Alcohol by volume - Definition and Overview

Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. This measurement is assumed as the world standard, although in the United States the predominant measurement is Alcohol by weight (also known as ABW).

Typical examples

• beer: 3-6%
• alcopop: 4-5%
• barley wine: 10%
• wine: 12.5%
• port wine: 20%
• single malt whisky: 40%
• liqueur: 15-55%
• liquor (aka spirits): Typically 40% and up, but recently introduced (U.S.) 'light' liquors are only 20%
• premium single malt whisky: 60%
• neutral grain spirits: 95%

Conversion quotients

Given a value in ABW you can convert it easily to ABV using the following formula:

ABV = 1.25ABW

or inversely:

ABW = 0.8ABV

These quotients are a fair aproximation to the real values. As the ingredients change from beverage to beverage it is impossible to have an universal formula, as the density of the beverage minus alcohol varies. The above explained value works best for beers, for example.

Example Usage of Alcohol