How much alcohol is in a peg, a beer or a glass of wine?
A 30 ml peg of spirits is about one standard drink. A 650 ml bottle of strong beer is about four. You can calculate any drink from its size and label strength.
Facts last checked: 11 October 2026
In short
- In India, one standard drink is 10 grams of pure alcohol. A 30 ml peg of spirits at 42.8% is about one.
- A 650 ml bottle of strong beer at 8% is about 4 standard drinks. A 150 ml glass of wine at 12% is about 1.4.
- Read the strength on the label and measure your usual pour once. People often pour more than they think.
- No amount of alcohol is free of risk. Less is safer. Avoid liquor that has no label.
- If you drink heavily every day, do not stop suddenly. Speak to a doctor first. In an emergency, call 112.
Count the alcohol, not the glasses
Pegs, glasses and bottles differ in size, and drinks differ in strength. So counting glasses does not tell you how much alcohol you drank. What matters is the pure alcohol inside the drink.
Pure alcohol is measured in grams. The World Health Organization (WHO) counts 10 grams as one standard drink in AUDIT, its screening questions about drinking. India's food regulator, FSSAI, defines a standard drink as 12.7 ml of pure alcohol. That is the same amount: 12.7 x 0.789 = 10.0 grams.
How to calculate it from the label
Indian food rules say the label must show the alcohol content, as a percentage by volume (ABV) or as proof. ABV is the share of the liquid that is pure alcohol. Here are the steps for a 30 ml peg at 42.8%.
- Multiply the volume in ml by the strength as a fraction: 30 x 0.428 = 12.84 ml of pure alcohol.
- Multiply by 0.789, the weight in grams of 1 ml of pure alcohol: 12.84 x 0.789 = 10.1 grams.
- Divide the grams by 10 to get standard drinks: 10.1 / 10 is about 1.
If the label shows proof, divide it by 1.75131 to get the percentage. So 75 proof is 42.8%.
Common drinks in India, calculated
These examples use strengths recorded in a study in Delhi, Rajasthan and Goa, published in 2008. Indian-made spirits were 42.8%, regular beer 5% and strong beer 8%. A small peg was 30 ml. A standard peg was 40 ml in Delhi and Rajasthan, and 60 ml in Goa. The wine line is only an example. Indian food rules allow strong beer from above 5% up to 8%, so check your label. Each line shows grams, then standard drinks.
- Small peg of spirits, 30 ml at 42.8%: 10.1 grams, about 1.
- Peg, 40 ml at 42.8%: 13.5 grams, about 1.4.
- Peg, 60 ml at 42.8%: 20.3 grams, about 2.
- Patiala peg, 80 ml at 42.8%: 27.0 grams, about 2.7.
- Regular beer, 330 ml bottle at 5%: 13.0 grams, about 1.3.
- Regular beer, 650 ml bottle at 5%: 25.6 grams, about 2.6.
- Strong beer, 650 ml bottle at 8%: 41.0 grams, about 4.1.
- Wine, 150 ml glass at 12%: 14.2 grams, about 1.4.
One 650 ml bottle of strong beer has about as much alcohol as four small pegs.
Why your own count is often too low
A research review published in 2012 found that people usually pour more than a standard drink. So they drink more than they think. In the Indian study, 85 of 101 people in Delhi pointed to the 60 ml level on a glass as their usual peg. The standard peg there was 40 ml.
- Measure once. Pour your usual drink into a measuring cup.
- Count from the bottle. Note its size and how much is gone.
- Write it down the same day. Recoverly records each drink in ml.
One AUDIT question in the Recoverly self-check asks how often you have six or more drinks on one occasion. Six standard drinks is 60 grams. That is six 30 ml pegs, three 60 ml pegs, or about one and a half 650 ml bottles of strong beer. A self-check is screening, not a diagnosis.
No amount is free of risk
Counting does not give you a safe number. WHO says that no form of alcohol use is free of risk. There is risk even at low amounts, and it grows with the amount. The harm comes from the alcohol itself, not from the kind of drink.
Most harm comes from heavy drinking, on one occasion or over a long time. Drinking less lowers the risk. If you drink heavily every day, do not stop suddenly or cut down a lot on your own. Speak to a doctor first.
Liquor with no label
Home-made liquor and illegally sold liquor are usually less regulated, so you cannot be sure of the strength. In the Indian study, tests of home-distilled liquor in rural Rajasthan gave results from about 43% to 87%. WHO warns that such alcohol can be stronger and can contain poisons such as methanol, a much more toxic kind of alcohol.
It is very hard to tell methanol from ordinary alcohol by smell or taste. It can cause blindness or death, even in small amounts. India's National Crime Records Bureau recorded 617 deaths from illicit or spurious (fake) liquor in 2022. It is safer to avoid liquor of unknown origin.
If someone becomes ill after unlabelled liquor
Early signs can be nausea, vomiting, headache and dizziness. Later, vision can become blurred. Signs can start 2 to 48 hours after drinking, or sooner after a large amount. Do not wait. Call 112 or go to the nearest hospital.
If your count worries you
Do not stop suddenly on your own
If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be medically dangerous. Withdrawal can cause seizures and delirium tremens, a severe state with sudden confusion, fever and seeing things that are not there. Speak to a doctor before you stop or cut down a lot. For a seizure or severe confusion, call 112.
Take your written count to the doctor. To talk to a counsellor for free, call Tele-MANAS on 14416 or 1-800-891-4416. The national de-addiction helpline, 14446, is also toll-free. Families can call it too.
Support, not medical advice
Recoverly helps you reflect on your habits — it is not medical care. If you drink heavily, stopping suddenly can be dangerous (withdrawal can cause seizures). Please talk to a doctor before making big changes to how much you drink.
Sources
This guide was written from the public health pages below. They are in English.
- AUDIT: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Guidelines for Use in Primary Care (second edition) · World Health Organization
- Alcohol (fact sheet, 28 June 2024) · World Health Organization
- No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health · World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe
- Alcohol, heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) past 30 days · World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory
- 10 areas governments could work with to reduce the harmful use of alcohol · World Health Organization
- Epidemiological Alert: Methanol poisoning risk, 7 October 2025 · Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization
- Alcohol and your health (flip chart) · World Health Organization, South-East Asia; developed by the WHO Collaborating Centre at the Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi
- Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018 (compendium, Version IV, 27.08.2025) · Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Government of India
- Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2022, Table 1.7 (All India) · National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
- Not All Drinks Are Created Equal: Implications for Alcohol Assessment in India · Nayak MB, Kerr W, Greenfield TK, Pillai A. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2008;43(6):713-718 (PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine)
- Understanding standard drinks and drinking guidelines · Kerr WC, Stockwell T. Drug and Alcohol Review, 2012;31(2):200-205 (PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine)
- Ethanol (compound summary, CID 702), Density section · PubChem, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
- What Is A Standard Drink? · National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), US National Institutes of Health
- Alcohol-use disorder · NHS
- Alcohol withdrawal · MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine
- National Mental Health Programme (Tele MANAS) · Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
- The Digital India: 11 Years of Transformation (explainer, 27 June 2026, naming the Tele MANAS numbers) · Press Information Bureau, Government of India
- Helpline directory · National Portal of India, Government of India
- National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction · Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
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