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Beer, bitter, average (<4% ABV)

Bitter beer is an alcoholic drink made by brewing cereals. These figures describe an average bitter with less than 4% alcohol by volume, based on canned, draught and bottled samples from different brewers. It provides energy mainly from alcohol and carbohydrate. Per 100ml, it contains 124 kJ of energy, 2.9g of alcohol and 2.2g of carbohydrate, all of which is sugar.

Alcohol contributes to energy intake even when a drink contains little fat, so both alcohol and sugar are relevant when considering this beer’s energy content. It contains only small amounts of protein and minerals, with trace amounts of fat and fibre. Full nutrient figures are given in the tables below.

Nutrition per 100ml

Nutrient

Per 100ml

Energy

30 kcal

Energy

124 kJ

Fat

Trace

of which saturates

Trace

Carbohydrate

2.2g

of which sugars

2.2g

Fibre

Trace

Protein

0.3g

Salt

0.02g

Alcohol

2.9g

Water

94g

Cholesterol

0mg

Vitamins and minerals per 100ml

Nutrient

Per 100ml

Vitamin A (retinol equivalent)

Trace

Vitamin D

0µg

Vitamin K1

Trace

Vitamin C

0mg

Thiamin (B1)

Trace

Riboflavin (B2)

0.03mg

Niacin (B3)

0.2mg

Vitamin B6

0.07mg

Vitamin B12

Trace

Folate

5µg

Calcium

8mg

Iron

0.1mg

Magnesium

7mg

Phosphorus

14mg

Potassium

32mg

Sodium

6mg

Zinc

0.1mg

Copper

0.01mg

Selenium

Trace

Other types of beer

Food

Calories per 100ml

Protein per 100ml

Fat per 100ml

Fibre per 100ml

Beer, bitter, strong (>5% ABV)

42 kcal

0.3g

Trace

Trace

Beer, bitter, best, premium

33 kcal

0.3g

Trace

Trace

Beer, bitter, canned

32 kcal

0.3g

Trace

–

Beer, bitter, draught

32 kcal

0.3g

Trace

–

Beer, bitter, keg

31 kcal

0.3g

Trace

–

Beer, bitter, low alcohol

13 kcal

0.2g

0g

–

Beer, mild, draught

24 kcal

0.2g

Trace

–

About these figures

Values are per 100ml of the food as described (<4% ABV. 5 samples from different brewers; canned, draught and bottled, including Boddingtons, John Smith, Greene King IPA, Tetley's and Caffrey's). "Trace" means only a very small amount was found. Nutrients that were not measured are not shown. Salt is calculated from sodium.

Further reading and references

  • Public Health England. McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021. GOV.UK.

Article history

The information on this page is written and peer reviewed by qualified clinicians.
  • 3 Nov 2026 | Latest version
  • 3 Nov 2026 | Originally published