Can beer be part of a healthy lifestyle? We think so! Here are low-carb, low-cal beers that are anything but lightweights.
Low-carb, Low-cal Healthiest Beers
- Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty
Style: IPA
Dogfish Head said it dug deep into its culinary roots to uncover the ingredient that makes Slightly Mighty possible. Monk fruit is sweeter than sugar by ounce and contains no calories. Using the fruit, the brewery was able to reduce the amount of malt in the brewing process. According to Dogfish Head, “the monk fruit essentially acts as the beer’s skeleton, on which mighty hop muscle and flavor can be built.” The result is a hazy IPA with notes of pineapple, coconut, mango, and citrus.
ABV: 3.5%
Calories: 95
Carbs: 3.6g
- Heineken Silver
Style: Lager
Heineken, the brewer of America’s favorite green-bottled import, has just released a light beer “brewed specifically for the American palate.” The beer is brewed using an ice-cold lagering process—to be exact, -1°C —for an “extra-refreshing taste.”
ABV: 4.0%
Calories: 95
Carbs: 3.2g
- New Holland Brewing Company Lightpoint and Lightpoint Peak
Style: Ale
New Holland has a tag-teaming line of light ales to get you through the entire year. Available March through August, Lightpoint is a functional white ale brewed with coconut water, raw honey, and orange peel. You can find Lightpoint Peak on shelves from September to February. It has a similar recipe, but with the addition of winter spice for more heft in the colder months.
ABV: 3.7%
Calories: 86
Carbs: 2.3g
- Lagunitas Brewing Company DayTime
Style: IPA
DayTime from Lagunitas has “less carbs than a banana and it's easier to peel.” The crisp, hop-forward session IPA is terrific for day or night. It’s also “perfect for when there’s still work to do—or work to avoid.”
ABV: 4.0%
Calories: 98
Carbs: 3g
- Firestone Walker Brewing Company Mind Haze Light
Style: IPA
Mind Haze Light is bursting with tropical hop flavors alongside a hint of citrus. Firestone Walker sums up the advantages of this beer accordingly: “All the haze. Half the calories.” “This is the kind of beer I love to drink when I want all the goodness of a hazy IPA with nothing to weigh me down,” says brewmaster Matt Brynildson.
ABV: 4.0%
- Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Ruby Redbird
Style: Lager
Spoetzl’s entry to the low-carb, low-cal beer category is this fruit-infused lager. The Shiner, TX, brewery says that opening a Ruby Redbird “is like slicing into a ripe Texas ruby red grapefruit.” Brewed with real grapefruit, that citrus is accentuated with a kick of ginger for a tart, delicious lager.
ABV: 4.0%
Calories: 95
Carbs: 3.1g
- Kona Brewing Co. Light Blonde Ale
Style: Ale
From Hawaii comes Kona’s Light Blonde Ale. The brewery says this beer celebrates a different kind of “golden light,” as it's brewed with mango. If you need some visualization with your beer, Kona claims Light Blonde Ale is as refreshing as when “the day is winding down, the sun’s still warm, and friends gather near rocky Kailua Pier.”
ABV: 4.2%
Calories: 99
Carbs: 4g
- Omission Brewing Ultimate Wheat Ale
Style: Ale
The focus of Omission, since opening in 2012, has been brewing gluten-reduced beers. That expertise can be found in the brewery’s Ultimate Wheat Ale, a hazy ale with flavors of citrus and fruit.
ABV: 4.0%
Calories: 95
Carbs: 2.3g
- Blue Moon LightSky Citrus Wheat and Tropical Wheat
Style: Wheat
It's fitting that while the ever-popular Blue Moon Belgian White is brewed with Valencia orange peel, the brewery's LightSky Citrus Wheat opts for tangerine peels. A lighter ingredient for a lighter beer. For a slightly warmer taste, LightSky Tropical Wheat adds some pineapple to the orange peel.
ABV: 4.0%
Calories: 95
Carbs: 6g
- Karbach Brewing Company Love Street Light
Style: Lager
Love Street Light is a lower-ABV cousin to Karbach’s Love Street Blonde. The Houston brewery says that the lower calorie count of this lager will “keep you light on your feet well into the night.”
ABV: 4.2%
Calories: 96
Carbs: 3g
Calories: 100
Carbs: 5g