff we are buying?

Wompa1

Richie Cranium wrote: »

I was in the off licence tonight getting ten cans of Heineken,when i get to the counter the fella says to me that 8 of them are 5% i said yeah so what are the other two he says 4.3%,no bother ill put the 4% ones back and get two more 5% ones,no sorry he says thats the last of them,they sell out quickly he says,grand so ill take em anyway.

When i get home i notice the 5% cans are dented to shit and flat as fuck,but still a nice bang off them,and they are imported from the look of the can.Now i know you can get imported Guinness that's a higher percentage.But my question is why dont they sell imported stuff the same as the stuff we are buying?

What?..mmm..I'd imagine our domestic beers are 4.3% as that has been the regualation set. If anything it could be lowered, meaning it takes more drinks to get drunk so people who just drink socially could drink on a night out and not get plastered...but sure nanny state and all that blah

squod

Added to the list of beers ****ed up by brewing them outside of their homeland. Stella being my number 1 gripe. UK Breweries can't do their job properly, fact.

stevejr

Richie Cranium wrote: »

I was in the off licence tonight getting ten cans of Heineken,when i get to the counter the fella says to me that 8 of them are 5% i said yeah so what are the other two he says 4.3%,no bother ill put the 4% ones back and get two more 5% ones,no sorry he says thats the last of them,they sell out quickly he says,grand so ill take em anyway.

When i get home i notice the 5% cans are dented to shit and flat as fuck,but still a nice bang off them,and they are imported from the look of the can.Now i know you can get imported Guinness that's a higher percentage.But my question is why dont they sell imported stuff the same as the stuff we are buying?

Tens cans @ 5%, you're a better man than me..

squod

stevejr wrote: »

Tens cans @ 5%, you're a better man than me..

That's 50% :eek:

Chris P. Bacon

stevejr wrote: »

Tens cans @ 5%, you're a better man than me..

No 2 were 4.3% and eight 5%

Daegerty

Were the cans actually marked as 5% or is this the same nonsense as different brands of petrol being better than others?

Chris P. Bacon

Daegerty wrote: »

Were the cans actually marked as 5% or is this the same nonsense as different brands of petrol being better than others?

Yeah the eight were marked at 5% but i didnt notice i just picked up 10 cans the all looked the same

strokemyclover

I was talkin to my local heroin salesman tonight and he said Donkey today is a mug's game. The place to be is cannabis cultivation - the walrus was Paul!

I don't know what he meant but I'm sure he's right!

*I can't feel my face, man!*

Chris P. Bacon

strokemyclover wrote: »

I was talkin to my local heroin salesman tonight and he said Donkey today is a mug's game. The place to be is cannabis cultivation - the walrus was Paul!

I don't know what he meant but I'm sure he's right!

*I can't feel my face, man!*

I though he was a alien

Senna

Its nothing to do with regulations, the more alcohol makes the beer taste different. Brewers sell beers at target markets, in Ireland for example, Heineken might think people prefer the taste with only 4.3%. In England they might prefer 5% and in France they might prefer 4%. You can buy Carlsberg with 8%, gets you drunk but tastes like piss.

Anima

If anything it could be lowered, meaning it takes more drinks to get drunk so people who just drink socially could drink on a night out and not get plastered...but sure nanny state and all that blah

Isn't it more likely that they want to make more money from people buying loads of pints of piss to get drunk?

I'm living in Paris now and most beer is over 5%. The Belgian beers are mostly 6+% or higher (and delicious) and cheaper in supermarkets than what we get. If you go to a pub you pay 6-8e for a pint. It's expensive but when you consider that you're buying nearly twice the amount of alcohol, its nearly the same as home and tastes a lot better.

im invisible

Richie Cranium wrote: »

Yeah the eight were marked at 5% but i didnt notice i just picked up 10 cans the all looked the same

the 5% ones look like this pic

the 4.3 have a green band around the top

also the 5% come in 4 packs, the 4.3 in six-packs

EvilMonkey

Is it not to do with the duty on alcohol. If its 4.3% the brewer pays less tax than %5 or whatever. In other countries where duty on alcohol is cheaper they can have a higher % without affecting the profits. The off-licence then buys wherever they can get the best deal resulting in cans with different % on the shelf.

Chris P. Bacon

im invisible wrote: »

the 5% ones look like this pic

the 4.3 have a green band around the top

also the 5% come in 4 packs, the 3.5 in six-packs

I beg to differ,the first pic is the 4.3% and the second is 5%

4.3%

5%

davyjose

In my experience, English beer is weaker than here and in Europe. i've seen a lot of sh!te in and around the 3.8% mark.

davyjose

Richie Cranium wrote: »

Yeah the eight were marked at 5% but i didnt notice i just picked up 10 cans the all looked the same

You didn't notice the difference between a predominantly silver can, and a predominantly green can?

Richie Cranium wrote: »

I beg to differ,the first pic is the 4.3% and the second is 5%

4.3%

5%

Next your gonna tell us a famous Beatles lyric refers to a character from a two week-old movie???

Chris P. Bacon

You didn't notice the difference between a predominantly silver can, and a predominantly green can?

No i didnt i saw cans that was that.

Next your gonna tell us a famous Beatles lyric refers to a character from a two week-old movie???

Dont have a clue what your on about.

Capt'n Midnight

EvilMonkey wrote: »

Is it not to do with the duty on alcohol. If its 4.3% the brewer pays less tax than %5 or whatever. In other countries where duty on alcohol is cheaper they can have a higher % without affecting the profits. The off-licence then buys wherever they can get the best deal resulting in cans with different % on the shelf.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/excise/duties/excise-duty-rates.html

Exceeding 2.8% volume 15.71 per hectolitre per cent of alcohol in the beer

The difference in excise is only 5.5c

0.7% * 1/2 litre * 15.71c

davyjose

Richie Cranium wrote: »

Dont have a clue what your on about.

Well, the Beatles were a famous band from the sixties.






































And,the Walrus was Paul.

Sergeant

davyjose wrote: »

In my experience, English beer is weaker than here and in Europe. i've seen a lot of sh!te in and around the 3.8% mark.

Some of the best beer in the world is brewed in England. The 3.8% stuff is cheap, nasty, chilled to .01 of a degree above freezing, mass-produced lager. Sales of which have started to drop.

Have a pint of Ale.

Chris P. Bacon

davyjose wrote: »

Well, the Beatles were a famous band from the sixties.































And,the Walrus was Paul.

If I wasn't drunk id give you a proper answer.

EvilMonkey

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/excise/duties/excise-duty-rates.html
The difference in excise is only 5.5c

0.7% * 1/2 litre * 15.71c

5.5c per can?
How many cans Heineken are made for the Irish market every year?

I never really worked it out I don't remember where i picked that up but always assumed it was true

ardinn

The English cans are 5% and cheaper - you should get them at pretty good value - I sell English bud, carlsberg, heineken, and bud light at 6 for €10 which is great value when you think of it - the supermarkets are obviously cheaper but we are an independant single entity.

All the Irish brewed beer is 4.3% - and more expensive

So for those who like to buy irish - the 4.3% stuff is Irish - but comes in at about €2 per can give or take.

Chris P. Bacon

ardinn wrote: »

The English cans are 5% and cheaper - you should get them at pretty good value - I sell English bud, carlsberg, heineken, and bud light at 6 for €10 which is great value when you think of it - the supermarkets are obviously cheaper but we are an independant single entity.

All the Irish brewed beer is 4.3% - and more expensive

So for those who like to buy irish - the 4.3% stuff is Irish - but comes in at about €2 per can give or take.

Id like to buy some of this beer from you,where in Ireland are you?

garv123

in the pub i work in the owners were getting bud off cash and carry and keanes.
one lot was 330ml 4.3% and the other lot was a smaller 300ml 5% bottle.
one lot was meant to be coming from the north or something.

he was going ringing up to find out about why they were different but i forgot to ask why afterwards.

maybe the cans of heiniken are the same

ger664

ardinn wrote: »

The English cans are 5% and cheaper - you should get them at pretty good value - I sell English bud, carlsberg, heineken, and bud light at 6 for €10 which is great value when you think of it - the supermarkets are obviously cheaper but we are an independant single entity.

All the Irish brewed beer is 4.3% - and more expensive

So for those who like to buy irish - the 4.3% stuff is Irish - but comes in at about €2 per can give or take.

Richie Cranium wrote: »

Id like to buy some of this beer from you,where in Ireland are you?

WTF €1.49-€1.69 a can in Ennis

garv123

ger664 wrote: »

WTF €1.49-€1.69 a can in Ennis

yeah i can buy 8 cans for a 10er usually in the small off licence across the road

johnnykilo

I remember about 3-4 years back Heineken Ireland announced they were getting rid of the 4.3% piss water we have here and introducing the 5% import stuff. I remember a few of the bars started getting the 5% stuff in, not sure what happened but obviously they decided against it. Haven't seen the 5% stuff in about 2 years now that I think about it.

Anyway, not only is the stuff here at a lower percentage, it's also full of chemicals such as preservatives which give you a much worse hangover the next day, which is why I only drink foreign beer (from outside the UK and Ireland)

Daegerty

johnnykilo wrote: »

Anyway, not only is the stuff here at a lower percentage, it's also full of chemicals such as preservatives which give you a much worse hangover the next day, which is why I only drink foreign beer (from outside the UK and Ireland)

I've heard that about Heineken alright. Had a can of the 4.3 last night and didn't like the taste of it much. Some of Aldi's best tastes better

Ditch

I consider this about fourth rate (see attached picture) But, it suits me as a 'friday night, kebab and couple of films round my mates place' sort of thing.

And is also a cheap fill in when I run out of Home Brew, due to, eg. Completely debilitating illness or something having left a bubble in my supply line