Everyone knows that there is a difference in alcohol content between regular beer, ice beer and even light beers. But it may come as a surprise to the average consumer that the amount of alcohol present in beer also can vary depending on where it is purchased. So does this mean a Bud Light bought in Iowa can make you drunk faster than the same beer bought in Oklahoma? Most likely...

Laws pertaining to the sale and consumption of alcohol are set by individual agencies most often called the Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC.

"Every state has their own ABC," said Ellen Briscoe, an employee at Adelweiss Wine & Liquors in Oklahoma City. "So they have their own laws about what is legal to sell."

In Oklahoma, the ABC was renamed the Alcohol Board of Law Enforcement in 1985. Just like an ABC, the Oklahoma ABLE Commission is responsible for regulating the liquor industry for the state.

In the state of Oklahoma, a Bud Light is considered a "3.2" beer, which means it has 3.2 percent alcohol by weight, or abw. Along with Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, Oklahoma limits the alcohol content for malt beverages to 3.2 percent abw while the rest of the country sets the limit at 5.0 percent alcohol by volume, or abv. If the value for alcohol by volume is multiplied by 0.8, you will get the alcohol by weight. Conversely, the abw multiplied for 1.25 will produce the abv. So while a Bud Light in Oklahoma will have 3.2 percent abw, a Bud Light in Iowa will have 4.9 percent abv.

Just as each state has it's own board to regulate liquor laws, there are also laws for different places where alcohol is sold. An employee from the Beverage House in Little Rock said, "In Arkansas, we are allowed to sell 6 percent or less at regular liquor stores. Sometimes what is considered to be malt liquor can be sold at specific malt liquor stores with alcohol levels of over 6 percent."

In Oklahoma, only liquor stores are allowed to sell beers above 3.2 percent. And this beer doesn't include your mainstream, American-brewed brands. "If you want to buy a beer like Bud Light, you have to go to the grocery store or convenience store, and it will be 3.2 percent," said Briscoe.

Oklahoma laws pertaining to different levels of alcohol are left over from the days of Prohibition. You could drink beer during Prohibition, but only if it was 3.2 or under. Low-point beers were legal in grocery stores and convenience markets. However, the definition that worked for 1919 is still in effect now; according to Oklahoma's Alcoholic Beverage Title 37, anything above 3.2 is considered to be "intoxicating."

"When the 21st Amendment was ratified and Prohibition ended, liquor above 3.2 was allowed in Oklahoma," explained Linda Aker, Chief Agent of Enforcement for the ABLE Commission. "They kept the low-point beer in the grocery stores and convenience markets, while anything above is sold in liquor stores."

"So really, we're dealing with two sets of laws here," Aker added. "The local police enforce the low-point beer laws, while the ABLE Commission handles the alcoholic beverage laws." An alcoholic beverage is anything over 3.2.

According to www.realbeerpage.com, the government has recently encouraged breweries to not include the alcohol content on labels, because it encourages consumers to search for the strongest beer. However, most college students admit that they don't look at the alcohol content when purchasing beer. Most don't have deep pockets and tend to buy for price, and perhaps taste over amount of alcohol present.

"Of course, if there was more alcohol for not a lot more money, I would buy it," said Derek, a student at University of Northern Iowa. "But usually I go on what I know tastes good or what I can afford."

Ryan, a college student in Savannah, Georgia agrees.

"I don't really pay much attention to the alcohol content of beer," he explained. "Even though it's common knowledge that ice beer has more of the stuff you want in beer, I usually drink light beer over regular or ice just because it tastes better."

For Sarah, who attends Syracuse University in New York, the issue isn't alcohol content or price, but the amount of calories the beer has.

"I almost always buy light beer just because is has fewer calories than regular beer," she said. "Although I sometimes will buy a certain brand because I like the taste."

Only recently have there been different variations of beers made. Anheuser-Busch introduced "Bud Light" to test markets in 1981, and success led to it's national release the following year. A light beer is usually lower in calories and sometimes has slightly less alcohol than regular beer. Ice beers have only been on the shelves since 1993, when Bud Ice was developed by Anheuser-Busch. Ice beers typically have a greater amount of alcohol as a regular beer. The more common version of Busch Light, sold in 5.0 abv states, has 4.2 percent compared to Busch Ice 5.9 percent.

Then there's one of the all-time greatest mysteries: non-alcoholic beer.

A beer is considered "non-alcoholic" if it contains less than 0.5 percent abv. This breed of brew is intended for adults who like the taste of beer but don't want to drink alcohol. It is produced in the same way as regular beer, but the alcohol is removed as the final step. Because it does contain a slight amount of alcohol, it is not marketed to minors. A person needs to be of legal drinking age in order to purchase non-alcoholic beer, such as O'Douls, the number one selling brand in the category. It is usually sold in places that have liquor licenses and is stocked with the rest of the beer.

The O'Douls Web site claims that "anytime is a great time for an O'Douls," but they also compiled their list of favorite occasions, including "while docking a space shuttle," or "when you're the translator for a world leader during a conference." And while it has less than 0.5 percent abv, pregnant women are to check with their doctors before drinking.

More information about legal alcohol content can be found on various beer websites, such as allaboutbeer.com or beerismylife.com. Most brands of beer don't include the alcohol content on the label, so if you have any questions, the folks at the counter should be able to help.

Whether you're a beer connoisseur with worldly tastes or just a college student looking for a cheap buzz, take the advice from Benjamin Franklin: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."