Beer Calories by Brand: 20+ Popular Beers Compared

The Big Comparison Table: Calories in 20+ Popular Beers

All values are per standard 12 oz serving. The C2AR (Calorie-to-Alcohol Ratio) score measures what percentage of the beer's total calories come from alcohol itself versus residual carbs and sugars. Higher is better -- an A+ means almost all your calories are doing work.

See the full beer database with 200+ brands ranked by score →

Light Beers: The Lowest Calorie Beers You Can Buy

American light lagers dominate the low end of the calorie spectrum. Michelob Ultra, Natural Light, Busch Light, and Miller Lite all sit at or below 96 calories per 12 oz. Coors Light and Bud Light land in the 102-110 range. Corona Light and Heineken Light are the main import options at 99 calories each.

The reason light beers are lower in calories is straightforward: they have less alcohol and fewer residual carbs. Most light lagers are 4.1-4.2% ABV compared to 4.6-5.0% for their regular counterparts. That 0.5-0.8% ABV difference translates to roughly 10-15 fewer calories from alcohol alone, and lighter brewing also reduces leftover malt sugars.

One thing worth noting: the calorie difference between the cheapest light beers (Natural Light, Busch Light) and the premium ones (Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite) is almost nothing -- they are all within 1-2 calories of each other. The price difference is entirely about branding.

Regular Domestic Beers: Where Carbs Start Adding Up

Move from a light lager to a standard domestic and the calories jump by 35-50 per can. Budweiser has 145 calories. Pabst Blue Ribbon has 144. Yuengling comes in at 135. The ABV increase from 4.2% to 4.5-5.0% adds about 15-20 calories from extra alcohol, and the remaining 15-30 calorie increase comes from higher residual carbohydrates.

Budweiser, for instance, has 10.6 grams of carbs per 12 oz compared to Bud Light's 6.6 grams. Those 4 extra grams of carbs account for about 16 additional calories. Combined with the higher ABV, you get a beer that is roughly 35 calories heavier per can. Over a six-pack, that is an extra 210 calories -- the equivalent of a full additional beer.

This is the practical reality of "light beer vs. regular beer" as a calorie question. The difference is real, but it is moderate. Switching from Budweiser to Bud Light saves you about 35 calories per beer. Switching from a regular domestic to a craft IPA, on the other hand, can save you 50-100+ calories per beer -- the category jump matters more than the light/regular distinction within the same category.

Imports: European Lagers and Mexican Beers

Popular imports fall right in line with domestic regular beers on calories, with some variation. Heineken and Stella Artois both sit around 141-142 calories at 5.0% ABV. Corona Extra is slightly higher at 148 calories despite a lower 4.6% ABV because it carries 13.9 grams of carbs -- among the highest of any standard lager.

Modelo Especial is similar to Corona Extra: 143 calories with 13.6 grams of carbs at 4.4% ABV. These Mexican lagers tend to have more residual sweetness from their malt profile, which pushes their carb count (and therefore their total calories) slightly higher relative to their alcohol content. Their C2AR scores reflect this -- both land at C+, meaning a meaningful chunk of their calories come from carbs rather than alcohol.

If you prefer imports and want to keep calories in check, Heineken and Stella Artois score better (B range) because their carb-to-ABV ratio is more favorable. The "light" import options -- Heineken Light at 99 calories and Corona Light at 99 calories -- are competitive with domestic lights, though Heineken Light drops to just 3.3% ABV to get there.

Craft Beer and IPAs: Why They Are Calorie Bombs

Craft beer is where the calorie counts start climbing fast. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has 175 calories per 12 oz. Lagunitas IPA hits 195. And those are relatively restrained examples -- many popular craft IPAs run 200-250 calories per can, and imperial or double IPAs regularly exceed 280-320 calories.

The reason is simple: higher ABV. A standard IPA at 6-7% ABV has roughly 40-60% more alcohol per serving than a 4.2% light lager. Since alcohol is 7 calories per gram, that extra alcohol alone adds 40-60 calories before you count a single carbohydrate.

Beyond ABV, craft beers also tend to have higher residual carbs. The grains, adjuncts, and brewing processes used in styles like IPAs, stouts, and wheat beers leave more unfermented sugars in the final product. Sam Adams Boston Lager has 18 grams of carbs per 12 oz -- almost triple the carbs in a Miller Lite. Blue Moon Belgian White has 13 grams. These are not mistakes in the recipe; the malt sweetness is part of the intended flavor profile.

The bottom line for craft beer fans: you are paying a calorie premium for flavor and strength. A four-beer evening of IPAs can easily cost 800+ calories, compared to 380-440 for the same number of light lagers. That is the tradeoff, and it is worth knowing before you order.

Stouts and Porters: Not as Heavy as You Think

There is a common assumption that dark beers are higher in calories than lighter ones. The color of a beer has almost nothing to do with its calorie content. Guinness Draught -- one of the most famous stouts in the world -- has just 125 calories per 12 oz. That is less than a regular Budweiser and only 15-30 calories more than most light beers.

Guinness achieves this because it is only 4.2% ABV and uses nitrogen (rather than heavy carbonation) to create its creamy texture. It is a full-flavored beer that happens to be relatively lean. At 125 calories and 9.8 grams of carbs, it scores a B on C2AR and sits comfortably between light beers and regular lagers in terms of calorie efficiency.

The stouts and porters that do run high in calories are the high-ABV craft versions -- imperial stouts at 8-12% ABV, barrel-aged porters, and anything with added chocolate, coffee, or lactose. These specialty beers can easily hit 250-350+ calories per 12 oz. But a standard-strength stout or porter in the 4-5% range will typically have fewer calories than a standard IPA.

Non-Alcoholic Beers: The Zero-ABV Option

Non-alcoholic beers typically contain 50-90 calories per 12 oz, with most coming from residual carbohydrates rather than alcohol. Brands like Athletic Brewing and Heineken 0.0 hover around 60-70 calories. Since they have little to no alcohol, their C2AR score is not applicable in the same way -- virtually all the calories are from carbs and malt sugars.

For calorie-conscious drinkers, non-alcoholic beer is the obvious winner on the raw numbers. But the GetDrunkNotFat philosophy is about optimizing the ratio of alcohol to total calories -- getting the most buzz for your calorie budget. If you are drinking to catch a buzz, non-alcoholic beer does not factor into that equation. If you are looking for a beer-flavored beverage with minimal caloric impact and no alcohol, it is an excellent option.

What Actually Drives Beer Calories

Across every style and brand in this comparison, two factors explain nearly all the variation in beer calories:

• ABV (alcohol by volume) -- This is the primary driver. Alcohol contributes 7 calories per gram. In a 12 oz beer at 5% ABV, alcohol alone accounts for about 98 calories. At 7% ABV, it accounts for about 137 calories. The ABV determines the floor for any beer's calorie count.
• Residual carbohydrates -- Unfermented malt sugars add 4 calories per gram. Light beers have 2-7 grams. Regular lagers have 10-14 grams. Craft beers can have 15-20+ grams. This is the secondary driver and explains why two beers at the same ABV can differ by 30-40 calories.

Fat and protein are negligible in virtually all beers. When you see a beer with 150 calories, somewhere around 90-110 of those are from alcohol and 30-60 are from carbs. That is the whole equation.