Calories in beer | How can you check?

It is often thought that beer is always high in calories, and can cause a 'beer belly' that is hard to shift. Although beer does have calories (we know it too well at Beerwulf), it isn't necessarily as bad as you might think. As with most things in life, it’s all about balance - as beer is a water-based beverage, a classic beer with 5% alcohol is no more calorific than fruit juice or cow's milk.

Of course, you can get stronger beers, so the answer becomes more nuanced in this case. Knowledge is power, just as long as you know what you’re drinking, you can make a judgement call and can’t go too far wrong.

Whilst beer labels are obliged to show appropriate allergen information and alcohol percentage, calories are not a requirement, so it can be difficult to track.

How many calories are in a pint of lager?

A pint of standard 5% lager will have around 239 calories, so equal to 150g of chicken breast according to Men's Health.

Of course, each beer style has a different ABV and brewing method. For example, it is highly likely that a strong spicy Quadrupel will contain more calories than a standard strength lager.

How many calories are in a pint?

We have listed a few of our favourite beers and their estimated calories:

• Newcastle Brown Ale = 230 calories
• Brixton Reliance Pale Ale = 182 calories
• Strongbow Original Cider = 180 calories
• Apfel Rauber Cider = 260 calories
• Affligem Tripel = 370 calories
• La Chouffe Blonde D'Ardenne = 312 calories
• Fourpure Session IPA = 180 calories

How many calories are in a pint of Guinness?

You might be surprised to know that a pint of Guinness, or 568ml, has 210 calories. People often expect darker beers to have a higher calorie count, however, with an ABV of 4.2%, it's on the light side.

In general, the higher the ABV, the more calories a beer is going to have. So if you are looking to reduce your calories, we recommend sticking to classic lagers and session beers (which also are easy on the day after as an added bonus).

And with that knowledge, you can only imagine the calories in the world's strongest beer, Snake Venom. The beer comes with a warning on the label to not consume more than one in any day as, not only does one 275ml bottle cost £50, but it contains a whopping 2025 calories.