What is the formula for calculating the units in a drink?

Q: What unit is used to measure how much alcohol is in a drink?

As an example, a pint of average strength beer (4% alcohol by volume, or ABV – see below for explanation) has about two units in it, while a single measure (25ml) of typical spirits is one unit.

ALCOHOL UNIT CALCULATOR

A unit of alcohol can be calculated using the following formula:[Volume (mls) x Alcohol by Volume ABV (%)] / 1000

For example, 250ml of 12% ABV wine will be:
[250 x 12 = 3000] / 1000 = 3 units.
For those not that keen on formulas, please use the alcohol unit calculator below, which will do the math for you.

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ALCOHOL UNIT CALCULATOR
A unit of alcohol can be calculated using the following formula:[Volume (mls) x Alcohol by Volume ABV (%)] / 1000
Check your units
What is the formula for calculating a standard drink?
What unit is used to measure how much alcohol is in a drink?
What is 2 units of alcohol in mL?
How many drinks is 8 units?

Alternatively, take the Alcohol Test, where you can calculate the amount of units and calories you drink in a typical day AND see how risky your drinking is. Or, why not download our free DrinkCoach App, where you can track the amount of units, calories and cost of what you are drinking over a longer time period.

Units provide a simple way for us to calculate the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink using its strength and size.

One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. You can work out how much alcohol is in your drink - based on its strength and size - by using the following equation:

strength (alcohol by volume or ABV) x the volume of the drink (in millilitres) ÷ 1,000 = the total number of units in your drink

So to find the number of units in a pint of 4% ABV beer, calculate:

4 (ABV%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units

For a medium-sized glass of 13% ABV wine calculate:

13 (ABV%) x 175 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units

To make things a little quicker, use our unit calculator or check the table below:

Type of drink	Number of alcohol units
Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 3.6%)	2 units
Pint of ordinary-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 4%)	2.3 units
Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 5.2%)	3 units
Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%)	1.7 units
Can of lager/beer/cider (500ml, ABV 5.5%)	2.8 units
Small glass of wine (125ml, ABV 13%)	1.6 units
Standard glass of wine (175ml, ABV 13%)	2.3 units
Large glass of wine (250ml, ABV 13%)	3.3 units
Alcopop (275ml, ABV 4.5%)	1.5 units
Single shot of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%)	1 unit
Double shot of spirits (50ml, ABV 40%)	2 units

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers have published guidelines on the maximum amount of alcohol adults should drink across a week to keep health risks to a low level. See here:

Check your units

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Last edited 10/2019 and last reviewed 03/2020

These are measures related to the alcoholic content of different drinks. A unit of alcohol is 10ml of pure ethanol - that is, near enough 8g of alcohol (equivalent to 10 mL of pure ethanol) (1).

Calculating units of alcohol:

alcohol by volume or ABV is used to measure the amount of pure alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of liquid in a drink
number of units in a drink = total volume of a drink ( in milllitres) x ABV (%)/ 1000
units calculator to find out how many units there are in a single drink or in a number of drinks is available at http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Alcohol-unit-calculator.aspx
the amount of units will vary based on different preparations of beer/lager. Some additional information regarding units of alcohol with respect to different beverages is presented below (2):

a pint of ordinary strength lager (Carling Black Label, Fosters) - 2 units
a pint of strong lager (Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664) - 3 units
a pint of ordinary bitter (John Smith's, Boddingtons) - 2 units
a pint of best bitter (Fuller's ESB, Young's Special) - 3 units
cider
- a pint of ordinary strength cider (Woodpecker) - 2 units

a pint of strong cider (Dry Blackthorn, Strongbow) - 3 units

one small (125 ml) glass of wine at 9% is one unit - however a 175ml glass of red or white wine is around 2 units
an alcopop (eg Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezer, WKD, Reef) - around 1.5 units
one small sherry 1 unit

one measure of spirit 1 unit
one bottle of vodka 32 units

today the labels of many bottled drinks will tell you how many units of alcohol are in the bottle

Emphasising relationship between %ABV and volume of alcohol consumed (3):

Reference:

(1) Day E, Copello A, Hull M. Assessment and management of alcohol use disorders. BMJ. 2015;350:h715
(2) Department of Health (May 2007). Alcohol and health
(3) Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Food Fact - Diabetes and Alcohol (Accessed 16/10/19)

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What is the formula for calculating a standard drink?

Magic Formula is # ml x alcohol % divided by 17 = Total # standard drinks. Example: How many standard drinks are in a 750 milliliter bottle of a 12% beverage? Answer: 750 ml x 0.12 % / 17 = 5.3 standard drinks in the bottle.

What unit is used to measure how much alcohol is in a drink?

As an example, a pint of average strength beer (4% 'alcohol by volume', or ABV – see below for explanation) has about two units in it, while a single measure (25ml) of typical spirits is one unit.

What is 2 units of alcohol in mL?

A medium (175 ml) glass has about two units.

How many drinks is 8 units?

Eight units is equivalent to drinking: Three large glasses of (250ml) of 12% ABV wine or three pints of 5% ABV beer or cider or eight shots 40% proof clear spirits.