How Many Calories in a Pint of Guinness?
The official nutrition information on guinness.com lists Guinness Draught at 35 kcal per 100 ml, with 3 g of carbohydrate and 0 g of fat per 100 ml, at 4.2% ABV. Guinness 0.0 is 17 kcal per 100 ml, with 3.8 g of carbohydrate and 0 g of fat, at 0% ABV.
Everything below is worked out from those per-100 ml figures.
| Serving | Guinness Draught | Guinness 0.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 100 ml (label) | 35 kcal | 17 kcal |
| Half pint (284 ml) | ~99 kcal | ~48 kcal |
| Can (440 ml) | ~154 kcal | ~75 kcal |
| Pint (568 ml) | ~199 kcal | ~97 kcal |
Did you know?
Guinness looks and feels like a heavy beer, but the dark colour comes from roasted barley rather than anything calorific. The per-100 ml figure is what to compare against other drinks; check the label of whatever you are comparing it with.
Guinness 0.0 vs Guinness Draught
| Per 100 ml | Guinness 0.0 | Guinness Draught | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 17 kcal | 35 kcal | about 51% less |
| Carbohydrate | 3.8 g | 3 g | +0.8 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g | Same |
| ABV | 0% | 4.2% |
Per pint that is roughly 97 kcal against 199 kcal, a saving of about 100 kcal a pint. Over three pints, choosing 0.0 saves roughly 300 kcal.
Alcohol contributes calories but no carbohydrate, which is why 0.0 has fewer calories but slightly more carbs.
Pro Tip
If you are watching your intake but still want the pub, alternating 0.0 and Draught is a practical option. Guinness 0.0 is now on draught in a growing number of UK pubs; see where Guinness 0.0 is on draught.
Other Guinness Variants
Guinness makes several other stouts. The official UK nutrition pages for these were not available to check when this guide was updated, so we have not listed calorie figures for them. What we can say:
- Guinness Extra Stout is 4.2–4.3% ABV in Ireland and the UK (5.0% in continental Europe and Scandinavia, 5.6% in the US and Canada).
- Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is 7.5% ABV in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and the US.
Higher ABV generally means more calories, because the alcohol itself is calorific. Check the label on the bottle for the exact figure.
Alcohol Units
The NHS formula for units is strength (ABV) x volume (ml) / 1,000.
| Serving | Units (4.2% Guinness Draught) |
|---|---|
| Half pint (284 ml) | ~1.2 |
| Can (440 ml) | ~1.8 |
| Pint (568 ml) | ~2.4 |
UK Chief Medical Officers' guidance is that it is safest not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week, and that if you do drink that much it is best to spread it over three or more days with some drink-free days. Fourteen units is a little under six pints of Guinness Draught a week.
For more on units and drinking guidelines, see Drinkaware.
A Weekly Guinness Habit
| Weekly intake | Calories (Draught) | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 2 pints | ~398 kcal | ~4.8 |
| 4 pints | ~796 kcal | ~9.5 |
| 6 pints | ~1,193 kcal | ~14.3 |
Warning
These figures are for the beer alone. Pub snacks, crisps and the post-pub takeaway are where the rest of the calories come from.
"Guinness Is Good for You": The Health Claims
Guinness ran the "Guinness is Good for You" campaign from the 1920s. It came out of market research in which people told the company they felt good after a pint, and the slogan itself was written by Dorothy L. Sayers. It was advertising, not medicine.
The 2003 Wisconsin study
The study most often quoted in support of Guinness being healthy was presented by Professor John Folts of the University of Wisconsin at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando in November 2003. It was carried out on laboratory dogs with artificially induced hardening of the arteries, and it compared Guinness with Heineken.
The reported result was that Guinness was "twice as good as Heineken" at reducing the risk of the blood clots that can lead to heart attacks. That is a comparison between two beers in dogs, at a conference, not a finding that Guinness protects people from heart disease. Guinness's own spokesperson at the time, Pat Barry, said the study was "interesting and pleasing" but that "it isn't something we promote".
Iron
Guinness does not list iron on its UK nutrition information, and there is no reason to treat it as an iron source. The dark colour comes from roasted barley.
The honest answer
Is Guinness good for you? No. It is an alcoholic drink, and no alcoholic drink is a health food. The neutral facts are the ones on the label: 35 kcal per 100 ml, 3 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 4.2% ABV, about 2.4 units a pint. Enjoy it for what it is and keep an eye on the units.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories in a half pint of Guinness? About 99 kcal for Draught and about 48 kcal for 0.0, based on the per-100 ml label figures.
Is Guinness keto-friendly? A pint of Draught has roughly 17 g of carbohydrate and a pint of 0.0 roughly 22 g. Neither fits a strict keto approach.
Why does Guinness 0.0 have more carbs than regular Guinness? Alcohol contains calories but no carbohydrate. Removing it lowers the calorie count without lowering the carbohydrate, so per 100 ml the 0.0 ends up slightly higher in carbs.
Does Guinness contain fat? No. Both Guinness Draught and Guinness 0.0 list 0 g of fat per 100 ml.
Sources
- Guinness Draught nutrition information — 35 kcal, 3 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat per 100 ml; 4.2% ABV
- Guinness 0.0 nutrition information — 17 kcal, 3.8 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat per 100 ml; 0% ABV
- NHS: Calculating alcohol units — units formula and the 14-units-a-week guidance
- Drinkaware: UK low risk drinking guidelines — spread drinking over three or more days
- Irish Times: Scientist details in black and white why stout gets hearty approval — the 2003 Wisconsin study
- Wikipedia: Guinness — "Guinness is Good for You" campaign; Extra Stout and Foreign Extra Stout ABV by market
Want to know more about the differences between Guinness types? Read our complete guide to every type of Guinness or our Guinness 0.0 vs regular comparison.
