Love Beer but Hate the Carbs and Calories? Try One of These Healthier Brews
It may seem like bigger, boozier beers are trending with the number of double IPAs, strong ales, and imperial stouts that breweries are rolling out, but the healthiest beers still hold court. Just look at the best-selling beers in the U.S. Bud Light reigns supreme with Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, and Coors Light high in the rankings.
Light beers are great for tailgating and backyard BBQs, especially if you’re not interested in hard seltzers or nonalcoholic beers. But they've always been lacking in taste, complexity, and variety. Until now, that is. The new class of low-cal, low-carb, low-ABV beers will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about light beer.
The following brews all have an ABV of 4.2 percent or lower, under 100 calories, and have fewer than 6 grams of carbs. The next time you're thinking of grabbing a sixer of Ultra, check out one of these healthiest beers instead.
Healthiest Low-carb and Low-cal Beers of 2025
1. Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty
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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
2. Heineken Silver
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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
3. New Holland Brewing Company Lightpoint and Lightpoint Peak
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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
4. Lagunitas Brewing Company DayTime
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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
5. Firestone Walker Brewing Company Mind Haze Light
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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%
Calories: 100
Carbs: 5g
6. Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Ruby Redbird
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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
7. Omission Brewing Ultimate Wheat Ale
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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
8. Karbach Brewing Company Love Street Light
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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
Related: I've Tried Hundreds of Dark Beers. These 10 Are the Best for Winter Sipping