You’re enjoying a glass of Chardonnay while your pal sips a cold pilsner and the thought crosses your mind—how many beers equal a bottle of wine?
Using an average ABV (alcohol by volume) for each, gives us an approximate and easy answer to the query. However, if you take into consideration that wine and beer vary greatly in ABV—especially with the explosion in craft beers—the answer to this question is not so straightforward.
Don’t worry. We’re here to provide you with some clarity on wine vs. beer alcohol content …
In the United States, one “standard” drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent) contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in: 12 ounces of regular beer, which is usually about 5% alcohol. 5 ounces of wine, which is typically about 12% alcohol. 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, which is about 40% alcohol.
How Many Drinks in a Bottle of Wine?
Since a standard wine bottle is 750 ml and an average glass of wine is 5 oz., a bottle of wine holds five glasses of wine—unless you’re going heavy on the pour!
This means that a bottle of wine at 12% ABV (our Select Sweet Traverse Red wine is 12.5%) holds the equivalent of five beers – assuming we’re talking about a 12 oz. bottle or can of a 5% ABV beer (like Budweiser).
How Many Beers in a Bottle of Wine
Okay, okay! So now you’re getting it! But beer can also come in different-sized containers. What if you’re having pints of Miller Lite at the bar? What then?
The ABV for the Miller Lite remains at 4.2%, but a pint is 16 oz. (or 473ml). This gives the pint 2.0 alcohol units. If we do the same math with this new figure, we find one bottle of 2018 Late Harvest Riesling is equal to 3.8 pints of Miller Lite.
You can use these equations to determine the comparative ratios for any wines and beers you please.
What if we start getting into wines or beers that have higher alcohol content?
To do that, let’s take the Chateau Grand Traverse Cherry “Port” Reserve, which has an ABV 18.5% and a smaller volume of 375 ml. Now let’s match it up to a 12 oz. can (354 ml) of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, which has a relatively potent ABV of 7%.
The Cherry Port has 6.9 units of alcohol per bottle. The Two Hearted has 2.5 units of alcohol per can. This means that one half-sized bottle of Cherry “Port” Reserve is equal to almost three (2.8) cans of Two Hearted.
Does 1 Beer = 1 Glass of Wine = 1 Shot of Hard Liquor? The Math of a Standard Drink
FAQ
Does a 5 ounce glass of wine have the same percent of alcohol than one bottle of beer?
Is a 5 ounce glass of wine the same alcohol as a 12-ounce beer?
How much vodka is equivalent to a glass of wine?
Is 5 ounces of wine a lot?