How many units are in a pint? Lager, beer and cider by strength

Work it out for your drink

Units in a pint at every common strength

The number of units depends on two things only: how much liquid there is and how strong it is. A UK pint is 568 ml, so the strength on the label decides everything. We worked out the table below with the NHS formula for UK units, NIAAA's definition of a US standard drink (about 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol) and the Irish standard drink of 10 g. Figures are rounded to one decimal place.

Lower-strength and strong pints: the NHS examples

The NHS uses two pints as its examples: a pint of lower-strength lager, beer or cider at 3.6% is 2 units, and a pint of higher-strength lager, beer or cider at 5.2% is 3 units. It shows the working for the strong pint: 5.2 × 568 ÷ 1,000 = 2.95 units, which rounds to 3.

The difference matters more than it looks. Two pints of a 5.2% lager are 6 units; the same two pints at 3.6% are 4. Swapping strong beers for lower-strength ones is one of the NHS tips for cutting down, and the label is the only reliable guide: "% vol" or "ABV" on the can, bottle or tap.

Cider is no different from beer in this sum. The NHS groups lager, beer and cider together in its table because a pint of cider at 5% holds exactly the same alcohol as a pint of beer at 5%. Strengths vary from drink to drink, so check the label before you count.

Bottles, cans and half pints

Not every beer comes in pints. The NHS gives these examples, which are useful when you are counting a few bottles or cans at home:

• A 330 ml bottle of 5% lager, beer or cider: 1.7 units.
• A 440 ml can of 5.5% lager, beer or cider: 2.4 units.
• A half pint (284 ml) at 4%: 1.1 units, by the same formula.

A US pint and a US standard drink

In the US a pint is 16 fl oz (about 473 ml), smaller than the 568 ml UK pint. NIAAA counts 12 fl oz of regular beer at about 5% as one standard drink, so a 16 fl oz pint of 5% beer is about 1.3 US standard drinks, and a UK pint of the same beer about 1.6.

Ireland counts in standard drinks of 10 g of pure alcohol. The HSE gives a pint of beer, stout or cider at 4.5% as 2 standard drinks, which matches the table above. Our guidelines by country page shows how each country's weekly advice compares.

How many pints add up to 14 units

The NHS advises men and women not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, and says 14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer. By our arithmetic that is about 6 pints at 4%, but only 5 pints at 5%. If you regularly drink that much, the NHS advice is to spread it over 3 or more days and to have several drink-free days each week.

Common questions

When to get help

This site offers self-help tools and information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor, or call one of the lines below, if:

• you feel shaky, sweaty, sick or anxious when you haven't had a drink;
• you find it hard to stop once you start, or you want to cut down and can't;
• drinking is causing problems with your health, work or the people close to you.

Before you stop: It can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you are dependent on alcohol. If you get withdrawal symptoms, get medical help before you try to stop drinking.

Sources

1. Alcohol units. NHS. nhs.uk
2. Tips on cutting down on alcohol. NHS. nhs.uk
3. What Is A Standard Drink?. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). niaaa.nih.gov
4. Weekly low-risk alcohol guidelines. Health Service Executive (Ireland). hse.ie