Errors in the stated alcohol content of beer affects the level of alcohol in your blood system

What is it about?

The level of alcohol in your blood system, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is affected by factors such as weight, sex, amount drunk, how long ago you started and stopped drinking, and the alcohol concentration of the drink (%ABV). This work measured the alcohol concentration in over 200 beers and found variations of up to 1.6 %ABV difference from the stated value. This affects the calculated BAC by up to 25%

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Why is it important?

It is common for forensic practitioners to calculate an individual's likely blood alcohol concentration following the consumption of alcoholic beverage(s) for legal purposes, such as in driving under the influence (DUI) cases. It is important in these cases to be able to give the uncertainty of measurement on any calculated result. The forensic science regulator updated FSR-G-220 Alcohol Back Calculation for Road Traffic Investigations which includes that the latest recommendations from UKIAFT (V3.0) that was updated based on this paper.