White Claw drinks are flavored hard seltzer and are appealing to those who don’t care for the taste of beer – but they are surprisingly alcoholic. How many White Claws does it take to get drunk?
Most White Claw drinks are 5% ABV, but the number of White Claws it takes to get drunk depends on weight and gender. For males weighing between 100 and 140lbs, it will take 2-5 White Claws to get drunk or up to 6 if you’re 180lbs. For females weighing 100-140lbs, it could take 2-4 White Claws to get drunk, and 3-5 for women weighing 160-180lbs.
Continue reading to find out exactly how many White Claws it would take for you to get drunk, as well as the variables that play a role in your intoxication process.
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How many White Claws do you need to drink to get drunk based on weight
The amount of White Claws you need to get drunk depends on a few things: how fast you consume the drink, water composition, and more. Most importantly, it depends on your weight and gender. It takes fewer White Claws for females to get drunk than it does males because of enzymes production levels.
These factors all influence your blood alcohol level (BAC). Your blood alcohol level, the percent of alcohol in your bloodstream, measures how intoxicated you are. In the US, the legal BAC for people 21 and older while driving is 0.08%. For those under 21, it’s typically 0.02%, but can be as low as 0%, meaning you cannot have any trace of alcohol in your bloodstream when operating a motor vehicle. An offense of these laws will result in a charge of driving under the influence (DUI).
Your BAC is primarily dependent on your gender, body weight, and the amount of alcohol consumed. To find your BAC, divide the grams of alcohol consumed by your weight in grams multiplied by a gender constant. The result is then divided by 100.
Below is the equation written out where “A” is the alcohol consumed in grams (in this case, 17 g), “W” is body weight in grams, and “r” is the gender constant. The constant is 0.55 for women and 0.68 for men.
BAC = (A/(W x r)) x 100
| Weight | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 100 lbs | 2-3 | 2-3 |
| 120 lbs | 3-4 | 2-3 |
| 140 lbs | 3-5 | 2-4 |
| 160 lbs | 3-6 | 3-5 |
| 180 lbs | 4-6 | 3-5 |
One 12 oz. White Claw is considered one (1) standard drink. The following calculations use the number of standard drinks, weight, and gender.
100 pounds
A 100-pound female will need to drink 2-3 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.09-0.14%.
A 100-pound male will need to drink 2-3 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.08-0.11%.
120 pounds
A 120-pound female will need to drink 2-3 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.08-0.11%.
A 120-pound male will need to drink 3-4 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.09-0.12%.
140 pounds
A 140-pound female will need to drink 2-4 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.07-0.13%.
A 140-pound male will need to drink 3-5 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.08-0.13%.
160 pounds
A 160-pound female will need to drink 3-5 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.09-0.14%.
A 160-pound male will need to drink 3-6 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.07-0.14%.
180 pounds
A 180-pound female will need to drink 3-5 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.08-0.13%.
A 180-pound male will need to drink 4-6 White Claws to be considered legally drunk with a BAC of 0.08-0.14%.
White Claw alcohol percentage
One 12 oz can of White Claw has a 5% alcohol percentage (ABV).
The exception to this is the recently launched White Claw Surge line, all of which are 8% ABV.
White Claw drinking calculator
BAC is the amount of pure alcohol in your bloodstream. For example, a 0.10% BAC means that there is 1 part alcohol for every 1000 parts blood in your bloodstream.
Keep in mind that these numbers are estimations and will vary by person. It is also better to err on the side of caution and not drive after consuming any alcohol as it can affect your reaction times after just a single drink.
How many White Claws equals a shot
One 12 oz can of 5% White Claw is equal to one 1.5 oz shot of 40% hard liquor.
How many White Claws equals a bottle of wine
Five 12 oz cans of 5% White Claw roughly equals one 750ml bottle of wine.
How many White Claws equals a beer?
One 12 oz can of 5% White Claw is equal to one 12 oz 4.5-6% beer.
A 16oz or 1-pint beer is equal to 1.4 standard drinks, or almost 1.5 White Claws.
How many White Claws does it take to get drunk for the first time?
These calculations are a good foundation for figuring out how many White Claws it would take you to get drunk. However, with so many factors, things might be different if you’re drinking for the first time.
Alcohol tolerance can vary dramatically. Your BAC is scientific and varies due to weight, gender, enzyme production, water composition, hormone levels, and food in your belly. However, this is not necessarily indicative of how your reaction time may be affected.
That being said, it would likely take you as many White Claws as the BAC calculations say it would to get drunk, especially for the first time. This means, for a 120-pound female, it would take 2-3 White Claws. For a 120-pound male, it would take 3-4. These calculations are a foundational measurement for BAC.
Tolerance is different from BAC. Tolerance basically means your ability to tolerate a particular blood alcohol level. Although you may obtain a similar BAC every time you drink, you might, over time, develop a tolerance to the same BAC. This will alter your perceived drunkenness, not your BAC.
Does White Claw get you drunk faster than other alcohol?
White Claw might get you drunk faster than other alcohol. Some studies show that carbonated drinks get you drunk faster. This includes chasing a shot of liquor with a carbonated beverage.
White Claw will likely not get you drunk faster than other carbonated alcoholic drinks. However, it may be absorbed more quickly than non-carbonated alcoholic drinks in the first half-hour. Past that point, there is no quantitative difference in absorption speeds.
The common theory is that carbon dioxide provides pressure in your stomach to increase absorption there. The other common theory is that it instead quickens the transition from the stomach to the small intestine, where the majority of alcohol is absorbed.
However it is done, there is some small increase in absorption rate with carbonation.