How Many Beers Would You Have To Drink To Equal A Bottle Of Wine?

When it comes to beverage categories, beer and wine are often paired together, since when compared to higher alcohol-by-volume (ABV) drinks such as spirits, they tend to be on the lower scale of alcohol content. And though they live in the same general sphere, beer and wine are quite different when it comes to ABV, along with their serving and bottle sizes. Since wine comes in 750-milliliter bottles, while beer usually comes in 12-ounce cans (or 355 milliliters), just how many servings of beer would you have to take down to equal a whole bottle of wine in terms of booze?

The answer isn't as simple as matching liquid volume, because the alcohol content between beer and wine can be quite different. Your typical mass-market beer, like a Budweiser (Budweiser surprisingly owns craft breweries as well), will run you around 5% alcohol per 355-milliliter can. Wine, on the other hand, generally starts at a higher alcohol content. Most bottles of wine, which typically contain 750 milliliters, hover around 12% to 14% ABV, with a general serving size considered 5 ounces, or about 148 milliliters. So if you do the equivalency math, a bottle of 12% ABV wine has about the same amount of alcohol as approximately five servings of 5% ABV beer.

The five beer to one bottle of wine conversion is an easy-to-remember alcohol measuring stick, but since there are so many varieties of beer and wine out there, it's not exactly a one-size-fits-all answer. In terms of beer, some ABV can run as low as 2.5%, while other varieties such as imperial stouts can reach a whopping 15% alcohol and up, which matches the strength of some wines.

Wine's ABV can vary widely as well. Moscato d'Asti is on the low end, starting at 5.5% alcohol, while sherry, port, and madeira, can go all the way up to 20% alcohol — but I consider those more for sipping on (or for cooking with; we like port wine in this Poached Pear Seafoam Salad). So if you're monitoring your alcohol intake in one drinking session, it's more important for you to think about each in terms of standard drink sizes.

In that vein, a 12-ounce pour with 5% ABV, a 5 ounce glass of wine at 12% ABV, and 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits at 40% ABV all count as one serving of each drink. (When it comes to the ABV of cocktails, however, they can vary widely depending on their ingredients.) So if you're going to enjoy any of these drinks, let's not make it a competition, shall we? I'd rather you drink responsibly, have a good time, and get home safe without suffering a hangover the next day.