3.2 beer

[TheTed]

As a new resident of this state, can someone clear up the 3.2 beer rules for me.

If I buy beer at the liquor store, none of it's 3.2 beer, right?

What about at the bar? Is all American macro-brewed beer (Bud, Miller, Coors) sold at the bar the 3.2 variety?

If I purchase a draft or bottle of import beer at the bar, is it 3.2? What about Boulevard and other small-scale breweries' beer bought at the bar?

[Dana431]

Here is a link to a previous thread on this topic.

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2526

I know the beer that you buy in a liquor store is higher than 3.2 .  I don't know about the beer at the bars.

[alanoftulsa]

When I sold Bud back in the late 70's, we delivered 3.2 to the bars.  I don't think that has changed any.


My job at Budweiser got me far....... [)]

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by TheTed

As a new resident of this state, can someone clear up the 3.2 beer rules for me.

If I buy beer at the liquor store, none of it's 3.2 beer, right?

What about at the bar? Is all American macro-brewed beer (Bud, Miller, Coors) sold at the bar the 3.2 variety?

If I purchase a draft or bottle of import beer at the bar, is it 3.2? What about Boulevard and other small-scale breweries' beer bought at the bar?

the devil is in the details it is all wt. vs. vol... it is a silly debate...

to answer your question- domestic microbrews purchased in bars are not required to be nonintoxicating (i.e. <3.2%) but sometimes are...

[snopes]

Why is it a silly debate Bruno? I can tell the difference between 3.2 and the "other" stuff like night and day. Maybe it IS just me (seriously), but 3.2 tastes like water to me. I travel alot and experience both and I totally stay away from 3.2 if possible.

[iplaw]

I have always called it Beerwater.

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by snopes

Why is it a silly debate Bruno? I can tell the difference between 3.2 and the "other" stuff like night and day. Maybe it IS just me (seriously), but 3.2 tastes like water to me. I travel alot and experience both and I totally stay away from 3.2 if possible.

i'll steal my post from a previous thread...

quote:3.2 beer is a percent of alcohol by mass....

liquor store beer is labeled by volume, and most of that is about 5 percent alcohol by volume... converting from weight to volume you find that the "3.2" beer is really 4 percent alcohol by volume... so it really is a 1% difference it is there but not as big as many people think... there have been taste tests with beer snobs- many of whom would never normally drink one of our common domestic lagers- and they can't tell a difference in the AC...

cause, yeah man, that guinness is weak ****... (all guinness draught/original varities are are 4.0% AC by volume or about 3.2% by weight)...

 
so yeah, it must be you... but the only way to know is a blind taste test, i'd bet you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a 3.2 budweiser and 4.0 budweiser... i've tried, i could not tell the difference...

i love beer and i love people that love beer... i've got a keg at home and literally 15 different varieties of beer including many out-of-state micros/regional that i "import" in.... and every couple of months i brew a corny keg full of one of my own varities...

but ultimately i like beer, all beer... i'd take a weihenstephan dunkel over a michelob and a natty bo over a natural light anyday... but i'll still drink a cold can of old style instead of water, and i'd be happy about it...

[RecycleMichael]

Hey bruno...when can we come over?

We each promise to bring an exotic six-pack and share...

[snopes]

Give us directions BRUNO! [^] But I swear, I can tell the difference easily. If we ever meet, I'll demonstrate. So, back to the serious stuff. Directions please?

[snopes]

Bruno? Bruno? Directions please. It's almost happy hour! []

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by TheTed

As a new resident of this state, can someone clear up the 3.2 beer rules for me.

If I buy beer at the liquor store, none of it's 3.2 beer, right?

What about at the bar? Is all American macro-brewed beer (Bud, Miller, Coors) sold at the bar the 3.2 variety?

If I purchase a draft or bottle of import beer at the bar, is it 3.2? What about Boulevard and other small-scale breweries' beer bought at the bar?

It is my understanding that all beers sold in liquor stores here are strong beers, not the 3.2 stuff.  Liquor stores are prohibited from selling 3.2 beer; groceries and convenience stores can ONLY sell 3.2 beer.

If you buy a Bud, Miller or Coors at any outlet in Oklahoma, be it a store, bar, or restaurant, it is 3.2 ONLY.  These national breweries stopped selling strong beer in Oklahoma about 25 years ago over disputes with Oklahoma's liquor franchising prohibitions.  If you buy imported, or other domestic beer at a bar, it may or may not be 3.2, chances are it is strong beer.  Best to ask the barkeep what they are selling.  Any bar that has a valid liquor licence can sell strong beer.  If they sell 3.2 beer also, they need a separate license, as 3.2 beer in OK is governed by a whole different set of laws.  Silly I know.

It all stems back from when prohibition was repealed nationally in the early 1930s.  The US Congress legalized 3.2 beer shortly before national prohibition was repealed to appease the masses.  Oklahoma did likewise, calling 3.2 beer "non-intoxicating" to skirt the state prohibition laws.  But Oklahoma kept hard liquor prohibition until April 1959; up until then, the only alcoholic beverage available legally in OK was 3.2 beer.  When OK finally repealed prohibition, we kept the older 3.2 beer laws that were already on the books and the new liquor laws only applied to stronger beers, wines and liquors.  And that is pretty much how it still stands today.  The big national breweries still make the 3.2 stuff for the few states like Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri(?) that still have 3.2 beer laws and regs.  They won't sell their strong beer in Oklahoma because they can not have exclusive franchise agreements with a single wholesaler.  They say they need this for quality control issues (refrigeration, delivery, product age, etc.), but the Oklahoma constitution strictly prohibits the franchising of intoxicating alcoholic beverages to a single wholesaler.

Oklahoma wasn't the very last state to repeal liquor prohibition, although it was the only state to enter the union with constitutional liquor prohibition.  Mississippi didn't repeal liquor prohibition until 1966.  We may have what some people feel as outdated, overly-restrictive liquor laws, but we certainly don't have a monopoly on these.  You learn to adapt.    

[okcpulse]

Steve, the other states that allow grocery stores and gas stations to sell only 3.2 beer other than Oklahoma are Kansas, Colorado, Utah and Minnesota.  Missouri still restricts beer to 3.2% alcohol by weight on certain areas, but much of the state allows gas stations to sell liquor, beer and wine.

Utah is the only other state that prohibits liquor stores from selling cold alcoholic beverages, and all liquor stores are owned and operated by the Utah Department of Beverage Control.

And, Utah is also the only other state where Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller refuse to sell strong beer for the same reasons they don't sell strong beer in Oklahoma.  Difference between Oklahoma and Utah?  Oklahoma has a better chance of changing this law.  A much better chance, because we're actively pursuing that goal as we speak.

[SoonerRiceGrad]

Action on this issue was considered by the OKC Chamber, but the governing board chose to stay out of this, even though economic growth in downtown OKC has been hurt by this law. We'd like a Whole Foods, wink-wink...

And plus, if I'm going to be picking between Istook and Henry in a couple weeks, I'd better be hammered! []

[TheTed]

I plan on purchasing all of my package liquor out of state. With laws such as these, I refuse to give Oklahoma any of my package liquor tax revenue.

[Breadburner]

quote:Originally posted by TheTed

I plan on purchasing all of my package liquor out of state. With laws such as these, I refuse to give Oklahoma any of my package liquor tax revenue.

Not much of a "drinker" are you....?