Beverage Brewing, Distilling & Fermentation worked example

Alcohol Loss Estimate at 1.8% target maximum alcohol loss: a worked example

Suppose target maximum alcohol loss falls to 1.8%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate alcohol loss from measured alcohol volume lost during transfer, filtration, distillation, or packaging against the starting alcohol volume.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Alcohol volume lost: 18 proof gal or LAA (held at the documented default)
  • Starting alcohol volume: 640 proof gal or LAA (held at the documented default)
  • Target maximum alcohol loss: 1.8 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 2.5)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Alcohol loss = alcohol volume lost ÷ starting alcohol volume × 100.
  • Alcohol loss works out to 2.81 % alcohol loss at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Loss gap to target works out to -1.01 points at these inputs.
  • Alcohol volume lost works out to 18 proof gal or LAA at these inputs.
  • Starting alcohol volume works out to 640 proof gal or LAA at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target maximum alcohol loss sits at 2.5% and the headline result is 2.81 % alcohol loss, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 2.81 % alcohol loss.
  • It computes alcohol lost as a percentage of starting alcohol volume and the point gap to your maximum allowable loss target. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Alcohol loss: 2.81 % alcohol loss (headline result)
  • Loss gap to target: -1.01 points
  • Alcohol volume lost: 18 proof gal or LAA
  • Starting alcohol volume: 640 proof gal or LAA

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Alcohol Loss Estimate calculator, set target maximum alcohol loss to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.