Beer Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits
Beer is made from grains and grains can be healthy, so you may wonder if that means drinking beer is good for you. Unfortunately, that's not really the case. Same goes for tea beer that is brewed using herbal teas and other health foods. It's not actually a health drink.
Love to drink beer? It can be part of a healthy diet as long as it is consumed in moderation, which is often defined as no more than two drinks per day or 14 drinks per week for men and no more than one drink per day or seven drinks per week for women. Drinking more than this increases many health risks, including injuries and certain cancers.
Additionally, calories in popular alcoholic drinks can have a big impact on your overall diet. Beer is no exception. But the exact number of calories and carbohydrates in beer will depend on the brew that you choose and, of course, the amount that you drink.
Beer Nutrition Facts
The following nutrition information is provided by the USDA for one 12-ounce serving (340g) of Budweiser Select light beer.
- Calories: 99.4
- Fat: 0g
- Sodium: 10.6mg
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 0g
- Protein: 0.7g
Carbs
Beer is made from grains and is a source of carbohydrates. Dark beers tend to have more carbs than light beers due to the way its brewed with added malts.
For example, a 12-oz can of ale, lager, porter, premium beer, or stout has more than 12 grams of carbohydrates. That's about four times more carbs than a light beer.
Fats
Beer has no fat. Most of its calories are from carbohydrates.
Protein
Beer supplies minimal protein. It's about .7g protein for a light beer and about 1.6g protein for a regular or dark beer.
Vitamins and Minerals
Beer is made from some healthy ingredients including brewer's yeast, barley, malt, and hops. It also has some folate, niacin, magnesium, and potassium. However, whole foods are better sources of these vitamins and minerals, and calories from alcohol do not adequately provide the nutrition that your body needs.
Calories
Checking beer calories can be challenging. Beer makers generally don't provide nutritional information on packages, cans, or bottles. In most cases, you can check beer calories by looking online either at the beer maker's site or on a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or nutrition data site.
Once you know the number of calories in beer, double-check the serving size. If you buy a tall can, you're consuming two servings, not one.
One of the lowest calorie beers is Bud Select, with just 55 calories. This is also a lower alcohol beer. Alcohol provides seven calories per gram. So beer that has less alcohol will also have fewer calories. And, in general, darker beers tend to be heavier and provide more calories, but that's not always the case.
Health Benefits
There have been some studies that suggest possible health benefits of moderate drinking, such as a possible reduced risk of heart disease. However, the research is mixed with other studies suggesting that any amount of alcohol actually increases heart-related risks.
It is also unclear from studies whether or not any possible health benefits among moderate drinkers is actually a result of the alcohol or due to other lifestyle factors. So, there's no reason to start drinking beer (or more beer) to improve your health.
If you want to take advantage of the health benefits of grains, include whole grain foods in your daily meals. It's not a good idea to start drinking to get more grains.
Adverse Effects
Drinking excessively can have a range of short-term and long-term harms to your health. This includes heavy drinking, which is defined as eight or more drinks a week for women and 15 or more drinks a week for men. It also includes binge drinking, which is four or more drinks at one time for women and five or more drinks on a single occasion for men.
Short-term health risks of excessive drinking include injuries, alcohol poisoning, and violence.
Long-term health risks of excessive alcohol include many serious health problems, such as:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Liver disease
- Digestive problems
- Weakened immune system
- Learning and memory problems
- Depression or anxiety
- Social problems, such as family or job-related issues
- Alcohol use disorders or alcohol dependence
Varieties
Beers come in many varieties and range from light and under 100 calories to dark and flavorful with more than 200 calories.
If your goal is weight loss, consider cutting back on your booze consumption. Some people even give up alcohol entirely while overhauling their diet and find that they lose weight just by drinking less. If you do choose to drink, consider taking advantage of low-calorie drink choices when you're at happy hour or out on the town.
Beers Under 100 Calories
These are the lightest beers on the market. Nutrition facts are listed for a 12-ounce serving unless otherwise indicated.
- Michelob Ultra beer (4.2 ABV) contains 95 calories and 2.6 grams of carbohydrate and 0.6 grams of protein
- Busch Light beer (4.2 ABV) contains 95 calories and 11.2 grams of carbohydrate and 1.7 grams of protein
- Beck's Premier Light beer (2.3 ABV) contains 64 calories and 3.9 grams of carbohydrate and 0.7 grams of protein
- Michelob ULTRA Amber beer (4.0 ABV) contains 89 calories and 3.2 grams of carbohydrate and 0.9 grams of protein
- Miller Light (96 ABV) contains 96 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate and less than one gram of protein
- Amstel Light (96 ABV) contains 96 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate and less than one gram of protein
And what about non-alcoholic beers? They do contain a small amount of alcohol, but far fewer calories than an alcoholic brew. A 12-ounce bottle of Beck's NA non-alcoholic beer (0.05 ABV) contains 57 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrate and 1.17 grams of protein.
Beers Under 150 Calories
Most 12-ounce beers provide around 150 calories.
- Coors Light (4.2 ABV) contains 102 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate and less than one gram of protein
- Stella Artois (5.0 ABV) contains 141 calories and 10.9 grams of carbohydrate (11.2 ounces)
- Bud Light beer (4.2 ABV) contains 110 calories and 6.6 grams of carbohydrate and 0.9 grams of protein
- Budweiser beer (5.0 ABV) contains 145 calories and 10.6 grams of carbohydrate and 1.3 grams of protein
- Beck's Dark pilsner (5.0 ABV) contains 142 calories and 3.2 grams of carbohydrate and 0.7 grams of protein
- Bud Light Lime beer (4.2 ABV) contains 116 calories and 8 grams of carbohydrate and 0.9 grams of protein
- Hoegaarden (4.9 ABV) contains 44.8 calories and 3.3 grams of carbohydrate (For the very small 3-ounce bottle)
- Michelob Light beer (4.1 ABV) contains 122 calories and 8.9 grams of carbohydrate and 1.2 grams of protein
- Guinness beer (4.2 ABV) contains 125 calories and 10 grams of carbohydrate
- Beck's beer (5 ABV) contains 146 calories and 10.4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.8 grams of protein
High-Calorie Beers
Many flavored adult beverages, craft, and seasonal beers are higher in alcohol and higher in calories.
- Michelob lager (4.8 ABV) contains 158 calories and 14.4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.9 grams of protein
- Blue Moon Cappuccino Oatmeal Stout beer (5.9 ABV) contains 196 calories and 19 grams of carbohydrate and 1.6 grams of protein
- Blue Moon Belgian White beer (5.4 ABV) contains 168 calories and 16.3 grams of carbohydrate and 1.9 grams of protein
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6 ABV) contains 175 calories and 14 grams of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of protein
- Beck's Octoberfest beer (5.2 ABV) contains 151 calories and 10.8 grams of carbohydrate and 1.7 grams of protein
- Bass Pale Ale (5.1 ABV) contains 156 calories and 12.4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.8 grams of protein
- Beck's Sapphire pilsner (6.0 ABV) contains 161 calories and 8.9 grams of carbohydrate and 2.4 grams of protein
- Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita (8.0 ABV) contains 220 calories and 29 grams of carbohydrate (per 8-ounce can)
- Bud Light Lime Raz-Ber-Rita (8.0 ABV) contains 195 calories and 22.8 grams of carbohydrate (per 8-ounce can)
- Bud Light Lime Water-Melon-Rita (8.0 ABV) contains 294 calories and 34.8 grams of carbohydrate (per 8-ounce can)
- Johnny Appleseed Hard Apple Cider (5.5 ABV) contains 210 calories and 26 grams of carbohydrate
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dietary guidelines for alcohol.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alcoholic beverage, beer, light, BUDWEISER SELECT.
USDA FoodData Central. Alcoholic beverage, beer, regular, all.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beer.
Marcos A, Serra-Majem L, Pérez-Jiménez F, Pascual V, Tinahones FJ, Estruch R. Moderate consumption of beer and its effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health: an updated review of recent scientific evidence. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):879. doi:10.3390/nu13030879
Biddinger KJ, Emdin CA, Haas ME, et al. Association of habitual alcohol intake with risk of cardiovascular disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(3):e223849. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.3849
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol use and your health.