Glossary
Alcohol unit
In the United Kingdom, one unit is 10 ml (about 8 g) of pure ethanol — a way of expressing what a drink contains that is comparable across drinks of different strengths and sizes.
Also called units of alcohol, uk unit, standard drink.
Legal. Fixed in law, and only in the places named. It may differ elsewhere and change over time. Defined by UK Department of Health and Social Care. As recorded here it applies in United Kingdom.
Units are calculated as volume in litres multiplied by ABV. A pint of 4% bitter is 0.568 × 4 = 2.3 units; a pint of 5.5% lager is 3.1.
Definitions differ substantially by country. The United States uses a "standard drink" of about 14 g of ethanol, Australia about 10 g, and several European countries use figures between. A unit count is therefore meaningless without naming the jurisdiction it is expressed in.
BeerHQ reports what a drink contains. It draws no inference about the effect on any individual, which depends on factors no calculator can observe.
Commonly misunderstood
Unit counts are frequently quoted across borders as if they were universal. A "two standard drinks" figure means something different in the UK, the US and Australia.
Related
- ABV — The strength figure units are calculated from.
More vocabulary
ABV · ABW · Alkalinity · Alpha acid · Apparent attenuation · Attenuation · Beta acid · Cohumulone · Degrees Lovibond · Degrees Plato
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
BeerHQ reports what a drink contains and draws no inference about its effect on any individual, because effect depends on factors — body composition, food, medication, tolerance, time — that no calculator can observe.
BeerHQ’s own reading
The quantity of ethanol in a "standard drink" differs substantially by country — the United States uses roughly 14 g against the United Kingdom’s 8 g — so a drink count quoted without its jurisdiction is not interpretable.
Backed by a source Applies in United Kingdom and United States and Australia. Last checked 2026-08-16.
Sources: UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines; TTB malt beverage labeling regulations
A United Kingdom alcohol unit is defined as 10 ml, or about 8 g, of pure ethanol, and is calculated as volume in litres multiplied by ABV.
Checked against the source Applies in United Kingdom. Last checked 2026-08-16.
Sources: NHS — Calculating alcohol units, Section: "What is an alcohol unit?"; UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines