Standard Drink Converter

The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines a standard drink as any beverage containing 14 grams (0.6 fluid ounces) of pure alcohol. That single figure makes wildly different drinks comparable on the same scale. The calculator multiplies your beverage volume by the ABV and ethanol's density (0.789 g/mL), then divides by 14 g to give you the standard-drink count, so a 16 oz craft IPA at 7% ABV (about 1.9 US standard drinks) is plainly stronger than a 12 oz domestic lager at 5% (1.0 US standard drink) even though the can sizes look similar.

The calculator divides the same pure-alcohol total by a different reference size. It uses 14 g for the US, 8 g for the UK, 10 g for Australia and Japan, and 13.45 g for Canada. Changing the country changes the displayed standard-drink count, not the amount of alcohol in the beverage.

Because each one delivers roughly 14 g of pure alcohol despite the very different serving sizes. A 12 fl oz beer at 5% ABV, a 5 fl oz glass of wine at 12% ABV, and a 1.5 fl oz shot of 40% spirits all land within a hair of 14 g once you apply ethanol's 0.789 g/mL density. The math: 355 mL beer * 0.789 * 0.05 = 14.0 g, 148 mL wine * 0.789 * 0.12 = 14.0 g, 44 mL spirits * 0.789 * 0.40 = 14.0 g. That equivalence is the whole reason the standard-drink unit exists.

The input represents one single occasion. For men, the calculator compares the amount with 2 US standard drinks for the daily moderation amount and 5 for the heavy-drinking daily and binge amount. For women, it uses 1 and 4. The binge label applies only if the amount is consumed in about 2 hours. The calculator does not ask how often you drink, so it does not make a weekly comparison.

The calculator marks 5 or more US standard drinks for men or 4 or more for women as a binge amount if consumed in about 2 hours. It classifies the entered alcohol amount only. It does not know the actual drinking time, food intake, medications, or individual metabolism, so the label and optional BAC estimate cannot determine impairment or driving safety.