Alcohol vs. Alcohol Free: How do they Stack Up?

If you are reading this, you probably won’t be surprised to find out that alcohol isn’t exactly the best thing for your health. You’ll see articles all over the web stating different “benefits” that come with drinking a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. Now we aren’t saying they are lying or that you need to cut out alcohol for the rest of your life. Alcohol DOES have its benefits, for example a glass of wine has high levels of antioxidants that are linked to better heart health. Studies have shown that a fermented beer every once in a while, can contribute to the health of your gut.

The problem here is, these benefits are heavily outweighed by the detriments. The first one is obvious, alcohol can cause organ damage, specifically your liver. Alcohol is also very closely correlated with weight gain and obesity due to how calorie dense alcohol is. An average shot of liquor is about 80-90 calories, and a glass of red wine can range from 125-200 calories! Don’t even get us started on beers, specifically IPA’s. Those usually start at 200 calories a can. I feel bloated just writing that. Quickly, a few other drawbacks of alcohol include dehydration, depletion of essential vitamins, and it is tied to breast, liver, and colon cancers.

Let’s move over to the non-alcoholic side of things. Non-alcoholic beverages of course have little to no impact on your liver due to the lack of alcohol content. What’s really surprising is the calorie counts. We’ll give you a few examples of low calorie, low sugar options that we carry. First, Brewdog Elvis AF which is a non-alcoholic grapefruit IPA. This beer packs a “whopping” 49 calories per can and 9 grams of carbs. For an IPA, that is incredible and it still packs a terrific, hoppy flavor. Moving over to wine, a bottle of Win Verdejo contains 202.5 calories per bottle and averages about 50 calories per glass (and that is a large glass). Not to mention that the residual sugar in this wine is less than 0.5g per 100ml. The last beverage we offer that we’re going to show off is the Win Tempranillo which is actually one of the more calorie dense wines we offer. We want you to see the whole spectrum, not just the lowest calorie stuff we carry. The Win Tempranillo contains 270 calories per bottle and about 72 calories in a large glass. Same residual sugar content of less than 0.5g/100ml. Tempranillo’s tend to be more calorie dense than a Verdejo or white wine, but still in comparison to a regular glass of wine, you’re always coming out ahead.

These are the facts. In the end, the decision is yours and depends entirely on your own situation. We are strong believers that for many people, it doesn’t have to be JUST one or the other. It can be both! Enjoy your beer with 4% alcohol, but the next one maybe pull a non-alcoholic beer out of the cooler. You probably won’t even notice the difference!