How to cut back on drinking beer

To cut back on drinking beer, first count your beers as standard drinks, because a 16 oz can of 7% IPA is almost two. Then make three changes: drink smaller and weaker beer (12 oz cans at 4–5% instead of pints of IPA), buy only the cans you plan to drink this week, and swap some beers for non-alcoholic beer, which tastes close and keeps the ritual. Set a number for each day you drink, and give the moments that usually come with a beer, the game, the grill, the end of the shift, a plan.

Why beer is easy to over-drink

• It's long and cold. Beer goes down like a soft drink on a hot day or after work, so it's drunk faster than wine or spirits.
• Strength varies a lot. A light lager can be about 4%; many IPAs are 6–7%, and double IPAs and imperial stouts can be 8% or more. "A beer" can mean almost anything.
• Sizes have grown. A standard drink of beer is 12 oz, but bars pour 16 oz pints and stores sell 16, 19.2 and 24 oz cans.
• It's sold by the case. A 12-pack or 30-rack in the fridge has no natural stopping point.
• It's tied to events. Football, barbecues, fishing, after a shift. Each comes with "a few beers," and few is rarely counted.

Step 1: Count your beer as standard drinks

In the US, one standard drink holds about 14 grams of alcohol (0.6 fl oz), which is 12 oz of 5% beer. To work out any beer: ounces × ABV ÷ 0.6. For example, a 16 oz can at 7%: 16 × 0.07 ÷ 0.6 = 1.9 drinks.

Now count a normal week: every beer, its size and its ABV (on the can). Four pints of IPA on a Saturday is about 7.5 standard drinks, which is over NIAAA's binge line for men (about 5 in two hours) and its heavy-drinking line for a day (more than 4). Many beer drinkers who think they have "three or four" are well past those lines.

For how your weekly total compares, see how many drinks a week is normal.

Step 2: Swap size and strength first

The easiest cut doesn't change how many beers you have; it changes what's in them.

• Pints to 12 oz. Same number of drinks in your hand, a quarter less beer.
• IPA to a 4–5% beer. A session IPA, pilsner, lager or light beer for most of the night, with your favorite strong beer as the one treat.
• Tallboys out. Buy 12 oz cans, not 19.2 or 24 oz cans. One big can is two or three drinks.

Example: four 16 oz pints of 7% IPA is about 7.5 standard drinks. Four 12 oz cans of 4.5% pilsner is 3.6. Same four beers, less than half the alcohol.

Step 3: Use non-alcoholic and light beer

Non-alcoholic beer is the most useful swap for beer drinkers, because it keeps the taste, the can and the ritual. It's improved a lot, and most bars and stores now carry several.

Ways to use it:

• Alternate. Regular, NA, regular, NA. You halve the alcohol and keep a beer in your hand all night.
• Make the first one NA. The first beer answers thirst and the "I'm done for the day" moment. An NA one does that job.
• Make weeknights NA. Keep regular beer for the weekend.

NA beer with up to 0.5% isn't right for everyone: people who are pregnant, in recovery or told by a doctor to avoid alcohol should choose 0.0 or talk to their doctor. Some NA beers are low in calories, others aren't; check the label. Our sober curious drinks guide covers NA beer, hop water and what each costs a serving.

Step 4: Change how beer gets into the house

• Buy for the week, not the month. Decide this week's number and buy that. A 6-pack of 5% beer is 6 standard drinks; a 30-rack is 30.
• Skip the case deal. The cheaper price per can is only cheaper if you'd drink them anyway.
• Keep only a few cold. Store the rest warm in the garage or a cupboard. A warm beer needs planning; a cold one is an impulse.
• Fill the fridge with NA beer and seltzer. When you open the fridge, the first can you see should be one you're happy to drink tonight.
• Don't buy on the way home. If the gas station stop is your cue, get gas in the morning.

For more on home habits, see how to drink less alcohol at home.

A plan for the moments that come with beer

Most beer drinkers have one or two of these that account for most of their week. The free drinking pattern quiz finds your main one in 2 minutes.

Pacing beer

• Eat first. Beer on an empty stomach hits faster and goes down faster.
• Water or seltzer between beers. It slows the pace and handles the thirst that makes the next beer go quickly.
• Pour into a glass. Sipping from a glass tends to be slower than from a can.
• Finish one before opening the next. Half-empty cans hide the count.
• About one an hour, at most. Your body clears roughly one standard drink an hour, often less; a strong pint is two.

A 4-week plan to cut back on beer

This plan starts from a common pattern: 1 beer on four weeknights and 4 on Friday and Saturday, mostly 16 oz at 6–7%. That's 12 beers, but about 21 standard drinks. Adjust it to your count.

If you drink a lot more than this every day, or feel ill when you skip a day, see a doctor before cutting down this fast. For a slower step-down, see how to cut down on alcohol gradually.

What about the beer belly?

A 12 oz regular beer has about 150 calories and a light beer about 100, by NIAAA's calorie calculator; strong craft beers have more. Five 16 oz IPAs can be over 1,000 calories, before the wings. Beer also tends to come with food: chips, pizza, late-night snacks. Cutting back helps on both sides. Our guide will drinking less help me lose weight? works out what cutting back saves a week.

What to say when someone hands you a beer

• "I'm good, I've got one." (Hold an NA beer; nobody checks.)
• "Just one tonight, I've got an early start."
• "I'm cutting back for a bit."
• "I'll grab my own in a minute."

You don't owe anyone a reason. Most people won't notice which can you're holding.

Mistakes that keep beer drinking high

• Counting cans, not drinks. A 16 oz IPA is two.
• Stocking a 30-rack. Whatever is cold gets drunk.
• Only cutting weekdays. Then Saturday becomes eight beers. Cap the day too.
• Thinking light beer is NA. It's still about 4%. Count it.
• No plan for game day. Three hours, a cooler and no number is a long afternoon.

For the full cutting-back method, see how to cut back on drinking alcohol; if you have a beer every day, how to cut back on daily drinking.

When to get more help

If you often drink far more beer than you meant to, need more to feel the same, drink in the morning, or feel shaky, sweaty or anxious without a drink, get more support, and see a doctor before cutting down quickly. The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator explains the options. SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open all day, every day: 1-800-662-4357.

Questions people ask

How many beers a day is too many?

NIAAA counts more than 4 drinks a day for men, or more than 3 for women, as heavy drinking, and binge drinking as about 5 (men) or 4 (women) in two hours. With strong beer, three pints can pass those lines. Less is better; there's no risk-free amount.

Is non-alcoholic beer a good way to cut back?

For many beer drinkers, yes: it keeps the taste and the ritual. It can have up to 0.5% alcohol, so people who must avoid alcohol fully should pick 0.0.

Is light beer better for cutting back?

A little. A 12 oz light beer is about 0.8 standard drinks instead of 1.0, with about a third fewer calories. Switching from IPA to a lighter beer saves much more.

How do I stop drinking beer every night?

Make one or two weeknights dry with NA beer or seltzer in the same spot and at the same time, keep only the week's planned cans in the house, and have a plan for the hour you usually open one.

How long does one beer take to wear off?

At least an hour for a 12 oz 5% beer, and longer for strong or large beers. Nothing speeds it up.

More on drinking less: all our drink-less guides.

Sources: NIAAA, Rethinking Drinking (what counts as a drink; drink size and calorie calculators; tips for cutting down). NIAAA, "Drinking Levels Defined" (heavy and binge drinking). Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), malt beverage labeling ("non-alcoholic" under 0.5% ABV; "alcohol-free"). We Are With You, "How to cut down on alcohol." The Jed Foundation, "10 Steps to Cut Back on Drinking." NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator. SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357. This guide is about habits and is not medical advice.