How Many Calories are in My Beer?
Over the last seven years or so I have added a couple extra pounds, well more like a 30% increase; not good or healthy. At the beginning of June I started a weight loss plan on Weight Watchers® and have lost 10 lbs following their online program guide over the first 2 weeks. So far what I like about this program is that I can eat the foods I want, and at the same time see how good/bad that food is for my weight loss goals. With the Weight Watchers® Point® system or any other weight loss program, a big part of staying on track, with in your goals, is watching the amount of fat and calories you take in.
The good thing for us beer Connoisseurs, there is no fat in beer, but beer has a tremendous amount of calories. My problem when I was entering my food and drink intake on my weight loss plans’ online system, there was only light beer and regular beer. If I’m drinking a 12 oz glass of pilsner(4% ABV), it may only be 150 calories, but If I drink a 12 oz glass of Dogfish Head 120minute IPA (18% ABV at 45°plato), that would be over 600 calories. A huge caloric difference between the same serving size of beer. For my current plan, 1 Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA would be 34% of my daily allowance, where as the pilsner would only be 11%.
The problem I’ve been having and I’m sure many others have too, how many calories are in my beer? There are very few breweries that list calorie information on their websites, so you end up guessing. Since beer is a very simple drink, all the calories are from one place, the alcohol. If you know the ABV (alcohol by volume) you can roughly calculate the calories in beer. The color and clarity of a beer have nothing to do with the number of calories. It is exactly related to the amount of sugar in the “beer” when fermentation starts and how much is left over when you are done. The more sugar at the start will give you a higher ABV, but if there is unfermented sugar left over at the end (attenuation) the calorie range will fluctuate a bit. This is why I said roughly and why the chart below has a calorie range.
Alcohol by Volume (ABV) to Calories conversion chart*.
| ABV (%) |
Calories – Low End (dry) |
Calories – High End (sweet) |
| 1.0 | 64 | 90 |
| 1.5 | 75 | 101 |
| 2.0 | 85 | 113 |
| 2.5 | 100 | 126 |
| 3.0 | 113 | 139 |
| 3.5 | 126 | 151 |
| 4.0 | 139 | 164 |
| 4.5 | 151 | 176 |
| 5.0 | 163 | 191 |
| 5.5 | 176 | 203 |
| 6.0 | 189 | 216 |
| 6.5 | 201 | 228 |
| 7.0 | 213 | 239 |
| 7.5 | 226 | 253 |
| 8.0 | 239 | 264 |
| 8.5 | 251 | 276 |
| 9.0 | 263 | 290 |
| 9.5 | 276 | 303 |
| 10.0 | 290 | 315 |
| 10.5 | 302 | 327 |
| 11.0 | 314 | 341 |
| 11.5 | 327 | 352 |
| 12.0 | 339 | 364 |
| 12.5 | 351 | 378 |
| 13.0 | 365 | 390 |
| 13.5 | 375 | 402 |
| 14.0 | 389 | 414 |
| 14.5 | 401 | 427 |
| 15.0 | 413 | 440 |
| 15.5 | 426 | 452 |
| 16.0 | 438 | 464 |
| 16.5 | 450 | 476 |
| 17.0 | 463 | 488 |
| 17.5 | 475 | 500 |
| 18.0 | 489 | 513 |
| 18.5 | 499 | 525 |
| 19.0 | 513 | 537 |
| 19.5 | 524 | 551 |
| 20.0 | 538 | 562 |
| 20.5 | 548 | 574 |
| 21.0 | 562 | 586 |
| 21.5 | 573 | 599 |
| 22.0 | 585 | 611 |
* Chart is a rough estimation for a 12oz serving. For exact calories, Original Gravity and Final Gravity must be known. Low end assumes a final gravity of 1.010 and the high assumes a final gravity of 1.017. Some styles of beers may exceed the high end by a significant amount, such as a Russian Imperial Stouts or Sweet Stouts.
For my own personal use, I usually take the middle between the high and low. For a much sweeter beer, I would error on the high side of the scale. I use this chart to gauge how many calories I have consumed with the beer. If I know I have been “good” during the day I have higher ABV beers later, but if I haven’t I will either cut out beer (OUCH!) or have one that I know is lower in alcohol.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:53 am
You may be interested in a formula I’ve (@lemasney) developed with help from @beercommdood to determine calorie content of brews in a slightly more scientific way that you have here: http://beercritic.wordpress.com/beer-calorie-cheatsheet/
Cheers! John
June 17th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I appreciate the feed back, I’m glad other people are trying to tackle this challenging question about beer and the waistline. To reply to your point, Yes, I would like this formula to be more accurate. But, it is not just guess work it is based on a scientific formula.
cal per 12 oz beer = [(6.9 × ABW) + 4.0 × (RE - 0.1)] × FG × 3.55
ABW = Alcohol By Weight
RE = “Real Extract” (RE, in °P) is a measure of the sugars which are fermented
FG = Final Gravity
Without these numbers any “formula” will only be an approximation. Which is why for my calorie Range chart I used a specific final gravity and calculated backwards to determine the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) which you can then convert to ABW by a simple formula (ABW = (0.79 × ABV) / FG). This is the only accurate way to determine calories. Since most breweries do not list these “Beer Secrets” we have to guess based on one data point, ABV, instead of two.
So based on above formula:
If a beer has a OG (original gravity of 1.048 and a FG of 1.010 would result in a beer of 5% ABV and 163 calories.
If a beer has a OG of 1.055 and a FG of 1.017 you will get a beer that is also 5% ABV, but has 189 calories.
So you see without the Original Gravity (OG) and Final Gravity(FG) it is not an accurate measure of calories because when a beer is done fermenting the attenuation for every beer will be slightly different resulting in more or less unfermented sugar in the beer. The more unfermented sugar left in the beer the more “sweetness” (and calories) a beer has as opposed to a beer with less sugar will taste “drier” (and have less calories then a sweeter beer with the same ABV)
.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I have never counted calories…I have been concerned as of late though due to my expanding gut. I have only gained 2 lbs (high metabolism), but increased waist size. I have done some “internet” research (which I typically find highly fallible) and have come across several articles that attribute this to yeast growth in the belly. I am no scientist, but it seems that stomach acid would kill yeast spores.
Any thoughts?
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
[...] rarely going much higher than 5.5%. Typically, the higher the ABV, the higher the calorie count (reference Simply Beer for more info). I guarantee that the typical beers consumed by Mike and I on a weekly basis have at least [...]
November 17th, 2009 at 7:41 am
[...] $8.99 per six pack of 12 ounce bottles ABV%: 6.5 IBU: 45 Calories: n/a from brewer, estimate between 228 and 239 Suggested Glass: Pint glass, mug Website: Founders [...]
December 28th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
This is great information! I have been trying to come up with a way of “semi-accurately” listing the calories in the beers that I review. Would you be OK with me using this chart? I’m looking at doing a blog post on this and would gladly mention you and your site (great blog by the way).
December 28th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Sure Mark. Feel free to use the info, please just credit simplybeer.com
March 24th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Thanks for digging in with this. I happened upon this page while searching for calories in a certain Founders IPA — this has been the most helpful/useful information I’ve found on beer calories yet. All I want is some generally accurate rough estimate, so taking the middle number seems like a good approach. Most gracious!
April 15th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I think in order to be successful in your weight loss journey you need to track your food calories. Exercise is also really important to speeding up the weight loss process. I found this website that allows you to track all of your daily calories for free. It will help you with your new diet plan. http://www.fitclick.com/foodcalories
April 16th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
This is great information, thank you! I also do WW, and find that I typically guesstimate my calories using the “regular beer” option and realize that it is not the most accurate. I will tote this cheat sheet with me to happy hour today and see how differently my points add up!
April 16th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
@Ginger – depending on the beer, you may be in for a shock, points add up very quickly when the ABV increases. Let me know how it goes!
May 6th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Correction to my above comment. The correct website is http://www.fitclick.com/how_many_calories
May 11th, 2011 at 5:56 am
[...] hard to make assumptions on the calories present. Peter Kennedy over at Simply Beer has made a simple chart to give you an estimation of the calories in beer according to the Alcohol by Volume. For the most [...]
June 22nd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
[...] I love beer, but I hate the calories. Trying to estimate calories is a chore, especially on the go. After a brief Google search I found this site which provides a nifty chart to estimate calories: [...]
June 22nd, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Thanks for the handy chart, I reposted it on my blog and linked back to your site. I was looking for something easy to use and I can pull up on my iPod while cruising the local breweries.
August 2nd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
[...] You need to know OG and FG to get an exact number, but this chart should get you in the ballpark. Keep in mind these values are for 12 ounces… so if you are downing a bomber multiply by 1.83 to get to the calories you are consuming. http://www.simplybeer.com/how-many-calories-are-in-my-beer/ [...]
September 30th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
I’m doing weight watchers too…but with weight watchers, it’s a point system of not entering calories, its calculator measures points using fats, carbs, proteins and fiber. You don’t enter anything else. I’m losing weight on this point system. I drink my favorite ipa at 7.5%, & calculated it at 3 pts, and that is a 22 ou. bottle. Remember, just use it the way ur supposed to, and if u don’t lose weight that way, then start adding an extra point per beer until it works for u.
October 3rd, 2011 at 10:04 am
Thanks for the comment Connie. When I originally wrote this calculator, Weight Watchers did have a points calculator to give you points based off of calories. Now it looks like it wants carbs, fat, protein, and fiber. To me 3pts for a 22oz beer is low, especially at 7.5%. That is about 450-550 calories for the 22oz bottle. a 12 oz can of coke is now 4pts in their system, so it seems that you might be a bit low on the guess for your big IPA. If this beer is something you drink all the time, try emailing the brewery and seeing if they can give you the nutritional break down.
I just logged onto my Weight Watchers account and took their default for “Beer, Regular” (which probably more for Bud or something) and it calculates out for me 9pts for a 22oz serving. Now they may adjust points for your profile, I’m not sure.
Good Luck!
February 1st, 2012 at 8:19 pm
hey, great article for reference… but I got lost in your math, any way you could walk thru your example and plug in the numbers as you go to show how you came to the final figure?
“original gravity of 1.048 and a FG of 1.010 would result in a beer of 5% ABV and 163 calories”
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Hi KD, thanks for the post. I hope your ready for the answer. I didn’t round any numbers so you can see exactly what is going on so there is a 6 calorie difference in my response then the original post.
so if take the formula:
cal per 12 oz beer = [(6.9 × ABW) + 4.0 × (RE - 0.1)] × FG × 3.55
OG = Original Gravity (1.048 in the example)
FG = Final Gravity (1.010 in this example)
ABW = Alcohol By Weight
RE = “Real Extract” (RE, in °P) is a measure of the sugars which are fermented
OE = Original Extract (The sugar content of a wort/beer is typically expressed as extract in degrees Plato)
FE = Final Extract (or apparent extract)
To calculate the calories first you need alcohol by weight:
A = (OE-RE)/(2.0665-.010665*OE)
However before we can do this we need the Original Extract (OE) by using the OG in points (basically the 3 numbers after the decimal place)
points = 1000 * (SG – 1)
OE = 0.258*(1-0.0008*Pts)*Pts + 0.003
OE = 0.258*(1-0.0008*48)*48 + 0.003 = 11.9114544
FE = 0.258*(1-0.0008*Pts)*Pts + 0.003
FE = 0.258*(1-0.0008*10)*10 + 0.003 = 2.56236
With the OE and FE we can now calculate the RE (Real Extract) for the A (Alcohol) part of the equation.
RE = .1808*OE + .8192*FE
RE = .1808*11.9114544 + .8192*2.56236
RE = 2.15359095552 + 2.099085312 = 4.25267626752
Now the OE and RE have been calculated we can figure the Alcohol by Weight.
A = (OE-RE)/(2.0665-.010665*OE)
A = (11.9114544-4.25267626752)/(2.0665-.010665*11.9114544)
A = (11.9114544-4.25267626752)/(2.0665-.010665*11.9114544)
A = 7.65877813248/1.939464338824 = 3.948914130137563 (% by weight)
The Alcohol by Weight (NOT ABV, Alcohol by Volume) is about 4% and the Real Extract (RA) is 4.3 we can calculate the calories in the beer
cal per 12 oz beer = [(6.9 × ABW) + 4.0 × (RE - 0.1)] × FG × 3.55
cal = [(6.9 × 3.948914130137563 ) + 4.0 × (4.25267626752 - 0.1)] × 1.010 × 3.55
cal = [(6.9 × 3.948914130137563 ) + 4.0 × (4.25267626752 - 0.1)] × 1.010 × 3.55
cal = [27.247507497949185 + 4.0 x 4.15267626752] × 1.010 × 3.55
cal = [27.247507497949185 + 16.61070507008] × 1.010 × 3.55
cal = [43.858212568029185] × 1.010 × 3.55
Cal = 157.253621162668643
September 30th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Hi, thanks very much for this great post.
On 2 fronts
- It was useful as I am just drinking a 9% IPA (from Brew Dog, some folks you may have heard of, if not definitely recommended. They brew some great and original beer, including some that is way of the end of your chart @ 40+%) and wondered how many calories it contained, you provided the answer.
- It was great to find your site. As a beer lover I am a great fan of brewers like yourself who show there is far more to American beer than the “taste” of Bud. All the very best.
September 30th, 2012 at 11:58 am
PS Luckily there is a beer store nearby where we can sample some of the great beers you produce. By coincidence just arrived back from there with some bottles of Monster Ale from Brooklyn Brewery. Look forward to tasting this and bugger the calories..
October 1st, 2012 at 12:15 am
Hi Martin, thanks for your comments. American beer has come a long way, but still has a long way to go to shake the image of Bud and Coors.