How Strong Is Your Beer? The ABV of Popular Lagers (and Their 0.0% Versions)
Published June 2026 · 7-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
If you've ever turned a can over to check how strong your lager actually is — before a long evening or just out of curiosity — you're not alone. Here's the ABV of Britain's most popular lagers, what that means in units, and the 0.0% alcohol-free version of each, for the nights you'd rather wake up clear-headed.
Beer strength at a glance
Alcohol by volume (ABV) is the percentage of a drink that is pure alcohol. For mainstream lager it is a surprisingly narrow band — the difference between the "lightest" and "strongest" big-brand lager is barely a single percentage point. Here is how the popular brands compare, alongside the alcohol-free version of each.
| Beer | Standard ABV | Alcohol-free version | AF ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birra Moretti | 4.6% | Birra Moretti Zero | 0.0% |
| San Miguel | 5.0% (UK) | San Miguel 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Asahi Super Dry | 5.0% | Asahi Super Dry 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Peroni Nastro Azzurro | 5.0% | Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Corona Extra | 4.5% | Corona Cero | 0.0% |
| Heineken | 5.0% | Heineken 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Madrí Excepcional | 4.6% | Madrí Excepcional 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Estrella Damm | 5.4% (4.6% UK) | Free Damm | 0.0% |
| Estrella Galicia | 5.5% | Estrella Galicia 0.0 | 0.0% |
San Miguel is 5.0% as brewed for the UK by Carlsberg; the imported Spanish version is 5.4%. Asahi Super Dry is now 5.0% in the UK, reduced from 5.2%. Estrella Damm is 5.4% in Spain but 4.6% in its UK-brewed form. Figures are for the standard product and can vary slightly by format and market — always check the can.
How strong is Birra Moretti?
Standard Birra Moretti (L'Autentica) is 4.6% ABV — one of the lighter mainstream lagers, a touch below the 5% mark most of its rivals hit. A 568ml pint works out at roughly 2.6 UK units; a 330ml bottle is about 1.5. The alcohol-free version, Birra Moretti Zero, is sold as 0.0% (Heineken, which owns the brand, states no more than 0.05% ABV) and keeps the same crisp, lightly floral character.
How strong is San Miguel?
It depends which one you have. The San Miguel Especial brewed for the UK is 5.0% ABV; the imported Spanish original is stronger at 5.4%. If you're drinking it in a British pub or supermarket, it's almost certainly the 5.0% version. The alcohol-free option is San Miguel 0.0 at 0.0% ABV.
How strong is Asahi Super Dry?
Asahi Super Dry is 5.0% ABV in the UK — recently reduced from the 5.2% it carried for years, a change long-time drinkers noticed. It keeps the signature dry, clean "Karakuchi" finish. For the same character without the alcohol, Asahi Super Dry 0.0 is brewed to 0.0% ABV.
How strong is Peroni?
The Peroni most people mean — Peroni Nastro Azzurro — is 5.0% ABV in the UK, the same as San Miguel and Heineken. (The original Italian "Peroni" is a separate, lighter beer at around 4.7%.) The alcohol-free version, Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0, comes in at 0.0% with the same dry, citrusy edge.
How strong is Corona?
Corona Extra is 4.5% ABV in the UK (4.6% in the United States) — the lightest of the popular imported lagers, which is part of why it drinks so easily with a wedge of lime. The alcohol-free version is Corona Cero at 0.0% ABV.
How strong is Madrí Excepcional?
Madrí Excepcional is 4.6% ABV. Despite the Spanish styling, it's a British beer — brewed by Molson Coors in Tadcaster and Burton, and one of the UK's best-selling lagers since its 2020 launch. The alcohol-free version, Madrí Excepcional 0.0, is 0.0% ABV.
Which of these beers are vegan?
Most big lagers are now vegan — brewed without isinglass (a fish-derived fining) — but not all. Here’s the verified status of the major brands (checked against brewer statements and Barnivore):
✓ Vegan: Peroni, Birra Moretti, Corona, San Miguel, Heineken, Amstel, Asahi, Estrella Damm, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Guinness.
✗ Not vegan: Staropramen (isinglass finings) and Madrí Excepcional (a Molson Coors beer, not certified vegan).
Recipes and processes change, so check the can or the brewer’s site if it matters to you — and note that a brand’s alcohol-free version can differ from the original (Birra Moretti Zero and Heineken 0.0, for example, are both confirmed vegan).
Turning ABV into units
ABV tells you the strength; units tell you how much alcohol you're actually drinking. The sum is simple: units = ABV% × volume in litres. So a 568ml pint of 5% lager is about 2.8 units, a 330ml bottle of 4.6% is roughly 1.5 units, and a 440ml can of 5% is about 2.2. The UK Chief Medical Officers' guideline is to keep below 14 units a week. Switching even a couple of pints to a 0.0% version is the easiest way to cut units without sitting out the round.
Why do the alcohol-free versions say 0.0%?
In the UK a drink can legally be labelled "alcohol-free" at up to 0.5% ABV, so not every alcohol-free beer is truly zero. The lagers in the table above are the stricter 0.0% kind — brewed or de-alcoholised to contain only trace amounts, less than you'd find in a ripe banana or a glass of orange juice. We dig into exactly what the labels mean in is alcohol-free beer actually alcohol-free?. Because alcohol is calorie-dense, these 0.0% versions are also usually far lighter — see our lowest-calorie ranking.
Beer ABV & vegan FAQs
Full reviews of the alcohol-free versions
Every brand here has a 0.0% twin — and we’ve tasted them: Madrí 0.0, Moretti Zero, Corona Cero, Peroni 0.0. Match your usual pint with the Swap Finder, or see the lowest-calorie alcohol-free beers.
The bottom line
Mainstream lager is remarkably consistent in strength: pick almost any big brand and you're drinking 4.5–5.5% ABV. The more useful question for most people isn't which is strongest, but whether you want the alcohol at all on a given night — and on that front, every major lager now has a genuinely good 0.0% twin. Browse them all in our alcohol-free lager guide.