Who remembers 3.2%?

[Rich Engelhardt]

My brother just sent me an email congratulating the Cavs for breaking the 52 year slump.
He mentioned being in a bar in 1964, drinking 3.2% Stroh's beer watching the Browns win the football title.(pre-Super Bowl)

Got me thinking about how things get turned around :D.

Back when I was 18, and all I could buy here in Ohio was "low powered" or 3.2 -- beer that was 3.2% ABV. & how we all complained about it.

Now, I drink the same thing, only these days it's called "Light" beer :D :D.

[Paul F Franklin]

Remember it well....it was all we could (legally) drink when I was in college (until we turned 21). Lawmakers thought no one could drink enough 3.2 beer to get buzzed.....they were wrong:rolleyes: (never give a college student that kind of challenge...)

As far as Light vs. 3.2....let's just say Marketers are smarter than lawmakers (not that that's setting a high bar).

[Pat Barry]

3.2 is still available here in Minnesota. In fact, if its Sunday that's all you can buy at a store. They don't trust us to buy anything stronger than that on Sunday. Go to a bar though and you can still get strong beer on a Sunday.

[Michael Weber]

Sure. Even though I was not a big beer consumer, occasionally on a Sunday when the need arose we would hop across the border to Oklahoma where 3.2 was available. Arkansas didn't and still does not allow beer sales on Sunday. No idea if oklahoma laws at the time just restricted Sunday sales to 3.2 or if that was all that was available all the time. I did not know that "lite" beers were lower in alcohol content. Thought it was just fewer calories.

[Mike Null]

I grew up with the Browns and 3.2 Carlings Black Label. "hey Mabel" I'm from Dayton.

[Mel Fulks]

We had a couple of restaurants in this town that did big business with 3.2 . They were like kindergartens with drill sargents. Get a little loud,etc and you were suspended. One of them had go go dancers. The old married proprietor paid a lot of attention to them.

[Jim Koepke]

I grew up in California and found out later that each state had its own laws about alcohol content and labeling.

A friend of mine's mother was dating a distributor. He was importing German beers and before they could get new labels printed they had to use a marker to cover the word beer and write in ale.

He explained the law in California, at the time, had a different designation for the various alcohol content of malt brewed beverages.

There was beer, ale, malt liquor, stout malt and probably a few others. I likely got it mixed up since it has been almost 50 years ago. I am not sure if California law has changed or not.

jtk

[Ken Fitzgerald]

There were states in the 60's where the only beer you could buy was 3.2%. Georgia, IIRC, when I was stationed there only sold 3.2% beer.

Recently at my local watering hole, the owner was shocked when I told her that my favorite Scotch ale could well have less alcohol content than the Bud Light she was pouring for another customer. The other bartender went online. According to him, my Scotch ale was 4.3% and the Bud Light was 5.0%

[Mike Henderson]

Sure. Even though I was not a big beer consumer, occasionally on a Sunday when the need arose we would hop across the border to Oklahoma where 3.2 was available. Arkansas didn't and still does not allow beer sales on Sunday. No idea if oklahoma laws at the time just restricted Sunday sales to 3.2 or if that was all that was available all the time. I did not know that "lite" beers were lower in alcohol content. Thought it was just fewer calories.
A lot of the calories in beer come from the alcohol - 7 calories per gram of alcohol and many beers (12 ozs of 5% beer) have 14 grams of alcohol so about 98 calories per beer just from the alcohol.

Most regular beers contain about 150 calories total. So 2/3 of the calories come from the alcohol.

Mike

[Lite beer is about 4.2% alcohol and has reduced calories from carbs.]

[Brett Luna]

Three-two beer takes me back to technical training at Lowry AFB, Colorado in 1978-79. You could buy it from vending machines in the dormitory.

[Jerome Stanek]

I remember when I was stationed at Fort Mcclellan we went to bar that was bring your own bottle

[Howard Garner]

I remember when I was stationed at Fort Mcclellan we went to bar that was bring your own bottle

Down in South Carolina, in Charleston, you had the nodder. If you "forgot" to bring a bottle, The bar tender asked this guy if it was all right to use "his" bottle for your drink. He just set there and nodded.
This was back in the early 60's in my early Navy days.

[David Helm]

I grew up near Dayton Ohio.3.2 beer was what we started drinking at 16 (this is back in the 1950s). By the time we turned 18 we had been going into the bars for such a long time that they started serving us high beer and mixed drinks. Back then nobody cared. Oh, and it was Schoenling, Hudepohl and Burger.

[Rich Riddle]

In Kansas during the seventies and eighties you could purchase 3.2% beer at an 18+ club or a convenience store. Liquor stores and private bars had 5.0 beer and the age requirement was 21. Someone once said one was measured by weight and the other volume, but we were young and that was likely incorrect.

[Bruce Page]

There were states in the 60's where the only beer you could buy was 3.2%. Georgia, IIRC, when I was stationed there only sold 3.2% beer.

IIRC, that was the case in California. I moved to NM in '76 and discovered 5% beer for the first time. I wasn't a big beer drinker.

[Kurt Kintner]

Ah, yes..... Remember it well when I was in the Army in the 60's..... 99 cents a six-pac at the beer hall.....

[Mike Null]

Dave Helm. You must remember Cassano's pizza and Schoenling beer as well. Especially the Little Kings.

[Bill McNiel]

"Near Beer"

[Brian Elfert]

The Minnesota State Fair only sold 3.2 beer up until about a decade or so ago. I worked for the Fair for a lot of years and never understand how people could get so drunk on 3.2 beer. One guy was so drunk he stripped off all of his clothes while riding on a open air parking shuttle.

[David Helm]

Dave Helm. You must remember Cassano's pizza and Schoenling beer as well. Especially the Little Kings.

Vic Cassano's was certainly the best pizza around at the time. . .and Momma Donisi.
I was long gone before the Little Kings came along.

[Rick Potter]

I grew up in Cleveland. In the 50's the only place to buy booze was in a 'State Store', which I assume was run by the state.

I remember going on vacations out of state, and asking my dad what a 'Liquor Store' was, when I saw my first one.

[Kev Williams]

OMG, I'm laffing my butt off...

Seems none of you have lived in or been to Utah? Land of the most ridiculous liquor laws in the country?

3.2 is the ONLY beer allowed on grocery store shelves or served in restaurants. Been that way since time began. Anything stronger requires a trip to the state-run liquor store, and a healthy premium over the price any of YOU pay for it... $2.00+ for a 10-12oz bottle of 5% beer or wine cooler... groan...

We even outlawed 3.2 wine coolers in grocery stores a few years ago, 'bad influence on the kids'...

Ever heard of our "Zion Curtain"? Google it for a good laugh.

We have 'The Church' to thank for saving us from ourselves.

[David Helm]

OMG, I'm laffing my butt off...

Seems none of you have lived in or been to Utah? Land of the most ridiculous liquor laws in the country?

3.2 is the ONLY beer allowed on grocery store shelves or served in restaurants. Been that way since time began. Anything stronger requires a trip to the state-run liquor store, and a healthy premium over the price any of YOU pay for it... $2.00+ for a 10-12oz bottle of 5% beer or wine cooler... groan...

We even outlawed 3.2 wine coolers in grocery stores a few years ago, 'bad influence on the kids'...

Ever heard of our "Zion Curtain"? Google it for a good laugh.

We have 'The Church' to thank for saving us from ourselves.


As I recall, one is also limited to only two of these low beers when in a restaurant.
Don't even get me started about coffee in Utah; best described as "ruined water"!

[Jerome Stanek]

OMG, I'm laffing my butt off...

Seems none of you have lived in or been to Utah? Land of the most ridiculous liquor laws in the country?

3.2 is the ONLY beer allowed on grocery store shelves or served in restaurants. Been that way since time began. Anything stronger requires a trip to the state-run liquor store, and a healthy premium over the price any of YOU pay for it... $2.00+ for a 10-12oz bottle of 5% beer or wine cooler... groan...

We even outlawed 3.2 wine coolers in grocery stores a few years ago, 'bad influence on the kids'...

Ever heard of our "Zion Curtain"? Google it for a good laugh.

We have 'The Church' to thank for saving us from ourselves.

If you order an import then you get the higher % brew

[Kev Williams]

If you order an import then you get the higher % brew
I tend to forget you can get a 'heavy' beer in restaurants. However, only from noon to midnight, 'near beer' is available from 10am to 1am.. ;)

I also love our liquor meters attached to the bottles, which will dispense only 1 ounce of 'primary' liquor, and these meters also have a 'pour counter' on them. If the BABC comes-a-callin', hopefully none of your employees has been cheating....

[Jerome Stanek]

When I was in Salt Lake City we all got carded and the youngest was over 50

[Ken Combs]

Remember 3.2?? I'm drinkin' one! That's all that's available in OK outside of a liquor store. And they can't sell it cold!!! Can't sell mixers either, just liquor, strong beer and wine. And only liquor stores can sell wine, no grocery or convenience purchases.

Thankfully, there is a question planned for the Nov election to change some of that nonsense.

[Brian Elfert]

Remember 3.2?? I'm drinkin' one! That's all that's available in OK outside of a liquor store. And they can't sell it cold!!! Can't sell mixers either, just liquor, strong beer and wine. And only liquor stores can sell wine, no grocery or convenience purchases.


Sounds pretty similar to Minnesota liquor laws. No liquor sales outside of liquor stores and no Sunday sales. Grocery stores and convenience stores do have small selections of beer, but I have no idea what the alcohol content is. Probably 3.2.

It is strange to go into Walmart in other states and see displays of alcohol in the middle of the aisle kinda like they display pop/soda here in Minnesota.

[Robert Hartmann]

I grew up near Dayton Ohio.3.2 beer was what we started drinking at 16 (this is back in the 1950s). By the time we turned 18 we had been going into the bars for such a long time that they started serving us high beer and mixed drinks. Back then nobody cared. Oh, and it was Schoenling, Hudepohl and Burger.

This brings back memories. Before joining the Air Force I worked at Schoenling (which by that point had bought out Hudy and Burger). My dad worked there for 42 yrs before retiring just after Boston Brewery bought them out. My grandfather also worked there after he sold his bar. I had the pleasure of working with Bill Schoenling "Jr" on the draft dock for a while. What an interesting time that was.

[Stew Hagerty]

I am in NE Indiana and grew up in the 70's. Where I was, we could get to Ohio for 3.2% Beer in about 20 minutes. Or, we could get to Michigan where you could buy anything as long as you were 18 (or at least looked old enough to drive :cool:) in around 50 minutes. If we had time, we'd always go to Michigan, but I made plenty of Ohio runs in my day too.

[Dennis Peacock]

Where I grew up....there wasn't anything called "beer" around to drink. All we had was "white lightning"...and it was far more than 3.2%. :D

[Chris Padilla]

In Colorado in the late 80s, you could buy 3.2 at the grocery store if you were 18. In the late late 80s, they changed it and grandfathered in to 21 to buy ANY alcoholic beverage but thankfully, I made the cut-off.