why does beer have a higher percentage than other alcoholic drinks?

Question

this is for KS3 homework. hopefully, someone can help me answer it as im helpin my 13yr old brother

Answer 1

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Alcohol is produced by yeast during the process of fermentation. The other product of fermentation is carbon dioxide, which is the gas that can make beer bottles explode or blow their tops off. The amount of alcohol in the finished liquid depends on how much sugar there was at the beginning for the yeast to convert into alcohol. In beer, the alcohol is generally 3% to 12% (6 to 24 proof) and usually about 4% to 6% (8 to 12 proof). Depending on the strain of yeast, wines top out at about 14% to 16% (28 to 32 proof), because that is the point in the fermentation process where the alcohol concentration denatures the yeast. Since the 1990s, a few alcohol-tolerant 'superyeast' strains have become commercially available, which can ferment up to 20%. [2]

Very few microorganisms can live in alcoholic solutions. The main three are yeast, Brettanomyces, and Acetobacter. In what is essentially disinfection, yeast keeps multiplying as long as there is sugar to "eat", gradually increasing the alcoholic content of the solution and killing off all other microorganisms, and eventually themselves. There are "fortified" wines with a higher alcohol concentration than that because stronger alcohol has been mixed with them. As this is usually done before fermentation is complete, these products contain a much higher quantity of sugar and therefore are typically quite sweet.

Stronger liquors are distilled after fermentation is complete to separate the alcoholic liquid from the remains of the grain, fruit, or whatever it was made from. The idea of distillation is that a mixture of liquids is heated, the one with the lowest boiling point will evaporate (or "boil off") first, and then the one with the next lowest boiling point, and so on. The catch is that water and alcohol form a mixture (called an azeotrope) that has a lower boiling point than either one of them, so what distills off first is that mixture that is 95% alcohol and 5% water. Thus a distilled liquor cannot be stronger than 95% (190 proof); there are other techniques for separating liquids that can produce 100% ethanol (or "absolute alcohol"), but they are used only for scientific or industrial purposes. 100% ethanol does not stay 100% for very long, because it is hygroscopic and absorbs water out of the atmosphere.

Answer 2

This is not true. In fact beer has one of the lowest amount of alcohol with normal beers having a volumetric percentage of 3-5%, whilst stronger beers have 8% by volume. It is possible for beers to have an alcoholic volume of 10 -12% max, by these are special made. Most wines have an alcohol content of 10-14% by volume. 14 % is the magic number as above this, yeast which causes the fermentation process are killed off, as alcohol becomes poisonous to the yeast. After this spirits such as vodka, Brandy , whiskey, gin etc are produced by simple distillation to produce 40% by volume alcoholic drink. 90% by volume vodka can also be produced and this is one of the strongest drink on the market. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The percentgae of alcohol in a drink depends on a lot of things, with the distilling/fermenting process and quantity of ingredients being the main ones.

As far as I know, beer has one of the lowest percentage of alcohol per volume of any alcoholic beverage on the market. Here in the UK, it is generally 4-5%. In the US, it goes as low as around 2.5%. Wine is the next category of strength, followed by fortified wines and port, then liquers, then spirits at the top.

But there are lots of different e=ingrediants and way to make beer, and some beers -- particulalry European beers -- can go up to 10%: as strong as wine.

Answer 4

It doesn't. Most liquors, like whiskey, contain around 40% alcohol (70° proof)