Calories in alcohol: beer, wine and spirits

Alcohol supplies about 7 calories per gram. That is almost as dense as fat, at 9 calories per gram, and well above carbohydrate and protein, at 4 each. Unlike those nutrients, alcohol brings no vitamins, minerals or fiber with it, which is why its calories are often called empty.

In the United States, one standard drink contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol, the amount in a 12 oz beer at 5%, a 5 oz glass of wine at 12% or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits. Fourteen grams at 7 calories each is about 98 calories, so every standard drink starts near 100 before carbs or mixers are counted. Real pours are often larger than these reference sizes, a point the NIAAA itself makes.

You can estimate the alcohol calories in any drink from two numbers on the label: the volume and the ABV (alcohol by volume). Multiply fluid ounces by the ABV percentage by 1.6, or multiply millilitres by the ABV percentage by 0.055. Then add 4 calories for every gram of carbohydrate, which comes from the label, the brewer or a quick search. The steps:

A worked example: a 16 oz pint of 6.5% IPA gives 16 × 6.5 × 1.6 = about 166 calories from alcohol. With roughly 15 to 20 grams of carbs, which adds 60 to 80 more, the pint lands around 230 to 250 calories, more than most people would guess for one drink. Run the same math on a 12 oz can of 5% beer and you get 96 from alcohol plus about 13 grams of carbs, which matches the 150 or so on most labels.

Per typical serving, a 5 oz glass of dry red or white wine (about 120 to 130 calories) has a little less than a 12 oz regular beer (about 153). Light beer, at about 103 calories a can, comes in under both. Per ounce, beer is actually the lighter drink, because it is weaker; it only wins or loses on how much of it you pour.

The bigger swings come from strength and size rather than the type. A higher-alcohol craft beer can run from about 170 to 350 calories a bottle, and a large 9 oz restaurant pour of wine is close to two standard glasses. Sweet dessert wines are denser too, at roughly 155 to 165 calories for a small 3.5 oz glass. If you are choosing between the two, pick the one you will drink less of.

The lowest calorie drinks are the ones with nothing added to the alcohol. A shot of spirits with soda water or a diet mixer stays near 97 calories, and most light beers and 5% hard seltzers land around 100 per 12 oz can. Cutting the alcohol cuts the calories, so a wine spritzer, half wine and half soda water, comes in around 60 to 65 calories for a 5 oz glass. Lower calorie choices:

At the other end, cream and coconut cocktails are among the densest drinks you can order. MedlinePlus lists a 7 oz piña colada at about 380 calories and an 8 oz White Russian at about 568, more than many full meals. Regular soda and juice mixers sit in between: a gin and tonic with 4 oz of tonic is around 140 calories, and a rum and cola with 6 oz of cola is around 170.

Part of it is the pour. Home glasses, bar pints and generous wine servings are all larger than the standard sizes on nutrition tables, and a few drinks over an evening can add 500 calories or more without feeling like a meal. Part of it is food: a 2019 review of 22 studies found that people who drank alcohol did not eat less to make up for it. In the pooled results they ate about 80 calories more food, for roughly 255 extra calories in total, compared with a non-alcoholic drink.

Alcohol also changes what your body burns. In a small study of eight healthy men, adding alcohol to the day cut fat burning over 24 hours by about a third while the alcohol was being processed. None of this makes a drink count for more than its calories, but it explains why regular drinking makes a calorie deficit harder to hold than the label numbers suggest.

Log each drink when you order it, not at the end of the night, and record the size and strength rather than just the name. "Two 16 oz IPAs at 6.5%" is something you can calculate; "a couple of beers" is not. If you count calories for most of the day and skip the drinks, the total can be off by several hundred calories on a night out.

In calorietrack.ai you can type or say the drink the way you would order it, such as "a large glass of red wine" or "vodka soda, two of them", and get the calories back in seconds. It is also worth checking how drinks fit your daily calorie needs before a night out, so the number is a choice rather than a surprise. And if you drink, health authorities are clear that less is better for your health; this guide is about counting the calories, not a reason to drink.