A pint of Guinness Draught has about 199 calories. That comes from Guinness’s own GB site, which lists Draught at 35kcal per 100ml, multiplied up to a UK pint of 568ml. The Telegraph lands on the same number.
PerfectDraft calls it “a common misconception that darker beers contain more calories”. At 4.2%, BBC Good Food says Guinness is weaker than many of the beers on tap, and Healthline estimates that alcohol makes up roughly 62% of its calories. The NHS says alcohol has 7 calories per gram, almost as many as fat.
Guinness against its own range and a lager
| Drink | Strength | Calories per 100ml | About per pint | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guinness Draught | 4.2% | 35 | 199 | Guinness GB |
| Guinness Hop House 13 Lager | 4.1% | 35 | 199 | Guinness GB |
| San Miguel | not given | 49 | 278 | The Telegraph |
| Guinness Smooth | 4.5% | 57 | 324 | Guinness GB |
| Guinness Foreign Extra Stout | 7.5% | 64 | 364 | Guinness GB |
| Guinness 0.0 | 0% | 17 | 97 | Guinness GB |
Per-pint figures are the per-100ml number times 5.68. The sources don’t agree on how big the gap to lager is. The NHS puts a pint of 5% beer at up to 222 calories, and BBC Good Food says premium 5% beers “may provide 220 or more”. The Telegraph’s San Miguel figure works out at about 278 a pint. Dietitian Aisling Pigott told the Telegraph that Guinness’s lower count is mainly down to its lower strength, and that roasted barley rather than added sugar also helps.
Why you’ll see 210, 200 and 125
The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin says a pint has “approximately 210 calories”, and BBC Good Food says 200. The Storehouse doesn’t say how it gets 210. This page uses 199 because it’s the per-100ml figure Guinness publishes for the UK, multiplied by 568ml.
The lower numbers are for smaller servings. Guinness’s own FAQ points out that the count depends on serving size. Healthline’s 125 is for a 12-ounce (355ml) serving of Guinness Original, and PerfectDraft gives 125 to 155 for a 440ml serving. Neither is a pint.
Guinness 0.0
Guinness 0.0 is 17kcal per 100ml, according to Guinness, which works out at about 97 a pint. That’s less than half the calories of the full-strength pint.
Units
The NHS formula for units is strength times volume divided by a thousand. For a pint of Guinness Draught that’s 4.2 times 568, divided by a thousand, so about 2.4 units. The Telegraph gives 2.3. To keep health risks low, the NHS advises not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week, spread over 3 or more days. It says that’s about 6 pints of average-strength beer.
Is Guinness good for you?
The Royal College of Physicians says “Guinness is good for you” dates from the 1920s, when Guinness first started advertising, and that the company wrote to every doctor in the UK asking for their views. The London Museum says the ad agency Benson’s won the account in 1928, and the line came from asking drinkers in pubs why they drank it.
It was believed to be rich in iron, and the Telegraph says it was once recommended to pregnant women, surgery patients and blood donors. The Telegraph rates the iron claim “Fiction”. Pigott says Guinness has only trace amounts, and that “it would take 60 pints of Guinness to hit your daily iron requirements from the stout alone.”
BBC Good Food notes it contains polyphenols that may help gut bacteria. The Telegraph rates the gut-health claim “Fiction” too, and Pigott says any such benefits “are likely to be counteracted by alcohol, which can disrupt gut health when consumed above moderation.”
BBC Good Food also warns that alcohol “even at low levels increases the risk of certain cancers.” And the Royal College of Physicians says that, as with other alcoholic drinks, “there is no firm evidence drinking it will improve your health.”
Where to find a well-kept pint
The best Guinness in London ranks pubs on Google reviews, published guides, Reddit and Guinness’s own Harp Guide, and the best pubs in London has the rest.