Calories, carbohydrates and sugar in alcohol-free beer

Is non-alcoholic beer lower in calories, carbs and sugar?

Yes and no – one of the major benefits of alcohol-free and 0.5% beer versus standard ale and lager is that it contains fewer calories than its alcoholic equivalent.

This is because pure alcohol contains 56 calories per unit (7 calories per gram). So a pint of 4% ABV beer contains 129 calories from alcohol alone.

But, while alcohol-free beer is lower in calories than alcoholic beer, it’s not completely calorie-free.

Alcohol-free beers are also often higher in carbs and sugar.

In this article, we’ll look at what calories and carbs are and how an non-alcoholic beer’s ingredients affect how many calories it has and how much carbohydrates and sugar it contains.

We’ll also look at the amount of calories, carbs and sugar in popular alcohol-free beers, ales and lagers and highlight the beers that are lowest in calories, carbs and sugar.

Contents

• Calories in non-alcoholic beer
• Carbs and sugar in non-alcoholic beer
• Identifying the calories, carbs and sugar in non-alcoholic beer
• Find non–alcoholic beers low in calories, carbs and sugar

Calories in non-alcoholic beer

What are calories?

Calories are a way of measuring the amount of energy in food and drink. When we consume more calories than we burn off, our bodies store this energy as fat.

Calories in food and drink come from four sources:

1. Protein – 4 calories per gram
2. Carbohydrates (including sugar) – 4 calories per gram
3. Fat – 9 calories per gram
4. Alcohol – 7 calories per gram (or 56 per unit of alcohol)

Calories in non-alcoholic beer vs alcoholic beer

There’s almost always no fat in beer, so the calories in it come from alcohol, carbohydrates and protein.

And, as there’s little to no alcohol in alcohol-free beer, it’s much lower in calories than an equivalent alcoholic beer.

For example, there’s:

• 225 calories in a 500ml bottle of standard Adnam’s “Ghost Ship” (4.5%) vs 115 in a 500ml bottle of Adnam’s “Ghost Ship Alcohol-Free” (0.5%)
• 139 calories in a 330ml bottle of standard Heineken (5%) vs 69 calories in a 330ml bottle of Heineken “0.0” (0%)
• 122 calories in 330ml bottle of Carlsberg (3.8%) vs 73 calories in a 330ml bottle of Carlsberg “0.0” (0%)
• 132 calories in a 330ml bottle of Bitburger Pils (4.8%) vs 73 calories in a 330ml bottle of Bitburger “Drive” (0%)

The amount of calories in alcohol-free beer varies depending the amount of carbohydrates and protein it has. This depends on its base ingredients and how it’s produced.

For instance, wheat beers tend to have more protein while beers that have been fully fermented before having the alcohol removed will likely have less carbohydrates (in the form of sugar) than beers that use a yeast that doesn’t ferment all available sugars.

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• Why you can’t get drunk on 0.5% alcohol-free beer
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Also, some alcohol-free beers contain up to 0.5% alcohol. This equates to about 15 calories per pint in addition to the calories provided by protein and carbohydrates.

Therefore, while alcohol-free beers are generally lower in calories than beers that contain alcohol, the actual amount of calories varies.

Calories in non-alcoholic beer vs non-alcoholic drinks

As well as being lower in calories than standard beer, alcohol-free beer has fewer calories than many alternative soft drinks.

For example, most alcohol-free beers have about 10 to 35 calories per 100ml. Meanwhile:

• tonic water has about 21 calories per 100ml
• skimmed milk has about 37 calories per 100ml
• orange juice has about 46 calories per 100ml
• Cola has about 42 calories per 100ml

So while you won’t get some of the nutritional benefits that come with drinks like fruit juice and milk when you drink alcohol-free beer, it’s still a handy low-calorie alternative if you choose a lower-calorie option.

Alcohol-free beer has nutritional benefits too.

Carbs and sugar in non-alcoholic beer

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are one of three ‘macronutrients’ (along with protein and fat) that give us energy.

There are three types of carbohydrates – sugar, starch and fibre. In our diet, we get these carbs from grains, fruits, vegetables and milk.

Much of the carbs and sugar in non-alcoholic beer comes from malted grains – usually barley and wheat. They can also come from added sugars, such as lactose (milk sugar).

Carbs and sugar in non-alcoholic beer vs alcoholic beer

As alcohol contains no carbohydrates, non-alcoholic beers aren’t always lower in carbs than beers that contain alcohol.

In fact, they’re often higher in carbs than their alcoholic equivalents because – unlike most alcoholic beers – they usually contain sugar.

As mentioned above, this is down to the way they’re produced, where it’s more likely that sugar will survive the fermentation process.

For example, there’s:

• 10.5g of carbs and 0g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of standard Heineken (5%) vs 15.8g of carbs and 4.3g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of Heineken “0.0” (0%)
• 12.2g of carbs and 0g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of standard San Miguel (5%) vs 18g of carbs and 5.6g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of San Miguel “0.0” (0%)
• 10.5g of carbs and 0g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of standard Peroni (5.1%) vs 17.5g of carbs and 10g of sugar in a 330ml bottle of Peroni Libera (0%)

These examples are all lager-style beers and it’s difficult to confirm the amount of carbs and sugar in other styles of alcoholic beer because producers of drinks over 1.2% ABV don’t need to declare this on the labelling.

The Shepherd Neame brewery is one producer that does publish the nutritional content of its beer. The carb and sugar content in its beers varies from around 14.5g of carbohydrates and 2.2g of sugar in a pint of Spitfire Kentish Ale (4.2%) to 27g of carbohydrates and 8g of sugar in a pint of 1698 (6.5%).

Carbs in non-alcoholic beer vs non-alcoholic drinks

So how does the carb and sugar content in non-alcoholic beer compare to other popular drinks?

Using our example drinks from earlier for comparison:

• tonic water has about 4.9g of carbs per 100ml
• skimmed milk has about 5g of carbs per 100ml
• orange juice has about 10g of carbs per 100ml
• Coca Cola has about 4.8g of carbs per 100ml

All of the carbs in these drinks are made up of sugars. But this isn’t the case with non-alcoholic beer, where the sugar content doesn’t always align with the carb content.

This is because beers contain carbs in the form of starch and fibre, as well as sugar.

Carb content in non-alcoholic beer

The carb content in non-alcoholic beer ranges from 0.4g per 100ml in beers like Drop Bear Brewing’s “Yuzu Pale Ale” to 8.6g per 100ml in Jupiler’s “0.0%” pilsner and De Halve Maan’s “Sportzot” Belgian blonde.

The average is about 4g of carbs per 100ml.

Sugar content in non-alcoholic beer

The sugar content in non-alcoholic beer ranges from trace amounts in beers such as Bitburger “Drive” (0%) lager to 5.1g per 100ml in Mikkeller’s Raspberry Limbo (0.3%) fruit beer.

The average is about 1.7g sugar per 100ml.

This makes almost all non-alcoholic beers lower in sugar than tonic water, skimmed milk, orange juice and cola.

And although many non-alcoholic beers contain more sugar than drinks such as squash and diet soda, most don’t contain questionable ingredients such as sweeteners, preservatives and colouring.

Is the sugar in non-alcoholic beer bad for you?

It seems strange to mention moderation when it comes to alcohol-free drinks. But the sugar you consume can soon mount up when you drink non-alcoholic beers that are higher in sugar.

But how much is too much?

The sugar in beer is known as a “free sugar”. Free sugars refer to any added sugars as well as the natural sugars in food and drink – except milk, and fruit and veg.

The NHS recommends adults don’t consume any more than 30g of free sugars a day.

This means just one pint of a beer such as Cobra “Zero” (3.5g of sugar per 100ml or 19.6g per pint) can account for the majority of your daily allowance of sugar.

Identifying the calories, carbs and sugar in alcohol-free beer

It’s usually easy to find out how many calories and how much carbs and sugar are in your alcohol-free beer.

In Europe and the UK, alcohol-free beer producers must include the nutritional content on the packaging (some smaller producers are exempt). In the US, this is optional but many do so voluntarily.

Calories will usually be listed as “kcals” (kilocalorie). The metric equivalent is “kj” (kilojoules), so you might see that listed too. 100 kcals equal 418 kj.

Carbs and sugar will usually be listed in grams (g).

The label will tell you the calorie, carb and sugar count in 100ml or 100g of beer. It might show figures per serving too – for example, per bottle.

Find non-alcoholic beers low in calories, carbs and sugar

The table below shows all of the non-alcoholic beers I’ve reviewed, along with their calorie, carb and sugar content.

Click or tap on the column headings to sort the beers by calorie count or amount of carbs and sugar to find non-alcoholic beers lowest in calories, carbs and sugar.

Beer name	Calories	Carbs (g per 100ml)	Sugar (g per 100ml)
Unltd "Lager" (0.5%) pale ale	7	1.6	0.3
Drop Bear Brewing Co “Yuzu Pale Ale” (0.5%) pale ale	7.5	0.4	0.1
Drop Bear Brewing Co “Tropical IPA” (0.5%) India pale ale	7.5	0.6	0.1
Brewdog “Nanny State” (0.5%) pale ale	8	1	0.4
Thornbridge “Big Easy” (0.5%) pale ale	8	0.8	0.1
Brewdog "Raspberry Blitz" (0.5%) sour beer	9	1.5	0.6
Nirvana Brewery “Karma” (0.5%) pale ale	9	1.7	0.1
Brewdog "Lost AF" (0.5%) lager	10	3	1.8
Mikkeller “Henry and His Science” (0.3%) pale ale	10	1.7	0.1
Mikkeller “Racing Beer” (0.3%) lager	10	2.7	0
Nirvana Brewery “Sutra” (0.5%) India pale ale	10	Unknown	Unknown
Infinite Session “Pale” 0.5%) American pale ale	11	3.3	2.8
Infinite Session “IPA” (0.5%) India pale ale	11	2.2	1.8
Furstenberg “Alkoholfrei” (0.5%) pale lager	11	2.4	0.5
Laine Brew Co "King Limbo" (0.5%) India pale ale	11	2.4	0.4
Kompaan "Badgast Ripped" (0.5%) American ale	11	1.7	1.6
Infinite Session “Pils” (0.5%) pilsner	12	3.3	2.8
Big Drop Brewing Co “Lager” (0.5%) lager	12	1.4	0.8
Jump Ship Brewing "Yardarm" (0.5%) lager	12	2.5	0.3
Mikkeller “Weird Weather” (0.3%) NEIPA	13	Unknown	Unknown
Beck's "Blue" (0.05%) lager	13	3.1	0.2
The Hop Foundry (Aldi) "Low Down" (0.5%) IPL	13	2.1	0.5
Doom Bar "Zero" (0%) amber ale	13	3.2	1.1
M&S “Southwold (0.5%) pale ale	13	1.4	0.2
Jever “Fun” (0.5%) pilsner	13	2.1	0
Brewdog "Hazy AF" (0.5%) NEIPA	14	2.6	1.8
Budweiser "Zero" (0%) lager	14	3.3	0.1
Force Majeure "Traditional Blond" (0.4%) Belgian blond	14	3	2.5
Ilkley Brewery "Virgin Mary" (0.5%) pale ale	15	Unknown	Unknown
Laitilan "Kukko IPA" (0.5%) pale ale	15	3.1	0.1
Nirvana Brewery “Tantra” (0%) pale ale	15	Unknown	Unknown
Coast Beer "Farmhouse Ale" (0.3%) pale ale	15	4	3
Brewdog "Punk AF" (0.5%) India pale ale	15	3	1.8
Budweiser Budvar “B:Free” (0.5%) pale lager	15	3.1	1.6
Mikkeller “Drink’in the Sun” (0.3%) American pale wheat beer	15	3.7	0
Coast Beer Co "Hazy IPA" (0.3%) India pale ale	16	4	3.9
Big Drop Brewing Co "Sour" (0.5%) sour beer	16	3.5	3
Drynks Unlimited "Smashed Pale" (0%) pale ale	16	3.7	3.7
Harviestoun "Wheesht" (0%) ruby ale	16	1.8	0.1
Lucky Saint “Unfiltered Lager” (0.5%) lager	16	3.5	0.1
Mikkeller “Energibajer” (0%) wheat beer	16	3.7	0
Jump Ship Brewing "Flying Colours" (0.5%) pale ale	17	3	0.3
Sainsbury’s "Low-Alcohol Czech” (0.5%) pilsner lager	17	Unknown	Unknown
Shipyard "Low Tide" (0.5%) pale ale	17	3.1	2.8
Big Drop "Citra IPA" (0.5%) India pale ale	18	3.6	2
Binary Botanical 0.5 (0.5%) table beer	18	3.6	0.1
Harvey's "Sussex Best Low Alcohol" (0.5%) bitter	18	3.7	1.5
Hammerton" Zed" (0.5%) pale ale	18	4.5	1.9
"Freestar" (0%) lager	18	4.4	1.4
Stella Artois Non-Alcoholic (0%) lager	18	4.2	0.8
Rothaus “Non-Alcoholic Tannenzäpfle” (0.4%) pilsner	18	3.5	0.1
Ambar "0.0 Gluten-Free" (0%) lager	19	4.3	2.5
Leeds Brewery “0PA” (0%) pale ale	20	Unknown	Unknown
Innis and Gunn “Innis and None” (0%) pale ale	20	4.7	3.7
Nirvana "Lager" (0.3%) Bavarian helles	20	4	1
Nirvana Brewery “Kosmic” (0%) stout	20	4.8	2.8
Rok Soba "Zero Fear Beer" (0.5%) stout	20	4.8	2.8
Big Drop Brewing Co “Pale Ale” (0.5%) pale ale	20	3.6	2
"Free Damm" (0%) lager	20	4.7	1.7
Heineken “0.0” (0.05%) pale lager	20	4.8	1.3
Birra Moretti "Zero" (0%) lager	20	4.4	1.2
Brutal Brewing "A Ship Full of IPA" (0%) India pale ale	20	5.3	0.5
Pistonhead “Non-Alcoholic Flat Tire” (0.5%) lager	20	4.3	0.5
Another Dimension "Pale Ale" (0.5%)	21	2.7	0.9
Drop Bear Beer Co "Bonfire Stout" (0.5%) stout	21	3	2
Schneider Weisse “Alkoholfrei” (“Tap 3”) (0.5%) wheat beer	21	5	2
Franziskaner “Alkoholfrei” (0.5%) wheat beer	21	4.4	1.8
Lidl “Perlenbacher 0.0” (0%) lager	21	5.2	1.4
Samuel Smith "Sam's Brown Ale" (0.5%)	21	2.4	8.5
Brewdog "Wake Up Call" ("Stout AF") (0.5%) coffee stout	22	4.5	2.7
Days Brewing "Lager" (0%)	22	4.5	2.5
Force Majeure "Tripel" (0.4%)	22	4.5	4
Guinness "Kaliber" (0.05%) pale lager	22	Unknown	Unknown
Peroni "Libera" (0%) lager	22	5.3	3
Sagres "Sem Alcool" (0.3%) lager	22	4.9	2.6
Carlsberg “0.0” (0%) lager	22	3.2	2.4
Lindeboom "0.5%" (0.5%) pilsner	22	4.5	2.3
"Old Speckled Hen Low Alcohol" (0.5%) bitter	22	4.1	2
Bitburger "Drive Alcohol-Free" (0%)	22	5.1	0
Aldi "Sainte Etienne Alcohol Free" (0%) lager	23	5.2	1.8
Drynks Unlimited "Smashed Lager" (0%) lager	23	3.1	3.1
Super Bock “Preta” (0.45%) stout	23	5.6	2.7
Harvey's "Old Ale" (0.5%) ale	23	5.2	2.5
Paulaner "Non-Alcoholic Hefe Weisse" (0-0.5%) wheat beer	23	4.9	1.9
Super Bock "Non-Alcoholic" (0.5%) lager	23	4.7	1
Adnams “Ghost Ship Alcohol Free” (0.5%) pale ale	23	4.4	0.1
To Øl "Implosion" (0.3%) pale ale	23	3.4	3.4
To Øl "Under the Radar" (0.4%) farmhouse ale	23	3.4	3.4
Cobra "Zero" (0%) lager	24	5.5	3.5
Braxzz “Barrelled Bock” (0%) bock	24	5.3	3.3
Bavaria “0.0%” (0%) pilsner	24	5.8	3.1
Brumore "Weizen" (0%) wheat beer	24	5.7	1.5
San Miguel “0.0” (0%) pilsner lager	24	5.6	1.7
St Peter’s Brewery “Without Gold” (0.05%) golden ale	24	5.3	0.1
Upflow "Toasted Malty Tide" (0.5%) pale ale	24	Unknown	Unknown
Beavertown "Lazer Crush" (0.3%) IPA	25	5.9	3
Erdinger “Alkoholfrei” (0.4%) wheat beer	25	5.3	3.6
Braxzz “Porter” (0%)	25	5.8	2.8
Hop & Hemp "Easy Times IPA" (0.5%) India pale ale	25	5	0.1
Hop & Hemp "Lowdown Lager" (0.5%) lager	25	5	0.1
Lidl Perlenbacher “Patronus” (0-0.5%) wheat beer	25	5.4	2.7
Maisel’s "Weisse Alkoholfrei" (0.5%) wheat beer	25	5.2	1.3
Big Drop "Hazelnut Porter" (0.5%)	26	5.1	0.1
"Cheers Branca" (0.5%) lager	26	5.8	3.1
Stiegl "Freibier" (0.5%) lager	26	5.6	3
Clausthaler "Unfiltered Dry Hopped" (0.5%) lager	26	5.6	2.8
Clausthaler "Original" (0.5%) lager	26	5.6	2.7
Krombacher "Low-Alcohol Pils" (0.5%) lager	26	6.1	2.7
Mikkeller “Hallo, Ich Bin” (0.1%) Berliner weisse sour beer	26	6.7	0
Veltins "Alkoholfrei" (0%) pilsner	26	6.3	2.6
Braxzz "Orange IPA" (0.2%) India pale ale	27	5.8	2.8
Braxzz "Rebel IPA" (0.2%) India pale ale	27	5.8	2.8
Hoegaarden "0.0" (0.3%) wheat beer	27	7.4	3.7
Mikkeller “Limbo Yuzu” (0.3%) fruit beer	27	6.4	3.2
St Peter’s Brewery “Without Original” (0.05%) bitter	27	6.4	1.6
Thornbridge “Little by Little” (0.5%) milk stout	27.5	5.4	0.1
Lowenbrau “Alkoholfrei” (0.5%) lager	28	Unknown	Unknown
Lowlander "Wit" (0.0%) wheat beer	28	6.6	3.6
Big Drop Brewing “Stout” (0.5%) milk stout	28	5.4	0.3
Guinness Open Gate Brewery "Pure Brew" (0.5%) lager	28	6	3
Krombacher "Weizen Alkoholfrei" (0.5%) wheat beer	28	6.1	2.7
Brooklyn Brewery "Special Effects" (0.4%) American amber lager	29	6.3	2.9
Big Drop "Brown Ale" (0.5%) brown ale	30	4.2	2.3
Big Drop “Winter Ale” (0.5%) ale	30	4.2	2.3
Drynks Unlimited "Smashed Citrus" (0%) pale ale	30	4.9	4.9
Fungtn "Reishi Citra Beer" (0.5%) pale ale	30	3.4	2.9
Mikkeller "Beer Geek Flat White" (0.3%) sour beer	30	6.9	2.9
Vandestreek "Fruit Machine" (0.5%) sour beer	30	6.9	3.8
Insel "Snorkeler’s Sea Salt IPA" (0.5%) India pale ale	32	6.4	0.5
Insel "Surfers Summer Ale" (0.5%) summer ale	32	6.4	0.5
Kehrwieder "ü.NN" (0.4%) India pale ale	32	6.8	3.4
Vandestreek "Playground" (0.5%) India pale ale	32	6.6	3.2
Mikkeller "Drink'in the Snow" (0.3%) winter ale	32	8.1	0.5
Coast "IPA" and "DDH IPA" (0%) India pale ales	33	7.9	3.8
Mikkeller "Raspberry Limbo" (0.3%) fruit beer	34	8.4	5.1
Jupiler "0.0%" (0%) pilsner	35	8.6	0.7
De Halve Maan "Sportzot" (0.4%) Belgian blonde	40	8.6	1
Mikkeller "Limbo Blueberry" (0.3%) fruit beer	43	9.1	6.3
Tiny Rebel "Clwb Tropica" (0.5%) IPA	71	3.2	0.5