How many calories in a pint of beer?
It is a water-based drink, therefore the calorific value for a classic beer with 5% alcohol is no more calorific than a fruit juice or cow's milk! Of course, you can get stronger beers, so the answer becomes more nuanced in this case.
Beer is not necessarily more calorific than any other alcoholic beverage per 100 ml. However, the quantities consumed may be higher. The pint for example is 568.26ml, whereas a medium glass of wine is 175ml. That's more than three times the volume!
How many units in a pint of beer?
One unit is the equivalent to 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. Alcoholic drinks vary in strengths and sizes; therefore, a standard measure or “unit” is a universal way to determine how strong a drink is.
There are 2.3 units in a pint (568ml) of 4% beer 1.6 units in a bottle (330 ml) of 5% beer.
In other words, 6 pints of 4% beer equals 14 units. 6 glasses of wine also equates to 14 units. The percentage is higher (avg 13%) but the volume is lower (175ml).
What is craft beer?
Funnily enough, there’s no official or clear definition for ‘craft beer’ although there is one for ‘craft brewer’, even though we don’t say that ‘craft beer is brewed by craft brewers’. A craft brewer is ‘small, traditional and independent'. But even Heineken started out that way.
Perhaps a definition isn’t necessary: craft beers are immediately recognisable by their taste and appearance. The craft beer revolution lives in the heart of the beer drinker and that is where the battle has long been fought!
Who invented beer? When was beer born?
Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages. The traces of its existence date back to around 4000 BC in Mesopotamia, at the dawn of cereal agriculture. Spontaneous fermentation can take place with wild yeasts found in the air and the sugars found in most cereals. Therefore, it is reported that drinks resembling beer were independently developed globally after the domestication of cereal.
At the time it was called ‘liquid bread’. Recent new discoveries show that it would even date back 13,000 years! Traces of a fermented cereal-based beverage have recently been discovered in Israel in the Raqefet cave south of Haifa.
Plato is famously recorded to say, "he was a wise man who invented beer." It is therefore poignant to mention that; it was women who invented the ‘liquid bread’. Men were destined for hunting, or war if necessary. Not only that, but the contributions of women throughout brewing history has been pivotal to informing and shaping many processes we still use to brew today.
Where in the world do they drink the most beer (per capita)?
World consumption of beer is 200 billion litres, about 30 litres per year, per capita on land. Brits get a bad reputation for drinking, but actually the UK is 25th in the world, with a consumption rate of 67.7 litres per capita.
The world champions are the Czechs with 145 litres per year per capita. The next country down is Namibia with 108 per capita. The Czech Republic has been at the top of the per capita beer drinking table for 24 consecutive years now!
Litres per Capita (2019 - Source: telegaph.co.uk)
1. Czech Republic: 143.3 L
2. Namibia: 108 L
3. Austria: 106 L
4. Germany: 104.2 L
5. Poland: 100.8 L
6. Ireland: 98.2 L
7. Romania: 94.1 L
8. Seychelles: 90 L
9. Estonia: 89.5 L
10. Lithuania: 88.7 L