After a stressful day at work or during a hot summer, it’s not a bad idea to ease a little stress or cool off by sitting on a bottle of cold beer.
It is currently seen as one of the most common things to do, especially when you don’t abuse it by taking excess because it has a certain amount of alcohol. Due to the alcoholic content in a beer, people often wonder if beer can catch fire. So, is beer flammable?
Well, the answer is a bold NO! Beer is not flammable because its alcoholic content is between the 4%-8% volume, which is too low to cause any flammable actions.
In this article, we look at the flammability of beer as well as everything you need to know about the drink.
Contents
What is Beer?
Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks globally and the third most popular drink overall, behind only water and tea. It comprises cereal grain mixtures such as malted barley, wheat, maize, rice and oats.
At the brewing stage, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation, which results in the beer.
For beer lovers, the basic formula for beer hasn’t changed for centuries, with the combination of water, malt, hops and yeast.
Also, alcohol in a beer is often recorded on the label as ABV (Alcohol by Volume). Meanwhile, hops are added in the brewing process to clarify and stabilize and utilize their bitter, fruity, and citrusy flavors. Beer can be ultra-golden or rich brown.
Traces of beer can be found in its archaeological evidence of fermentation over 13,000 years ago, consisting of gruel used by the semi-nomadic Natufians for ritual feasting at the Ragefet Cave in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa in Israel.
Now, back to the previous question, Is Beer Flammable?
Is Beer Flammable or Combustible?
The percentage of alcohol in beers are very low; hence, it’s not flammable. In other words, a vast majority of beer is water, which is why it can’t be considered flammable or combustible; after all, it is a general phenomenon that water is not flammable.
While you can also argue that the combination of alcohol and water can be explosive, its inflammability depends on the amount of alcohol present.
That is to say; the alcohol needs to be in much greater quantity than the water for your position to be seen as truth. Yet, in most beers, there’s not enough alcohol to cause this occurrence.
Generally, beer is not explosive because of its alcohol content between the ranges of 4% – 8%. That means it is not even close to the 60% range that can cause it to catch fire under normal circumstances.
In other words, any beer or liquor that is over 80 proof (above 40% alcohol) is regarded as explosive and can easily catch fire.
Can Beer Ever Catch Fire?
Well, to be clear and concise, beer will not and can never catch fire because their alcoholic content or volume, which is between 4% – 8%, is too low while their water content is very high; hence, they will find it hard even to attract fire, not to talk of flaming up.
Meanwhile, this long-time bar culture always adds beer as a supplement to cocktails to prevent them from easily catching fire, as they foresaw that some people might be tempted to experiment with its flammability.
So, that adds up to the proof that beer will not catch fire easily.
What Volume of Alcohol in Beer is considered Flammable?
Quite simply, the volume of alcohol that should be considered flammable in beer is between 80 to 100 proofs, which is a sequel to 40% to 50% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).
At this rate, the probability of the beer catching fire is high. Yet, it’s rare to see a beer with such an amount of alcoholic volume.
Meanwhile, you might be able to set fire to drinks with less alcohol in them, but they can also automatically quench very fast due to the volume of water present in them.
Then, when it has gotten as low as 60 proof (30% ABV), it won’t be easy to be ignited at all.
The above postulation brings us to a story someone told, about an event in a movie concerning a woman who was sipping a beer, lights a match and spits the beer into a guy’s face.
It acts as a flame thrower, thus getting the storyteller confused about how easily flammable a beer can be.
Well, there’s nothing to be confused about, as the answer is clear. The volume of alcohol in beers are very low, and it’s not flammable. The ones you see in movies are just a conception that beers produce such effect simply because of alcohol.
However, it is possible for the strongest of beers and alcoholic drinks like vodka and some others to be flammable because the alcohol content is above the allowable level that it’s almost pure alcohol.
But, these types are mostly few and far between and also very expensive.
Is Beer Flammable While Fermenting?
Beer is not flammable while fermenting. It can only catch fire when you make a risky mistake while producing the alcohol (ethanol) in the fermenting process.
So, in this process, you have to apply caution. But, generally, during fermenting, beer doesn’t contain enough alcohol that can make it explosive.