The honest answer is “it depends on the strength,” but most people drinking pints don’t know the strength of what they’re drinking. The same pint glass can hold anywhere from 1.7 to 5+ units depending on what’s in it. This article gives you the per-strength count, the per-brand count for common beers, and the practical implications for tracking. This article is part of our Alcohol Units hub, the complete guide to alcohol unit measurement.
This article uses UK units (each = 8g of pure alcohol) and the UK pint volume of 568ml. For US 12oz pints (355ml), multiply the UK numbers by 0.625 to get approximate counts.
# The quick answer
For a UK pint (568ml):
| Beer strength | Units per pint |
|---|---|
| 3% | 1.70 |
| 3.5% | 1.99 |
| 4% | 2.27 |
| 4.5% | 2.56 |
| 5% | 2.84 |
| 5.5% | 3.12 |
| 6% | 3.41 |
| 6.5% | 3.69 |
| 7% | 3.98 |
| 7.5% | 4.26 |
| 8% | 4.54 |
| 9% | 5.11 |
| 10% | 5.68 |
The formula: units = 0.568 × ABV
Or simpler: multiply the ABV by 0.57 for a quick estimate.
A pint of 5% lager is 2.84 units. A pint of 7.5% IPA is 4.26 units, which is about 1.5x more than the lager despite looking the same in the glass.
# The “standard” pint that doesn’t exist
Old guidance often referenced “a pint of beer = 2 units.” This was based on 3.5% session bitter, which was the typical pub strength in the 1980s. Modern beer is substantially stronger:
- Average UK pub lager today: 4.5-5%
- Most popular bottled beers: 4.5-5.5%
- Craft beer at most pubs: 5.5-6%
- IPA category average: 6-7%
The “pint = 2 units” rule of thumb undercounts modern drinking by 30-50% for most beer drinkers. A more useful rule of thumb today: a pint of average-strength beer is roughly 2.5-3 units.
For people who drink mostly craft or premium beer, the rule of thumb is closer to a pint = 3-3.5 units.
# Common UK beers by brand
Approximate units per UK pint:
# Standard lagers (4-5%)
- Carling (4%): 2.27 units
- Foster’s (4%): 2.27 units
- Carlsberg Pilsner (3.8%): 2.16 units
- Heineken (5%): 2.84 units
- Stella Artois (4.6%): 2.61 units
- Budweiser UK (4.5%): 2.56 units
- Coors Light (4%): 2.27 units
- Peroni Nastro Azzurro (5.1%): 2.90 units
- Birra Moretti (4.6%): 2.61 units
- Asahi Super Dry (5%): 2.84 units
- Estrella Damm (4.6%): 2.61 units
- Tiger Beer (4.8%): 2.73 units
- Cobra (4.8%): 2.73 units
- Sapporo (4.7%): 2.67 units
# Bitters and ales (3.5-5%)
- John Smith’s Extra Smooth (3.6%): 2.04 units
- Tetley’s Smoothflow (3.6%): 2.04 units
- London Pride (4.1%): 2.33 units
- Doom Bar (4%): 2.27 units
- Old Speckled Hen (5%): 2.84 units
- Bombardier (4.1%): 2.33 units
- Hobgoblin (4.5%): 2.56 units
- Theakston Old Peculier (5.6%): 3.18 units
# Pale ales and IPAs (4.5-7%)
- BrewDog Punk IPA (5.4%): 3.07 units
- Beavertown Neck Oil (4.3%): 2.44 units
- Camden Hells Lager (4.6%): 2.61 units
- Goose Island IPA (5.9%): 3.35 units
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6%): 3.18 units
- BrewDog Hazy Jane (5%): 2.84 units
- Lagunitas IPA (6.2%): 3.52 units
- Founders All Day IPA (4.7%): 2.67 units
- Northern Monk Faith (5.4%): 3.07 units
- Cloudwater DIPA Range (8%+): 4.54+ units
# Strong IPAs and DIPAs (7%+)
- BrewDog Hazy Jane DIPA (8%): 4.54 units
- Founders Backwoods Bastard (10.2%): 5.79 units
- Verdant Lightbulb (8%): 4.54 units
- The Kernel Imperial Stout (10%+): 5.68+ units
A single pint of strong DIPA contains as much alcohol as a bottle of wine. The pint glass disguises the volume of alcohol because it looks identical to a pint of session beer.
# Stouts and porters
- Guinness Draught (4.2%): 2.39 units
- Guinness Original (4.2%): 2.39 units
- Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout (5%): 2.84 units
- Beavertown Black Betty (7.4%): 4.20 units
- Founders Breakfast Stout (8.3%): 4.71 units
- Stone Imperial Russian Stout (10.6%): 6.02 units
# Cider
- Strongbow Original (5%): 2.84 units
- Magners Original (4.5%): 2.56 units
- Bulmers Original (4.5%): 2.56 units
- Thatchers Gold (4.8%): 2.73 units
- Aspall Premier Cru (7%): 3.98 units
- Westons Old Rosie (7.3%): 4.15 units
# Why pint counting matters more than people realise
The reason pint unit counts matter:
# Sessions add up faster than expected
Common British “moderate” drinking patterns easily exceed the 14-unit weekly guideline:
- 4 pints of 5% lager (Friday): 11.36 units
- 3 pints of 6% IPA (Saturday): 10.23 units
Total weekend: 21.59 units. That’s 50% over the weekly guideline in just two evenings.
Or:
- 2 pints after work most weekdays at 4.5%: 5.12 units × 5 days = 25.6 units
That’s 80% over the weekly guideline from “just a couple of pints after work” patterns.
# The strength escalation problem
People who drink the same number of pints over a decade have often increased their alcohol intake substantially without realising it, because beer has gotten stronger. Someone drinking “5 pints on a Saturday” today is consuming 30-40% more alcohol than someone drinking “5 pints on a Saturday” in 1995, because the pints are stronger.
This is part of why people in their 40s often feel hangovers worse than they did in their 20s, even when they think they’re drinking “the same amount.” They’re not; the same pint count is more alcohol than it used to be.
# The IPA visibility problem
Pints of IPA are particularly easy to underestimate. The glass looks the same. The drinking pace feels the same. But the unit content is 50-75% higher than a session beer.
Someone drinking 4 pints of 6.5% IPA: 14.78 units in one evening. That’s the entire UK weekly guideline in one session.
# Other pint sizes
The 568ml UK pint isn’t universal:
# US pint (16oz / 473ml)
US pints are 17% smaller than UK pints. To convert: multiply UK unit numbers by 0.83.
A US pint of 5% beer: 568 × 5 × 0.83 ÷ 1000 = 2.36 UK units (or 1.35 US standard drinks).
In US standard drinks (each = 14g of alcohol):
- 16oz of 5% beer: 1.35 standard drinks
- 16oz of 4% beer: 1.08 standard drinks
- 16oz of 6% beer: 1.62 standard drinks
# Australian pint (570ml)
Almost identical to UK pint. Use the UK numbers.
In Australian standard drinks (each = 10g of alcohol):
- 570ml of 4.5% beer: 2.05 standard drinks
- 570ml of 5% beer: 2.27 standard drinks
# Imperial pint (568ml) in other countries
The same 568ml volume is used in some Commonwealth countries (Ireland, Canada in some contexts). Same unit math as UK.
# The “pony” and other smaller serves
In Australia, smaller beer serves are common:
- Pony (140ml): 0.6 standard drinks at 4.5%
- Middy or Pot (285ml): 1.3 standard drinks at 4.5%
- Schooner (425ml): 1.95 standard drinks at 4.5%
- Pint (570ml): 2.6 standard drinks at 4.5%
# Practical takeaways
A few principles for pint drinkers who want to track accurately:
# Always note the strength
Just recording “pint” doesn’t capture the alcohol content. Record what kind of pint and what strength, or record the brand. The strength variation is the largest source of pint-count error.
# Halves count
Half pints are 284ml, exactly half a pint. Unit counts are also exactly half. A half pint of 5% lager is 1.42 units.
# The weekly guideline math
The UK 14-unit guideline corresponds to:
- 6 pints of 4% lager (a quiet week of “a few drinks”) OR
- 4 pints of 5.5% IPA (less than that of craft beer) OR
- 3 pints of 7% strong IPA (a single session)
Most people who drink “moderately” exceed this without realising.
# Tracking pints is harder than tracking shots
Spirits come in measured pours, so unit counts are predictable. Pints vary widely, so tracking pints requires knowing what specifically you drank. The catalogue in tracking apps helps with this.
# How AlcoLog handles pints specifically
AlcoLog’s catalogue includes 84 beers by brand with accurate ABV. Logging a pint is one tap if it’s in your favourites or two taps if you select from the catalogue. The unit count auto-calculates based on the brand’s actual ABV.
For unusual beers not in the catalogue, the Add Drink screen lets you specify the ABV manually. The pint size preset (568ml) is one tap; other sizes (half pint, schooner, pot, US pint) are also available.
The session-end summary shows total units across the session, including how many came from pints versus other drinks. Over time, the History view aggregates units by week and month so you can see whether your pint-drinking pattern is staying within your guidelines.
