The Best & Worst Beer In Americaranked
Beer and wine both have a lot of different effects on the body, both positive and negative. On the positive side, a lot of research on red wine indicates that one drink a day can help protect against stroke, coronary artery disease, dementia, and other diseases. Indeed, some studies suggest that drinking in moderation can actually help deflate a beer belly and there are even healthy beers out there that are fine to drink even if you’re on a diet. Yes, there are plenty of low-calorie beers out there.
In a study of 8,000 people, Texas Tech University researchers determined that those who downed a daily drink were 54% less likely to have a weight problem than teetotalers. Between one and two drinks a day results in a 41% risk reduction. But that’s where the trend ends. Consumption of three or more daily drinks increases your risk of obesity, says the study. So if you can limit yourself to one or two a day, then you can get the health benefits without too many extra caloriesif you choose wisely.
Here’s a rundown of what, exactly, you’re really getting each time you reach for a cold one, as we ranked popular beers that are commonly sipped on.
Below, we listed beers from worst to best, based on calories and carbohydrate contentthe two major nutritional factors at play when analyzing alcohol.
Tips For Drinking Alcohol While Being Mindful Of Calories
If youre looking to shed pounds but dont want to give up your favorite alcoholic drinks, here are some helpful tips:
- Dont let the empty calories in alcohol sneak up on you. Know how many calories are in your favorite beverages and modify the amount as needed.
- If you have a drink or two , keep in mind what else youre consuming. Snacks and bar food can be more damaging to your waist than alcohol.
- Watch what else youre putting in your beverages, particularly mixed drinks. Juices, syrups, sodas and liqueurs may make your drink taste better, but they can be calorie bombs. Instead, opt for a splash of juice or seltzer water. For distilled spirits like vodka and whiskey, its better to drink them on the rocks with a citrus twist.
- Drink slowly. Just like you should eat slower , you should do the same when youre drinking. Gulping down a drink in record pace will cause you to drink past your limit.
- Drink water or seltzer water between beverages to dilute your alcohol intake.
- Look ahead at your calendar and take note of upcoming events where you might be drinking. If you know youre going to the bar with your buddies on the weekend, try to limit or cut out the alcohol you might normally consume during the week.
Little Creatures Rogers’ Beer
Its sad but true, the lower the alcohol, the better the beer is going to be for you. And in good news, mid-strength brews are making a comeback, with many offering the full range of rich, craft flavours. One of the best is Rogers Beer , an amber ale known for its honeycomb colour and aromas of passionfruit and roasted toffee. 11g carbs and 122g calories per 330ml bottle.
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Noteworthy And Surprising Non
- Heaps Normal Quite XPA 355ml 76 Calories 0.5%
- Nort Refreshing Ale 330ml 49 Calories 0.5%
- Heineken Zero 330ml 68 calories 0.5%
- Big Drop Brewing Uptown Craft Lager 330ml 39 Calories 0.5%
- Iron Jack 114 calories per 375ml
- Carlton Dry 125 calories per 375ml
- James Squires 150 Lashes 126 calories per 375ml
- Iron Jack Crisp 95 calories per 375ml
- Great Northern Super Crisp 100 calories per 375ml
Cheers!
Low Calorie Ales 12 Ounces
Here are some popular low calorie ales.
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How Drinking Alcohol Adds To Weight Gain
People are usually surprised how many calories they consume when they drink alcohol. It can add up fast. Men say that it goes right to their waist, and it does. Thats because high-calorie drinking is often paired with eating high-calorie foods like Buffalo wings, French fries, nachos and chips.
If youre trying to lose weight, you dont have to stop enjoying an alcoholic drink now and then. Moderation is the key.
Keep in mind: To lose 1 pound a week, you need to consume 500 fewer calories a day than the body burns. If you consume 100 calories more than you burn per day, you could put on 10 additional pounds over a one-year span. Just one or two drinks a day could be the difference between a beer belly or six-pack abs.
Drop Bear Tropical Ipa
Rounding out the top 5 is this tropical IPA from Drop Bear.
This has 6.5kcal per 100ml and 23.1kcal per 12fl oz. It also only has 0.5g of carbs per 100ml and 1.8g carbs per 12fl oz.
Unfortunately, and unlike Nanny State and UNLTD. i did not think Drop Bear got this right. It was certainly hoppy and bitter but i didnt think it was in balance and felt quite thin.
| Beer |
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What To Know About Low
“There are more low-calorie and low-carb beer options on the shelves right now than there ever been,” said Steven Tsaparikos, RDN, a dietitian and certified health coach at Hancock Wellness Center in Greenfield, Indiana. While individual preferences differ, there’s a beer to suit nearly everyone’s tastes, whether that’s a light wheat beer or a more bitter India pale ale . “Long gone are the days of every low-carb beer being extremely bland,” Tsaparikos told Health.
You might want to focus on “light” beers when it comes to low-carb beers. Their carb counts are consistently lower, and they usually contain less alcohol than their regular counterparts. That said, some have more carbs than othersand they vary in calories too. “To be labeled as ‘light,’ the product needs to have one-third fewer calories compared to the full-calorie version,” Taylor C. Wallace, PhD, principal and CEO of the Think Healthy Group and adjunct professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University, told Health.
For clients who enjoy drinking beer, Tsaparikos encouraged moderation and making informed choices. Look for nutritional information on packaging or online. Five grams of carbohydrate is a reasonable benchmark for people who watch their carb intake, Tsaparikos said, as long as they’re drinking responsibly.
Below, we’ve rounded up 16 low-carb beers that clock in at fewer than 100 calories per 12-ounce bottle or glass.
Heineken Light 99 Calories
You can never go wrong with any Heineken beer. From the best lowest calorie light beers, Heinekens Heineken Premium Light is a great pick for anyone who enjoys drinking the brands beers. From just 99 calories, the Premium Light version is definitely more easier and smoother to consume, because it’s one of the best beers for people who don’t like beer.
This light lager with just 3.3 percent ABV, Heineken Light is perfectly balanced with its appealing color of bright gold. It includes a mild malty scent and a pop of citrus, hop aroma from the Cascade hops. With its medium body, the beverage is crisp and refreshing and its aftertaste is irresistible.
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Small Beer Organic Ipa
Measure: 350ml | ABV: 2.8% | Calories: 87.5
This specially crafted beer is available for a limited time only and was designed to celebrate summer and British farming. We love the glass bottles and the low ABV of 2.8 percent. This low calorie beer is 100 percent organic and the UK sourced which is an industry first. You can buy the beer online on Abel & Cole or on the Small Beer website listed below.
Our verdict: We love the small bottles as they make for easy drinking and look more sophisticated than some low-alcohol options. The beer is light and refreshing and makes a great pairing with a burger and chips.
Average price: £2.29 View at: Ocado | Abel & Cole | Beershophq.uk
Best bulk buy deals: 24x 350ml bottles for – £55 | theoriginalsmallbeer.com
Xxxx Gold Lager 375ml
109 Calories3.5% Mid
There is possibly nothing more Queenslander than XXXX Its the pride of the state so were told.
Born in the Sunshine State back in 1878, XXXX can boast over 140 years of brewing excellence. XXXX is an easy-drinking beer thats big on taste and if youre in QLD and going to the bar you better be coming back with a Gold.
At only 127 Calories and being a mid-strength its a perfect social drink to have without completely derailing yourself.
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Lowest Calorie Light Beers
Love beer, but not what it does to your weight? See the best lowest calorie light beers that you can drink without being cautious about gaining weight.
Most of us know that drinking too much beer can result in a beer belly. That’s one of the biggest downsides to beer. As much as we love enjoying the delicious taste of beer, some of us tend to be cautious about the amount we’re drinking. It can really take a toll on our bodies. Our favorite beers can hold a lot of calories in just one bottle. And it’s a total tease, especially when we’re following a strict diet to lose a couple of pounds.
But there are, in fact, low calorie beers out there. For people who can’t dare to drink regular beer, there are beer brands that’ve created “light” versions of their best beers. So, if you’re ahead of your diet game, don’t want to risk gaining weight, but want to go out drinking with friends, these are the best lowest calorie light beers to enjoy! And remember to always drink responsibility.
Kona Light Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.2%Style: American Pale AleBrewer: Kona Brewing Co.
Hailing from the far off shores of Hawaii, the Kona Kanaha blonde ale has just 99 calories per 12oz serving, with a crisp, tropical flavour owing to its composition of Millennium, Mosaic and Amarillo hops. Kona Brewing Company was founded by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa in 1994. Today, their Big Island brewery has become home of one of the best-selling craft beer brands in the world.
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What Alcohol To Avoid On Keto
Keto alcohol to avoid includes mixed drinks, anything with soda, tonic water, or juice, sweet wines, liqueurs, hard ciders, wine coolers, and sangrias. Basically, the goal is to avoid sugar. Below youll find more details on each of these NOT keto friendly alcohol drinks.
- Most mixed drinks Anything with simple syrup, agave, margarita mix, sweet & sour mix, vermouth, bitters, ginger beer, etc. Most mixed drinks will fall into this category.
- Drinks with soda, tonic water, or juice Including regular cola or lemon-lime soda, tonic water, ginger ale, orange juice, cranberry juice, etc.
- Sweet wines Such as riesling, moscato, port, sherry, dessert wines, etc.
- Liqueurs Including triple sec, amaretto, cointreau, kahlua, and others. These are loaded with sugar and typically made with some kind of syrup.
- Hard ciders or wine coolers These are essentially spiked fruit juice.
- Sangrias The wine in them is usually fine, but the added fruit, sugar, and/or juice is not.
TIP: If you want to make a keto drink with simple syrup, you need a sugar-free version!
Instead of regular syrup with sugar, use this keto simple syrup recipe, OR get my premade Wholesome Yum Keto Simple Syrup here. The premade version is thicker like real simple syrup and works the same way in any drink!
Take Your Spirits With Low
Unsurprisingly, straight spirits contain the least amount of calories as are nearly entirely ethanol without added sugar. Vodka is the alcohol with the lowest calories, at around 100 calories per shot . Whisky is slightly more, at roughly 110 calories a shot. Gin and tequila are also 110 calories a shot. More sugary spirits, like sambuca, come in around 160 calories a shot . That said, those calorie values are for the neat spirit you need to ensure you don’t mix your spirits with high-sugar mixers like Coke, Red Bull or lemonade, which you can get through at a rate on a night out without realising you’re drinking hundreds of calories.
If you can’t face endless shots of vodka then substitute your soft drink mixer with soda water or diet tonic which have very little sugar. Even water if you’re feeling particularly bulgy post-dinner.
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Corona Light Mexican Lager Beer
These crisp pale Mexican light lagers are outrageously popular in the United States. It does not have a complicated flavor profile.
Only sweet notes and a touch of hoppy skunkiness on the palate. This pale lager lets you enjoy without monitoring the net carbs!
Perfect for drinking while grilling burgers on the beach, and add some lime on the bottles neck to add a taint of tartness and enhance the flavor.
One beer does not have too much carbonation and stays lively and bright with notes of grass, malt, sweetness, and a slight whiff of hops.
And even if it retails for $14.98, which is a bit more expensive than traditional lagers, youll get your moneys worth!
How Can A Beer Be Low
There are many ways to make light beers that are low-calorie and low-carb. A well-known method is incorporating certain enzymes into the mash or fermenting beer.
Those enzymes are added to the beer until its carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars before thinning out the mixture with water.
This method cuts down both total ABV and calories.
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Which Alcoholic Beverages Have The Most Calories
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This article comes from Nutrition Action. We don’t accept any paid advertising or corporate or government donations. Any products we recommend have been vetted by our staff and are not advertisements by the manufacturers.
The 50 Lowest Calorie Non Alcoholic Beers
This is a list of 50 of the lowest calorie, non alcoholic beers on the market. 48 of them are non alcoholic beers i have personally drank and reviewed on this site and 2 which i have not. However, I was unable to leave them out as they are the joint lowest calorie beers in the world!
The 50 Lowest Calorie Non Alcoholic Beers
I would say, right after the fact there is no alcohol, the next biggest reason someone may try or switch to non alcoholic beers is for the huge calorie saving on offer.
I have written a very detailed overview of how much lower non alcoholic beers are in calories versus alcoholic beers, you can read it all here
The executive summary is that the average non alcoholic beer contains 22.6kcal per 100ml and 80.1kcal per 12fl oz.
The average alcoholic beer has 153kcal per 12fl oz and the average non alcoholic beer has 80.1kcal per 12fl oz, that means the average non alcoholic beer has 72.9kcal less overall.
This equates to the average non alcoholic beer having just 52.24% of the calories of an average alcoholic beer and you save 47.76% of the calories.
Ok, so now you know what the average number of calories a non alcoholic beer has, what are all the ones below average, right?!
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Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty
Looking for an IPA beer flavor but dont want to ruin your keto diet? Then theres the Dogfish Slightly Mighty for you!
Its a local low-cal IPA beer that contains all the hops from Indian pale, pale ale and absolutely none from carbs.
The Slightly Might is also an exclusive low-carb beer with fruity tropical flavors of:
Whats even more interesting about this refreshing drink, aside from only having 3.6 grams of carbs per serving, monk fruit is also part of its production process!
Beers Under 110 Calories
A 2012 study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics found that the average American adult consumes 100 calories a day from beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages. Almost 20 percent of men and 6 percent of women consume more than 300 calories from alcohol daily.
But were willing to bet thats low-balling it just a bit on summer weekends.
Think of your favorite summer activities: beach days, baseball games, backyard barbecues. The one common denominator? Theres a cold one in your hand.
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Dogfish Head Slighty Mighty Ipa
ABV: 4%Style: IPABrand owner: Dogfish Head Brewery, Delaware
Dogfish Heads Slighty Mighty IPA is the result of 12 months research and development, followed by months of fine tuning to create a beer that has all the character of a world class IPA, but with only 95 calories. The team used monk fruit in the beers production, a Chinese delicacy that is sweeter than sugar per ounce and boosts the body and complexity of the beer, but with no calories.
Most light beers are watery and lack body, but with Slightly Mighty, the monk fruit essentially acts as the beers skeleton, on which mighty hop muscle and flavor can be built, its makers say. It allows us to reduce the malt bill and avoid any unnecessary unfermentable sugars, and consequently deliver a beer that is lower in calories and carbs, and perfectly balanced.
The resulting beer is said to exude notes of pineapple, coconut, mango and citrus.