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(Courtesy Dogfish Head)
Without question the IPA is the leading style in craft brewing. And while Hazy IPAs continue to dominate, a new variation, the low calorie IPA is attracting legions of thankful fans.
Slightly Mighty w/ Monk Fruit
And maybe that’s because in this age of COVID-19 working-out has become more difficult and having an extra beer, easier.
The truth is low-calorie IPA’s were gaining traction well before the coronavirus pandemic ground things to a halt, but it’s understandable why they seem to be gaining even more traction now.
While not all low-calorie IPAs have proven acceptable alternatives to traditional India Pale Ales which come with higher alcohol and higher carb counts (hence the calories), many have, thanks to new ingredients that supplement things brilliantly.
And here are 5 low-calorie IPA’s that get the job done…
Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty
Billed by the Delaware brewery as having “mighty hop character and just 95 calories,” Slightly Mighty was first introduced in 2018. Brewed using monk fruit to add body and complexity without additional calories, this low-cal 4% ABV India Pale Ale is currently one of the brewery’s hottest titles.
Esquire calls Slightly Mighty a “legitimate IPA both geeks and average folks will dig.” And Runner’s World writes that “there’s finally a light beer that tastes like something besides light beer.”
Sufferfest Gut Check
With more consumers than ever opting for healthier lifestyles, Sufferfest Beer Company was launched to address the growing contingency with award-winning functional beer for the active and health-conscious.
Founded in 2016 by Caitlin Landesberg, an athlete herself, and purchased by Sierra Nevada Brewing in 2019, all of its sport-friendly beers are terrific alternatives, but their new IPA is one of their best.
With only 100 calories and clocking in at 4% ABV Sufferfest Gut Check (great name!) uses apple cider vinegar to add bright tang, citrus aroma, and body.
Goose Island So-Lo
Another cleverly named low-cal IPA, Goose Island’s So-Lo is not only, only 98 calories, at 3% ABV it’s one of the least buzzy India Pale Ales out there. So if hanging on to your sobriety as well as your figure is important to you, this IPA checks both of those boxes.
The Chicago-based brewery, which was purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 2011, describes its low-cal creation this way…
“So-Lo is a full bodied IPA with big aroma, citrus and herbal aroma notes, and a nice balanced bitterness. You’d never think it was a low calorie beer but now that the cat’s out of the bag”
Firestone Walker Flyjack
One of our favorite low calorie India Pale Ales, from one of our favorite breweries Paso Robles, Ca-based Firestone Walker, shares much of its DNA, its grains, yeast, and hop menu with Firestone’s terrific 6.2% ABV Mind Haze IPA
Crafted for drinkers who keep an active and healthy lifestyle, but don’t want to sacrifice flavor for fewer calories, Firestone Walker Flyjack is a 4% ABV New-England-Style India Pale Ale with only 96 calories and the kind of character and mouthfeel that is normally associated with higher-octane Hazy IPAs.
Deschutes Wowza
Like Firestone Walker’s Flyjack, the Deschutes Brewery’s new India Pale Ale combines two of craft beer’s biggest trends. Deschutes Wowza (or as they market it WOWZA!) is a full-flavored yet crushable, low-cal Hazy IPA.
Wowza has only 100 calories and 4g of carbs. And Deschutes introduces chicory root into the mix to round out the IPA’s carb-depleted body and amazingly it works.
