Light beer is a beer, usually a pale lager, that is reduced in alcohol content or in calories compared to regular beers.^[1] Light beers may be chosen by beer drinkers who wish to manage their alcohol consumption or their calorie intake; however, they are sometimes criticised for being less flavourful than full-strength beers, or for tasting or actually being watered down.^[2][3]

After some scattered fits and starts, light beer began to be mass marketed and accepted by American consumers in the early to mid-1970s, following two years of test marketing and promotion. This was followed by a nationwide rollout of Miller Lite in 1975 (then known merely as "Lite Beer from Miller").

Reduced calorie/reduced alcohol "light beer" is distinct from "light lager", which was a historical term that distinguished pale or golden lagers with lighter body (such as German Helles beers) from the traditional amber lagers and other inherently darker beers.

History

Prior to the development of contemporary light beer, similar styles, such as small beer, had been brewed for centuries.

The first use of the term in marketing was in the 1940s when the Coors Brewing Company sold Coors Light^[clarify] for a short period early in World War II, relaunching it more successfully in 1978^[1] as a 4.2% abv pale lager. In 1967 New York's Rheingold Brewery introduced a 4.2% pale lager, Gablinger's Diet Beer, brewed using a process developed in 1964 by chemist Dr. Hersch Gablinger of Basel, Switzerland.^[4][5] Using a recipe developed by Rheingold biochemist Joseph Owades, PhD, it was marketed as a beer for people dieting, and was not successful.^[6] The recipe passed on to Peter Hand Brewing Company of Chicago, who sold it as Meister Brau Lite. Peter Hand later rebranded itself as Meister Brau Brewing (to highlight their flagship product in an attempt to go national), but after encountering financial problems in 1972, they sold the Meister Brau line of beers to Miller Brewing Company. The latter relaunched the beer as Miller Lite.^[7]

Reduced calories

Reducing the caloric content of beer is accomplished primarily by reducing its main contributors, carbohydrates and ethyl alcohol.^[2] Unlike reduced-alcohol light beers produced for those restricting their alcohol content, the alcohol reduction in standard light beer is not primarily intended to produce a less intoxicating beverage.

This is the primary definition in the United States, where the spelling Lite beer is also encountered, and where popular light beers include Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light.

Reduced alcohol

Low-alcohol light beer is brewed specifically for those seeking to limit their alcohol consumption for medical, social, legal, or other reasons. Its lower proof allows consumers to drink more beers in a shorter period without becoming intoxicated. Low alcohol content can also result in a less expensive beer, especially where excise is determined by alcohol content.^[8]

This is the primary definition of the term in countries such as Australia, Canada, and Scotland. In Australia, regular beers have approximately 5% alcohol by volume; light beers may have 2.2–3.2% alcohol.^[9] In Scotland, the term derives from shilling categories, where 'light' customarily means a beer with less than 3.5% alcohol by volume.