Anyone know of any low calorie IPA's??

meechster20001

IPA are India Pale Ales and they are a thick darker beer. I love them but hate the calories they bring. One trick I have done it to get a glass with ice and put them in. It add water to it so it lasts longer and takes longer drink. Plus you are getting some hydration which will help flush out the beer better. With the darker beers they don't seem to water down with taste like a Bud Light or other beer.

IPA's are not necessarily darker beers. Most tend to be lighter in color. Adding water to beer (especially a craft beer) is so wrong! I am not a fan of IPA's but I do enjoy most craft beers, like a good stout or porter and I would rather not drink them than add water tho them!!!!

As a brewer of some fine IPAs and Double IPAs I'm so with you on this!!

SantaMonicaPete

This is indeed a tough one. What I typically do is skip meals the day I want to drink IPA's. Then I drink as many as I possibly can, as fast I can. Basically this *guarantees* that I will barf most of the unwanted calories, preferably in my neighbors driveway. This has worked wonders for me, hopefully it works for your hubs too! The only way to "Have your cake and eat it too", Except the cake nets ZERO calories! You're Welcome!

Cheers!

SMPETE!

PS, My neighbor is a ****!!

jasonheyd

You might want to find a very hoppy PALE ale (not IPA) that would give you the hop flavor without all the calories, but you're not going to get it down to anywhere even remotely close to 125 calories.

If you like good beer like I do... save up calories, exercise, and don't drink a ton of them. Sorry.

Good advice, on both counts.

To guesstimate beer calories, look at the ABV (Alcohol by Volume). As a rule of thumb, an IPA will run 5-7% ABV with most towards the higher end of that scale (and a few will be MUCH higher).

An average beer of 5% ABV will run you about 150 calories while an average beer of 7% ABV will run a little over 200 calories (say ~210). Going to 8% ABV hits ~240 calories.

Again, those are averages only. A heavier, stronger, sweeter beer can skew those numbers higher (although you won't get much lower except by decreasing the ABV -- for example "light" beers).

If you know the OG (original gravity) and the ABV, then you can estimate more closely. For example, a 7% ABV beer with an OG of 1.07 will hit ~235 calories. A 5% beer ABV with a 1.04 OG hits ~155 calories.

You'll notice the estimates tend to go up as you get more accurate since there's other stuff in the beer besides the alcohol that contributes to the calorie count. So, if you want to be safe, guesstimate by ABV and then pad with a 10% margin of error.

If I'm not feeling like exercising my number-geek rights, I'll usually assume 150 calories for a "normal" beer, 200 for a stronger beer.

If I'm feeling like throwing caution to the wind, I'll go for a Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, which clocks in a little under 700 calories for 12 oz. :-)

climbergirl88

Drink IPA for dinner! :drinker:

danibu98

Drink IPA for dinner! :drinker:

I'm a craft beer sales rep and this is basically what I did at an event last night. Not the best choice ever but the beers were so delicious! They didn't have the specific beers I had last night (from Bell's) so I logged similar ones.

I have to work good beer into my logging because it's literally my job!!

Any beer lovers feel free to add me!

Topher1978

Drink good beer. Good beer has calories, but itsn't that bad. A couple beers will keep you under 500 calories. Fit it on a day of a hard workout or a day or two after one...

magerum

No such thing unfortunately. (depends on your definition of low I guess)

PBngoal

As a brewer and beer geek, I struggle between drinking good beer and keeping weight off. The best lower, not low, calorie IPA-ish option is probably Stone Levitation Ale. It's a nice hoppy pale ale that comes in at 4.4% ABV and 145 calories. Not a light beer, but if you're going to have a few, drink a beer that has flavor. Also, please don't ever put ice in an IPA. So much work and time was put into that beer, to pour it over ice cubes and let it get watered down is a crime.

jasonheyd

Came across Leather Lips IPA by Haverhill Brewery Inc / The Tap. 5% ABV and ~150 calories for 12 oz.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3185/16779

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/the-tap-leatherlips-ipa/33441/

jasonheyd

Another good one, although it's an APA not an IPA: Bitter American by 21st Amendment Brewery, 4.4% ABV and ~132 calories / 12 oz. can

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/735/34791/

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/21st-amendment-bitter-american/68817/

hallo_spacedog

Don't know if anyone's mentioned this (they probably have,) but ratebeer.com has estimated calories on each beer's page.
As jaysonheyd explained far better than I could have, generally the higher the abv the higher the calories...

scottYBRIDGEWATER

One trick I have done it to get a glass with ice and put them in. It add water to it so it lasts longer and takes longer drink.

I just threw up in my mouth....................

jasonheyd

One trick I have done it to get a glass with ice and put them in. It add water to it so it lasts longer and takes longer drink.

I just threw up in my mouth....................

I'd wash that out with something other than beer. :drinker:

jasonheyd

Don't know if anyone's mentioned this (they probably have,) but ratebeer.com has estimated calories on each beer's page.
As jaysonheyd explained far better than I could have, generally the higher the abv the higher the calories...

Yep, RateBeer bases the estimates purely on ABV, so it's probably accurate within something like 10% margin of error.

You can get a more accurate estimate if you know ABV and OG, but a lot of brewers don't provide OG.

Would be nice if they were forced to use nutrition labels.

vanguardfitness

Drink IPA for dinner! :drinker:

Animal

mner354

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA is the best bet in terms of Calories. Its less then 200 at about 188 and has a 7.1% ABV, which is a good efficiency for an IPA. Is it the best IPA for a beer snob??? No, but it's doable of sure!

For instance a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA is over 200 Calories and falls at a 6% ABV and a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is about 290 Calories and has a 9% ABV, so Flying Dog has a better efficiency in terms of Calories. That extra 30 Calories per beer and the 1.1% higher ABV makes a difference when you're looking to throw some back.

Another example is Lagunitas IPA which has about 180-190 Calories and a 6.2% ABV so still falls short.

The most efficient IPA I think is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA which has something upwards of 18% ABV and like 540 Calories but good luck finding it. It's a seasonal and not everyone carries it.

Love that you proposed this question!

IPA's for life!

Rocbola

Life is too short for light beer.

Brew your own, drink it, enjoy.