The Best And Worst Beers For Your Belly

It’s pretty much a guarantee that some of you Rockheads will be having a beer or two this weekend. Alcohol, while a good party starter, is essentially empty calories. But don’t worry! You can still have you cake beer and eat drink it too. Here are some beers that won’t break the calorie and bank as well as ones you should avoid.

 

Best – in descending order

 

1. Bud Select 55
Calories: 55
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 2.4%
Carbs: 1.9g
A 55-calorie beer looks appealing at first glance, but fewer calories means lower alcohol content and very little flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

2. MGD 64
Calories: 64
ABV: 2.8%
Carb: 2g
It’s right on the bottle: Only 64 calories. Nothing on the label about taste though.

 

 

 

 

3.  Beck’s Premier Light
Calories: 64
ABV: 3.8%
Carb: 4g
Even though it’s one of the lowest calorie beers on the market, it has nearly as much alcohol as its competitors. So don’t forget that.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Michelob Ultra
Calories: 95
ABV: 4.2%
Carbs: 2.6g
Michelob was one of the first to market a “low-carb” beer. But here’s a secret: Almost all the low-calorie brews are relatively close in carb count.

 

 

 

5. Miller Lite
Calories: 96
ABV: 4.2%
Carbs: 3.2g
The original “light beer,” Miller Lite started the ‘diet beer’ trend that now dominates the US beer market. The light pale lager won Best American-Style Lager or Light Lager at the 2010 American Beer Festival.

 

 

 

 

The Worst – in ascending order of worse-itude

 

5. Redhook ESB
Calories: 179
Carbs: 14g
ABV: 5.8%
If you really like this beer, make sure to stick to just one.

 

 

 

 

4. Budweiser American Ale
Calories: 182
Carbs: 18g
ABV: 5.3%
Patriotic, yes. Good for your waist, no.

 

 

 

 

3. Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Calories: 200
Carbs: 14g
ABV: 5.8%
Eh, It’s not like it’s Sam Adams Ocktoberfest anyway.

 

 

 

 

2. Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss
Calories: 207
Carbs: 28g
ABV: 4.7%
28g of carbs? What’s in this thing, a bagel?

 

 

 

 

 

1. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale
Calories: 330
Carbs: 32g
ABV: 9.8%
If you don’t want a beer belly, don’t drink this beer. It has the same amount of calories as three glass of wine.

 

 

 

 

If you want to show off your Irish spirit, why not expand your horizons and have and Irish beer? These seven Irish brews don’t have as many calories as you think and because they’re more full-bodied than light beers, you’re less likely to drink as much, thus keeping your portions and total calories down! Erin go brew!

7 Irish Beers for St. Patrick’s Day

1. Guinness Draught. Twelve ounces of this dark and rich beers has just 125 calories! Makes us want to do an Irish jig!

2. Harp. With a few more calories than its Black and Tan partner Guinness, one of these come in at 142 calories for 12 ounces.

3. Killian’s Irish Red. St. Patrick’s Day and Irish reds go hand in hand. This popular beer has 163 calories in a 12-ounce bottle.

4. Murphy’s. Another Irish stout, Murphy’s has 171 calories but tons of flavor for 12 ounces of St. Paddy sipping!

5. Beamish Irish Cream Stout. Don’t let the word “cream” fool you. Twelve ounces of Beamish has just 146 calories, making it slightly heavier than Guinness.

6. Smithwick’s Irish Ale. If you aren’t a fan of the darker beers, try 12 ounces of this Irish ale that clocks in at a reasonable 150 calories.

7. Irish Car Bomb. OK, so this is more of a shot/beer-cocktail than an actual beer, but 12 ounces of this Guinness-Bailey’s-Jameson concoction is by far the most caloric option of all with 237 calories, so bomb in serious moderation.

 

 

This weekend Rockheads, enjoy the holiday and celebrate responsibly. Then on Monday, I’ll see you all at the gym!