More hops, less filling? These are some of the best new low-calorie craft beers on the market.

By. Fritz Hahn

Since the dawn of the craft beer era, the mantra has been “Flavorful, complex beers are good. Fizzy, mass-produced yellow lagers are bad.”

And yet the best-selling beers in America continue to prominently feature the words “Light” or “Lite” on their labels. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch’s No. 2 brand is no longer Budweiser but instead Michelob Ultra, which boasts about minuscule calorie and carb counts on its packaging. While Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite all posted sales declines in 2018, according to market research firm IRI, Michelob Ultra did not — its 15.9 percent sales increase translated to about $1.9 billion.

It would be impossible for other brewers not to notice these trends, especially as craft beer’s growth slows. “People are paying attention to caloric intake and carbs,” says Jeremy Marshall, the brewmaster at Lagunitas since 2013. “It’s no secret that millennials are more alcohol-averse. Craft beer traditionally has a higher ABV [alcohol by volume], and it has more stuff in it. It’s on the list of things a dietitian would tell you to avoid.”Continue Reading