Skip to content
BrewMyBeer
Your account

Measure, understand, improve

Beer calorie and carb calculator

Calories per 100 mL ≈ 6.9 × alcohol by weight + 4 × (real extract − 0.1). A beer from 1.050 to 1.010 works out at about 162 kcal and 15 g of carbohydrate per 355 mL (12 US fl oz). It is an estimate, not a nutrition label.

BrewMyBeer Editorial Team · Sources checked 24 September 2026 · Calculated examples, not laboratory measurements. How we create content

Interactive tool

Calculate your batch

Change the example values. Inputs stay in your browser, and your last inputs are remembered here.

The reading before fermentation, corrected for temperature.

The reading after fermentation, corrected for temperature.

355 mL is a 12 US fl oz bottle; 568 mL is a UK pint; 330 mL is a common can or bottle.

Where the calories come from

Brew Your Own sets out the formula from The Oxford Companion to Beer: about 6.9 kcal per gram of alcohol plus 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate, with real extract minus about 0.1 for ash standing in for the carbohydrate. Alcohol by weight is ABV × 0.79, the density of ethanol.

Real extract is the sugar and dextrin left in the beer. The Balling estimate weights the original extract by 0.18 and the apparent (final) extract by 0.82, with both readings in °Plato. The calculator converts your gravities to °Plato with the same SG–Brix polynomial as the gravity converter, and estimates ABV as (OG − FG) × 131.25.

How far to trust the number

The same article says the real-extract formula is most accurate when real attenuation is near 65%, and that full-bodied and very dry beers deviate more. The 0.1 ash figure is itself an approximation.

Readings must be temperature-corrected, and anything added after the final gravity reading, such as priming sugar or fruit, is not counted. Use the result for brewing notes and comparisons between your own batches, not for a label or a diet plan.

Before you use the result

  • Enter measured, temperature-corrected gravities, not recipe targets.
  • Very dry or very full-bodied beers are the least accurate.
  • Additions after the final reading are not included.
  • For adults of legal drinking age. This tool describes a batch or a beer, not its effect on a person.

A quick learning check

Two beers start at the same gravity. Why might the drier one have fewer calories?

Try a craft decision game →

Sources & further reading

These references explain the methods and limitations. The worked examples and learning questions on this page are BrewMyBeer calculations, not claims of hands-on testing.