🍺 Beer Alcohol Content Calculator
Calculate pure alcohol, standard drinks, and calories for any beer
| Beer Style | ABV Range | Std Drinks / 12 oz | Calories / 12 oz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Lager | 3.5% – 4.2% | 0.7 – 0.8 | 95 – 110 |
| American Lager | 4.2% – 5.3% | 0.8 – 1.0 | 135 – 155 |
| Pilsner | 4.5% – 5.5% | 0.9 – 1.0 | 140 – 165 |
| Wheat Beer / Hefeweizen | 4.3% – 5.6% | 0.8 – 1.0 | 150 – 175 |
| Pale Ale | 4.5% – 6.2% | 0.9 – 1.1 | 150 – 185 |
| India Pale Ale (IPA) | 5.5% – 7.5% | 1.0 – 1.3 | 180 – 230 |
| Amber / Red Ale | 4.5% – 6.5% | 0.9 – 1.1 | 155 – 195 |
| Stout / Porter | 4.0% – 6.0% | 0.8 – 1.1 | 150 – 210 |
| Belgian Dubbel | 6.0% – 7.5% | 1.1 – 1.3 | 190 – 230 |
| Belgian Tripel | 7.5% – 9.5% | 1.3 – 1.6 | 220 – 280 |
| Double / Imperial IPA | 7.5% – 10.0% | 1.3 – 1.7 | 230 – 310 |
| Barleywine | 8.0% – 12.0% | 1.4 – 2.0 | 270 – 370 |
| Imperial Stout | 8.0% – 12.0% | 1.4 – 2.0 | 260 – 360 |
| Session Beer | 3.0% – 4.5% | 0.6 – 0.8 | 90 – 130 |
| Non-Alcoholic Beer | 0.0% – 0.5% | 0.0 – 0.1 | 50 – 90 |
| Container | US fl oz | Milliliters | Std Drinks @ 5% ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Can / Bottle | 8 oz | 237 ml | 0.7 |
| Standard Can / Bottle | 12 oz | 355 ml | 1.0 |
| US Pint | 16 oz | 473 ml | 1.3 |
| Tallboy Can | 16 oz | 473 ml | 1.3 |
| UK / Imperial Pint | 20 oz | 568 ml | 1.7 |
| European Bottle | 11.2 oz | 330 ml | 0.9 |
| European Large Bottle | 16.9 oz | 500 ml | 1.4 |
| 22 oz Bomber | 22 oz | 650 ml | 1.8 |
| 750 ml Bottle | 25.4 oz | 750 ml | 2.1 |
| Growler | 64 oz | 1893 ml | 5.3 |
| 6-Pack (12 oz cans) | 72 oz | 2130 ml | 6.0 |
| 12-Pack (12 oz cans) | 144 oz | 4260 ml | 12.0 |
| Beverage | Serving Size | ABV % | Pure Alcohol (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Beer | 12 oz (355 ml) | 4.2% | 11.8 g |
| Regular Beer | 12 oz (355 ml) | 5.0% | 14.0 g |
| Craft IPA | 12 oz (355 ml) | 7.0% | 19.6 g |
| Table Wine | 5 oz (148 ml) | 12.0% | 14.0 g |
| Distilled Spirits | 1.5 oz (44 ml) | 40.0% | 14.0 g |
| Champagne | 5 oz (148 ml) | 12.0% | 14.0 g |
| Hard Seltzer | 12 oz (355 ml) | 5.0% | 14.0 g |
| Malt Liquor | 8 oz (237 ml) | 7.0% | 13.1 g |
Average 12-ounce beer with 5% alcohol by volume carries about 14 grams of pure alcohol which defines one American standard drink. That set number of 14 grams is the measure I always return to when I compare the alcohol content of various beers. I was really surprised by how quickly the numbers grow as soon as you move past those basic lager-style beers.
For instance a 12-ounce craft IPA with around 7% ABV jumps to 19.6 grams of pure alcohol, so you already consume 1.4 standard drinks from one single can without really noticing it.
How much alcohol and calories are in beer
The math behind that is pretty easy, but is useful to understand. You simply take the volume in milliliters, multiply it by the ABV written as a decimal number, and then multiply the result by 0.789 (the density of ethanol in grams per milliliter). For a 16-ounce American pint of 5.5% pale ale, that is 473 ml × 0.055 × 0.789, which gives around 20.5 grams of pure alcohol; or about 1.5 standard drinks.
I certainly did not expect that one pint would so easily beat the limit of one drink, but that extra 33% of volume comapred to a 12-ounce serving quickly adds up.
At the weaker end of the spectrum, beers in the range of 3.5% to 4.2% ABV commonly carry around 0.7 to 0.8 standard drinks per 12-ounce serving, and the calories mostly fall between 95 and 110. Regular American lagers tend to sit in the 4.2% to 5.3% range, with an average of around 145 calories per 12-ounce pour. From hear the alcohol and calorie levels really start to climb.
Belgian tripels, for instance, can range anywhere from 7.5% to 9.5% ABV, giving 1.3 to 1.6 standard drinks per 12-ounce glass. And when you enter the range of imperial stouts and barley wines, the numbers really balloon, because those big, strongly alcoholic beers commonly reach 8% to 12% ABV, so one single 12-ounce bottle could carry 2 or more standard drinks.
It is also worth noting that serving sizes can really range across the world. The standard British imperial pint, for instance, has 20 ounces (568 ml), compared to the 16 ounces (473 ml) of an American pint, that is a 20% difference. An imperial pint of 20 ounces of 5% bitter beer delivers around 22.4 grams of pure alcohol, which matches 2.8 British alcohol units (with every unit defined as 8 grams).
In Australia, meanwhile, a standard drink is set at 10 grams of alcohol, so that same 20-ounce imperial pint would register as 2.2 Australian standard drinks.
On the calorie side of things, I found that about 60% to 70% of the calorie content of beer usually comes from the alcohol itself, which gives 7 calories per gram. The remaining 30% to 40% mostly comes from leftover carbohydrates, which have 4 calories per gram. So for an average 12-ounce beer at 5% ABV, you look at around 14 grams of alcohol (98 calories from the alcohol alone) and about 10 to 13 grams of carbohydrates (another 40 to 52 calories), which adds up to a total calorie count in the range of 140 to 150.
Double IPAs, though, which commonly hit 9% ABV, can push that count to 260 to 310 calories for the same 12-ounce serving, basically a meal by themselves.
On the other hand, the rise of session beers, mostly in the 3% to 4.5% ABV range, looks really smart when you look at the numbers. At 3.5% ABV, for instance, a 12-ounce session ale carries only 9.8 grams of alcohol (0.7 standard drinks) and around 100 calories. Over a 4-beer evening, that adds up to 2.8 standard drinks instead of 4.0, if you would stay at regular 5% lagers; so 30% less alcohol intake for the same number of beers.
The math really speaks for itself.
One last bit of context: European bottle sizes at first really confused me. The standard European bottle is 330 ml (11.2 ounces), not 355 ml as the typical 12-ounce American. At 5% ABV, that 330-ml bottle delivers 13 grams of pure alcohol, compared to 14 grams for an American 12-ounce pour.
So around 7% less per bottle. The bigger European format of 500 ml (16.9 ounces), meanwhile, reaches 19.7 grams, whichsits right between an American 12-ounce can and an American pint by total alcohol content.
