Beer vs wine: which one contains the more alcohol and calories?

Everything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.

This quote by an unknown author is based on a great truth: while wine is (luckily) neither illegal nor immoral, we all know well how – alas! – it fattens us since  alcohol corresponds to calories; or at least, we know very well how a good red bottle can contain many calories. Now, let’s say you are on a strict diet and therefore you want to try to cut the number of calories ingested, and therefore your alcohol intake: can choose a beer at your meals be the temporary solution to this problem, while waiting for getting back in shape? Let’s find out right away by answering the question: does beer or wine contain more alcohol?

Alcohol content and calories

First, let’s review a basic concept: all alcoholic beverages are anything but dietetic, and the greater the amount of alcohol contained within them, the greater the number of calories. As we have seen in the past, alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which is a rather worrying figure, if you think that by contrast the carbohydrates in contain 4 per gram. Therefore, even before asking if there is more alcohol, therefore, more calories, in beer or wine, it is good to remember that any alcoholic drink will be highly caloric.

Furthermore, the answer to the question of whether there is more alcohol in wine or beer is absolutely general and on average: in both cases there are special beverages with higher alcohol percentage, such as double malt beers, in which the alcoholic and caloric content can even be double that of a normal light beer, or fortified wines as well, for example. Given all this, it is better to read the following data as a general assessment to apply from case to case.

Does wine or beer contain more alcohol?

So here we come to the crucial question. Let’s see the data:

the ABV (alcohol by volume) of beer is on average 4.5%, while that of wine is 11%. Consequently, we can say that in a generic way, wine contains more alcohol than beer, therefore more calories. However, when we apply these data we cannot ignore the consideration of the quantities ingested on average: think about it, if you order a beer, you will ask for a pint, while on the other hand, you will stop in most cases by the glass of wine, and it’s clear how we are talking about very different units of measurements; it is in fact generally true that beer is consumed in greater quantities than wine. So, apart from alcoholic content, if we want to apply these findings to our diet, the answer is always the same: moderation. If you manage to stop at a minimum amount of beer, surely ordering that instead of wine will help you more on your path to weight loss; if the pint is only the first of many, it is clearly the opposite.

What gets you more drunk, beer or wine?

In this case as well the answer is contained in the quantity consumed: by comparing the same volume of a generic wine or a generic beer, clearly, the first one leads in a matter of tipsiness; if given the average beer consumption, the latter is generally taken in larger quantities.

On a physiological level, however, there is an interesting fact: due to the specific composition of the drink, the alcohol contained in the wine spreads more quickly inside the body of the person who ingests it. Ergo, given the same amount and time, the wine makes us drunker.

An alternative? We spoke in the last article of the alcohol-free wine, check it out!

Beer, wine and alcohol content

Once again, the key is all in the quantity ingested: drinking in moderation seems to be the key to avoiding too much weight in excess, waking up with a hangover and finally to enjoy your drink, be it beer or wine, in the best way.