5 Low-Calorie IPAs, Ranked Worst To Best - Tasting Table

"Few things rival a crisp, refreshing beer when the hankering strikes. Whether you're sitting on the beach or tailgating on game day, the fizzy commingling of sweetness and bitterness hits right. That is, until you feel bloated and uncomfortable. Enter the low-calorie IPA. If you are new to IPAs, let's do a bit of an overview. Pale ales evolved in England in the early 1700's as a substitute to the typical, dark, highly malty beers, namely stouts and porters."

"Back to low-calorie beer. Since I like drinking beer, but hate feeling distended, I decided to sample some nationally available, low-calorie IPAs. I sampled five brands and ranked them from my least to my most favorite. Since they were all pretty good, it's not really a worst-to-best scenario here. Read on to discover the beers that delivered the perfect balance of hop-forward, citrusy bitterness, coupled with subtle sweetness from malt - all with fewer calories and carbs."

"Bell's Light Hearted IPA has 4 percent ABV ( alcohol by volume), which is comparable to the other IPAs, as well as many light beers and pale ales. Each 12-ounce can contains 110 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrates. The first thing I noticed about Bell's Light Hearted IPA was how dark it was, especially when compared to the others. That's not a negative; I was just surprised by how amber it was."

Low-calorie IPAs preserve the hop-forward bitterness and citrus character of traditional IPAs while reducing calories and carbohydrates to minimize bloating. Pale ales originated in early 1700s England as lighter, hoppier alternatives to dark, malty stouts and porters, and extra hops (and alcohol) were later used to help beers survive long sea voyages to India, spawning the IPA style. A tasting sampled five nationally available low-calorie IPAs and ranked them by balance of hoppy bitterness and subtle malt sweetness with fewer calories and carbs. Bell's Light Hearted IPA registers 4% ABV, 110 calories, and 11 grams of carbs, pours amber, and produces notable foam.

Read at Tasting Table