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Alcohol by volume

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

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.

Last updated: 05-21-2005 05:13:45