Beer Purine Ranking: Lowest to Highest

Lowest Purine Beer

#7beer, dark13.5 mg

Highest Purine Beer

#7malt beverage, including non-alcoholic beer2.9 mg

#6beer, low alcohol4.6 mg

#5beer, from wheat8.1 mg

#4beer, ‘regular’ type, various brands8.5 mg

#3beer, pils9.8 mg

#2beer for export (higher wort content than typical austrian lager)10.7 mg

#1beer, dark13.5 mg

Category Average: 8.3 mg/100g

The average across 7 Beer foods with lab-measured data. Foods below this average are better-than-typical choices within this category.

How to Use This Ranking

The purine ranking is sorted from lowest to highest. Rank #1 is the lowest-purine food in the category. Foods in the top half (above median) should be consumed with more awareness of portion and frequency. The difference between adjacent ranks varies: in some categories, rank #5 and #10 might be only 10 mg apart; in others, the gap can be 100+ mg. Always check the actual milligram value, not just the position. Rankings do not account for fructose or alcohol — use individual food pages for a complete risk assessment.

ACR 2020 Guideline Context

The American College of Rheumatology recommends that gout patients focus on purine awareness rather than complete food group elimination. Within any category, there is a wide purine range. The goal is to shift toward lower-purine choices within categories you already eat, rather than eliminating entire food groups. This ranking helps you identify which specific items to prioritize and which to limit.

Japanese guidelines recommend under 400 mg of total dietary purines per day. Using this ranking, you can estimate how much of budget each food uses per typical serving.

How This Comparison Is Built

This comparison scores every food on three independent axes — purine content, fructose, and alcohol. Purine figures rely on the USDA+ODS-NIH PURINE DATABASE Release 2 (March 2025) and Kaneko et al. (Biol Pharm Bull 37(5):709-721, 2014, PMID: 24553148); fructose data comes from USDA SR28. Ratings follow ACR 2020: Safe when purine is under 50 mg and fructose under 2 g with no alcohol, Moderate between these, Avoid beyond, or whenever alcohol appears. Per-food data quality is flagged T1 (lab-measured), T2 (measured plus consensus), or T3 (category estimate).

This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Individual tolerance to purines and fructose varies. Consult a healthcare professional for personalized dietary guidance. Last reviewed: 2026-09-03.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which beer is lowest in purines?

Among 7 beer varieties with measured purine values, the lowest options include malt beverage, including non-alcoholic beer at 2.9 mg/100g and beer, low alcohol at 4.6 mg/100g. Low-alcohol and malt beverages run lower than regular beer.

Is beer bad for gout?

Beer is the alcoholic beverage most strongly associated with gout risk in research, because it delivers both alcohol and purines from yeast and malt. The ACR 2020 guideline recommends limiting alcohol, with beer specifically flagged. For people with gout, minimizing or avoiding beer is one of the highest-impact dietary changes.

Is dark beer higher in purines than light beer?

In our database, dark beer lists about 13.5 mg/100g versus about 8.5 mg for regular lager and 4.6 mg for low-alcohol beer. The differences are modest, but the pattern is consistent — higher-malt beers run higher in purines. The bigger issue is alcohol content and total intake, not the specific style.

Beer Ranked by Purine Content