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How alcohol-hic is gluhwein/vin chaud?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I couldn't decide if this was apres, or on-piste, but I drink most between piste skiing rather than completely apres, so its here.

So this thought arises based on the (somewhat modest!) quantities of gluhwein/vin chaud that I might cosume during a skiing trip.

Given the fact that its all diluted and heated up to a point when it is almost too hot to drink, and ethanol boils at 78.37C, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on just how much alcohol was left in the typical glass of gluhwein/vin chaud (say %age wise). It doesn't appear to make me legless in the same way that a similar quantity of wine could and I just wondered if, in fact, it even ended up practically alcohol free esp. due to the heat applied?

Has anyone any idea?
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Ask a chemist wink
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I made mulled wine yesterday, heated to 62 centigrade , can confirm alcohol was present as some guest got a but fruity!! Not quite keys in a bowl but not a million miles away.

Champagne may have distorted this non scientific test. Shocked
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Megamum, it will take some time for all the alcohol to vanish so I suspect it will depend on the quantity being made, a cup heated in the microwave may have far less than a fresh tub full by the side of the slopes, but after a little while left heating the tub full may have less than a freshly made cup
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Megamum, Well the bottle of German made glühwein I bought at Xmas from Aldi or Lidl (can't remember which) says it it 10% abv, which is a bit weaker than the usual strength of wine which I understand is typically 13 -14% abv. Then as you say some alcohol must evaporate as it's being heated, so I'd be surprised if the strength of a hot glühwein was more than about 8% abv (or about twice the strength of a typical beer).
Cheers! Madeye-Smiley
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I suspect it depends a lot on how it's made. If it's boiled for ages there'll be precious little alcohol left, but that shouldn't be the case. I often have a vin chaud and have never felt remotely pished as a result. On a cold day I've been known to stop for one at 10 am! Some recipes include a dollop of a local spirit, too - which would make a difference, I guess.
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My gf can drink more gluhwein than beer, a pint of which makes her drunk (cheap date wink ) - so gluhwein can't be very alcoholic.
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1 doesn't seem to have much effect.
7 made me about as tipsy as drinking a bottle of red (but I'd never polish off a bottle of wine in an a hour or so)
so given that German standard serving is 200ml, 7 of them is same as 2 bottles of wine, if my maths is right.
so I'd go with about half the alcohol of normal wine.
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To a large extent it is down to timingand temperature Vin chaud should be heated slowly and not allowed to get too hot. If it is not allowed to get too hot and is served soon after reaching optimal temp then it should still be close to its original strength.
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One thing that hasn't been mentioned is altitude! Does it have an effect on the boiling point of alcohol at all (I know it does on water)? Semi serious response.
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All that i can confirm is that after 8 Vin Chaud's in Val Thorens last year, i was hammered Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin
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Claude B, yes altitude lowers boiling points across the board
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Claude B, Good point, see this
e.g at 5000 feet above sea level, b.p of ethanol has dropped from 78.3C to 73.5C Madeye-Smiley
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In the formulation is the wine diluted?
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Quote:

8 Vin Chaud's

the amount of sugar some vin chauds contain is possibly as damaging as the alcohol. 8 is ridiculous (not to mention costing a fortune) Shocked
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pam w, Don't know about in France, but often in Austria they'll serve a glühwein in a mug with a separate sachet of sugar (which I never use).


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 14-01-13 19:54; edited 1 time in total
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clarky999, Your girlfriend is drinking Kinderpunsch and kidding you it is Glühwein Toofy Grin

You should heat your mixture gently, and never allow it to boil. The alcohol content depends on what you mix with the red wine and spices; a Vin Chaud I used to drink at the end of a day's skiing in Chatel was delicious rocket fuel with brandy added to the mix. Glühwein often has rum added to it, every bar seems to have its own secret recipe Toofy Grin
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Providing it is not heated too hot it may not loose as much alcohol as you think. A vague memory of Raoults law thinking of both sugar and water also being present and the alcohol being 10% by volume I would guess therefore a fair bit less by molar concentration the actual vapour pressure of the alcohol may not be that high and less alcohol than one might expect would be lost.
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Samerberg Sue, she does actually prefer Kinderpunsch lol
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On a kind of related point what's the abv of Jaegertee? A couple of mugs of that and I really notice it.
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Quote:

Don't know about in France, but often in Austria they'll serve a glühwein in a mug with a seperate sachet of sugar (which I never use)

yes, that's the usual form, but the stuff in the mug usually has plenty of sugar in already - it's just that some people want more! I enjoy a vin chaud but the thought of drinking 8 is horrific.
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Alastair Pink, never seen sugar served with glühwein, but always (well often) have with vin chaud. I'd never use it.

Hot apfelwein (?) gets served with sugar. Put that in and it'll erupt everywhere and leave 1/3rd of the original content. Friend did this, and was not amused. But we were. Then he tried Glühbier - apparently it's not so good.
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I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that even cooking for a long time with alcohol (eg, in a stew) leaves most of the alcohol intact.
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The gluhwein I consumed in the bar this afternoon in Radstadt most certainly hit the spot at a faster rate than its bog standard red wine equivalent - and a very good example of the genre it was too!
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IMHO not all vin chaud etc is equal ..... I recall having one that blew my head off at a bar in Meribel motteret ,....I think it had a slug of cognac added as it was served ....

It's also def stronger if you are with Schuss in Boots, ..... ahem , but that is another story .....
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pjd wrote:
On a kind of related point what's the abv of Jaegertee? A couple of mugs of that and I really notice it.


Me too... properly made with the 80% rum it's gotta be a couple of shots.
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pam w wrote:
Quote:

8 Vin Chaud's

the amount of sugar some vin chauds contain is possibly as damaging as the alcohol. 8 is ridiculous (not to mention costing a fortune) Shocked


Trust me, the way I was staggering about the sugar content was the least of my worries! Toofy Grin
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pam w wrote:
Quote:

8 Vin Chaud's

the amount of sugar some vin chauds contain is possibly as damaging as the alcohol. 8 is ridiculous (not to mention costing a fortune) Shocked


24 Euros, which really is not enough to worry about.
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jennycook, Oh the memories..... Laughing Laughing Laughing
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one day I hope to drink anything with Schuss in Boots
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Shimmy Alcott, and you probably will..... wink but be warned, your dignity will be a thing of the past Toofy Grin Laughing
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I never get sloshed on vin chaud, it's too hot to drink it fast! I can definitely feel the alcoholic warmth though, does you the world of good on a cold day.

I've never tried Jaegertee, is it nice?
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Piccadilly,

It works for me.
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I have the "I Survived a Drink with Schuss in Boots" T shirt.
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Schuss in Boots wrote:
be warned, your dignity will be a thing of the past Toofy Grin Laughing



count me in.

p.s. - what is this dignity that you speak of?
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Piccadilly, Jaegertee is much nicer than glühwein, it feels more like a proper drink.
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Thornyhill, It's something you heard of in your childhood tales but put down to adults making up stories.
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mine will get you trollied but then it's a hybrid of german feuerzangenbowle and swedish glogg (lived in bavaria, wife is swedish). 100ml vodka/ bottle wine. swedish mix of spices seems to make it a more rounded, fuller flavour. heated gently and never exceed 70C (a thermometer is v important). and then the final zing - dowse a zuckerhut (7" sugar cone, suspended over the bowl) with 54+% rum and set fire to it, letting sweet rummy goodness drip into the bowl. job done Happy

but i think most commercially available gluhwein/ vin chaud is pretty weak stuff, hence the option of an addition of a 'schuss' of brandy, rum or vodka.
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If I recall correctly, mixing alcohol and water forms an azeotropic mixture, i.e. one which when boiled 'loses' water and alcohol in equal amounts (as opposed to the alcohol boiling off first).

My guess therefore is that the effect of heating gluhwein etc. has no effect on it's overall alcoholic potency.

chemistry
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chemistry, may I respectfully suggest you belie your moniker?

The azeotropic mixture of alcohol and water is about 96% alcohol. In other words, if you collect what's boiled/evaporated and put it through the same process of distillation, over and over, you'll eventually get a small quantity of liquid of that concentration. Of course, what's left is weaker in alcohol, as in the Glühwein case.

Megamum, I'd worry more about the sugar than the alcohol!
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