Heineken
Amsterdam, Netherlands
All-malt European pale lager at 5.0% ABV. US retail labels list 142 calories, 11g of carbohydrate and 2g of protein per 12oz.
- Ingredients / botanicals
- water, barley malt, hops, lager yeast
In its favor
- ✓Cold lager fermentation keeps biogenic amines low
- ✓No adjunct grains, short ingredient list
What to watch
- !Contains gluten from barley malt
- !5.0% ABV is higher than the light lagers
- !Green bottles are prone to lightstruck aroma
Factor by factor
Congeners Low ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Moderate ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Low ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Low ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Heineken is a malt-only lager, so it sits with the pilsner style on this site, a step above the adjunct lights. US retail labels list 142 calories and 11g of carbohydrate per 12oz, and the site’s formula (5.0% ethanol plus 11g) comes to about 148, within a few percent.
Where Miller Lite is 4.2% and 3.2g of carbs, Heineken adds both alcohol and malt, which is why a 12oz bottle carries about 46 more calories. Sugar is not stated on the label, so only the text figures are given.
Heineken questions
How many calories are in a bottle of Heineken? ▾
About 142 calories in a 12oz bottle at 5% ABV. 98 come from the alcohol and 44 from carbohydrate.
How many carbs are in Heineken? ▾
11g of carbohydrate per 12oz bottle. The producer does not publish a sugar figure, and in beer most of that carbohydrate is unfermented starch and dextrins rather than sugar.
Is Heineken gluten-free? ▾
No. Heineken is brewed from barley and never distilled, so the gluten stays in the glass. It is not safe for coeliacs; look for a beer brewed from sorghum, rice or millet instead.
Does Heineken give you a bad hangover? ▾
Heineken scores 5/10 on the SpiritFacts Hangover Index, against 6/10 for beer overall. It is low on every hangover factor we track, so most of the morning after comes down to how much ethanol you drink.