Beer Label Information Standards

There ought to be a set of (voluntary yet widely adopted) standards that all microbreweries follow in regards to the information present on the labeling of their bottled beer. Three key pieces of information should be clearly stated, in addition to the ABV:

o Bitterness (IBU): Already present on some beers
o Color (SRM)
o Bottle conditioned/force carbonated: This would likely be the most useful, as it would tell you whether or not you need to leave the last 1/4" in the bottle during the pour.

I know it's a pipe dream, but that would be valuable information, not only to homebrewers that are interested in developing their personal bitterness/color estimations and providing the ability to mimic their favorite brews, but to spread awareness of the different metrics for characterizing beer and aid consumers in refining their tastes.

AVB and what the hops/grains are would be nice. I also do my best to NOT buy beer in twist off bottles. screw those guys.

pnj said:

AVB and what the hops/grains are would be nice. I also do my best to NOT buy beer in twist off bottles. screw those guys.

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pun intended?

pnj said:

AVB and what the hops/grains are would be nice. I also do my best to NOT buy beer in twist off bottles. screw those guys.

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Another good point. Founders bottles all of their beers in the short fat bottles, the same shape as Sierra Nevada. However, for some reason they use twist tops, which is a horrible waste of a good beer bottle.

I know that it really doesn't make a difference, but I can't help but look down on beer that comes with a screw cap...call me racist

It really annoys me when I crack open a beer and find out it was a screw top, especially after I've used my bottle opener. Nowadays I actually try to twist off caps in the store before I purchase beers, to make sure they're reusable. I figure if I'm going to buy it, I might as well be able to reuse the ****ing bottles.

IIRC, there are/were some states that disallow listing ABV because they're afraid it will encourage people to buy higher alcohol beer. A stupid argument, of course.

I don't care about SRM. IBUs would be nice, though I'm happy if they put them online. I actually would rather guess first.

weirdboy said:

It really annoys me when I crack open a beer and find out it was a screw top, especially after I've used my bottle opener. Nowadays I actually try to twist off caps in the store before I purchase beers, to make sure they're reusable. I figure if I'm going to buy it, I might as well be able to reuse the ****ing bottles.

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Uh...what happens when you try one that actually twists off in the store?

pnj said:

AVB and what the hops/grains are would be nice. I also do my best to NOT buy beer in twist off bottles. screw those guys.

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I'm the same way. Although now that I have a pretty good collection of bottles built up, I can buy some beers with twist offs.

thelorax121 said:

I know that it really doesn't make a difference, but I can't help but look down on beer that comes with a screw cap...call me racist

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Me too, but FOUNDERS beer is EXCELLENT! In their case, I'd settle for taking a few of their bottles back to the store.

pnj said:

AVB and what the hops/grains are would be nice.

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And mash temps and times, proportions....

Most breweries provide a description of the beer on the bottle, and the ABV. Some even have the IBUs.

While clones of beer are ok on a homebrew level, I wouldn't expect them to advertise their recipe to their competition on the bottle. Half of what makes a beer enjoyable is trying to unravel the mystery of what they did to make it!