What’s your tipple? A guide to alcohol units
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Unless, of course, like many Britons this December, you’re waking up with a hangover.
Research published by DrinkAware reports that, during the festive period, two thirds of drinkers over-indulge with alcohol and 1 in 5 report suffering more hangovers.
It’s understandable, in many ways. Many of us are taking advantage of time off from our jobs, celebrating the season with our friends and families, or generally letting off a little bit of steam.
If you’re concerned about drinking too much, or want to avoid being among the 1 in 6 drinkers who admit to having done something they regret at the work Christmas party, we’ve put together a list of alcohol units in popular drinks. Remember, the NHS recommends that men and women should not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, and those units should ideally not be used all together on one day.
How to work out units in alcohol
The basic formula is:
Volume of drink in ml x (alcohol content of drink in % / 1000 )
So, to consider a 330ml bottle of beer with a 5% alcohol content, we get:
300 x (5 / 1000) = 1.65 units
Units in popular drinks
|
|
(% ABV) |
Measure |
Units |
|
Beers/Lager |
|||
|
Heineken |
5.0% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.8 |
|
Fosters |
4.0% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.3 |
|
Stella Artois |
4.6% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Kronenbourg 1664 |
5.0% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.8 |
|
Carlsberg |
3.8% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.2 |
|
Amstel |
4.1% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.3 |
|
San Miguel |
5.0% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.8 |
|
Estrella |
4.6% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Camden Hells |
4.6 |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
BrewDog Punk IPA |
4.5% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Goose Island IPA |
5.9% |
Pint (568ml) |
3.4 |
|
Guinness |
4.3% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.4 |
|
John Smiths |
3.6% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.0 |
|
Grolsch |
5.0% |
Bottle (330ml) |
1.7 |
|
Peroni |
5.1% |
Bottle (330ml) |
1.7 |
|
Corona |
4.6% |
Bottle (330ml) |
1.5 |
|
Cider |
|||
|
Strongbow |
4.5% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Thatchers Gold |
4.8% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.7 |
|
Bulmers |
4.5% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Magners |
4.5% |
Pint (568ml) |
2.6 |
|
Rekorderlig |
4.0% |
Bottle (500ml) |
2.0 |
|
Kopparberg |
4.0% |
Bottle (500ml) |
2.0 |
|
Wine |
|||
|
The alcohol strength of wine varies. As a general guide a 125ml glass of wine at 11% or 12% ABV contains around 1.5 units. A bottle of similar wine contains around 8 or 9 units |
|||
|
Spirits |
|||
|
Baileys |
17% |
Glass (50ml) |
0.9 |
|
Smirnoff Ice |
4% |
275ml |
1.1 |
|
Bacardi Breezers |
5% |
275ml |
1.4 |
|
Gin/Vodka/Whisky/Brandy/Tequila |
40% |
Single measure (25ml) |
1.0 |
|
Tia Maria |
20% |
Single measure (25ml) |
0.5 |
|
Pimms |
25% |
Pub measure (50ml) |
1.3 |
|
Low alcohol drinks |
|||
|
Becks Blue |
0.05% |
Bottle (330ml) |
0.02 |
|
BrewDog Nanny State |
0.5% |
Can (330ml) |
0.17 |
|
Atopia low alcohol spirit |
0.5% |
Single measure (25ml) |
0.01 |
|
Mary low alcohol spirit |
6% |
Single measure (25ml) |
0.15 |
