Alcoholic Drinks & Grams of Alcohol

                          by Eric Roehm, MD
The amount of alcohol equal to a standard drink varies in different countries. In the United States, 14 grams of alcohol is commonly used to define a standard drink. 

The amount of alcohol in grams is determined by the volume of the beverage and the percentage of alcohol present.

The alcohol percentage varies for different wines, beers and hard liquors. The percentage of alcohol present is often listed on the container (or available on the Internet)

For hard liquors, the “proof” may be listed. In the United States, the proof of a liquor is double the alcohol concentration. For example, 80 proof vodka is 40% alcohol by volume.

Calculator for Grams of Alcohol & Number of Drinks

                   To Use Calculator:
1. Enter ounces of beverage and percentage of alcohol.
2. Touch or L click on “Grams of alcohol in beverage”.

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Examples of One Standard Drink in USA (14g)- sample calculations

Wine:
5 fluid oz of wine
Alcohol % varies. If alcohol content is 12.0% by volume:
5 x 29.5735 x 0.12 x .789 ≈ 14 grams of alcohol

Beer:
Beer 12 fluid ounces
Alcohol % varies. If alcohol content is 5.0% by volume:
12 x 29.5735 x 0.05 x .789 ≈ 14 grams of alcohol

Liquor:
1.5 fluid oz of 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof)
1.5 x 29.5735 x 0.40 x .789 ≈ 14 grams of alcohol

One US fluid ounce ≈ 29.5735 ml
1 ml of water = 1gram of weight
Ethanol density ≈ 0.789 g/cm³

Beverage manufacturers routinely list alcohol as the percentage of alcohol by volume, which is the unit needed for these calculations. The % of alcohol can be found on the container or listed on the web.

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