The Secret of Light Beer

Pay less, get more. Except for Sam Adams Light, at about $7 a six-pack, the best-tasting beers are all in the mid-price range, about $5 to $6 a pack. Three cheaper beers--Busch Light, Natural Light, and Keystone Light, at less than $4 a pack--are almost as good and are CR Best Buys. The other more expensive imported beers (Heineken Premium Light, Amstel Light, Corona Light, and Beck’s Premier Light) fell to the bottom of the Ratings because of defects, including oxidized and metallic flavors.


New brews offer a different taste. Most light beers are domestic lager-style beer, lightly hopped, with pale malt, fruit and floral character, and a mild flavor overall. Michelob Ultra Amber and Sam Adams Light are somewhat darker beers with a more intense flavor--more hops, more roasted malt, more fruit, and, well, more flavor. They also have slightly more calories than most of the other lights we tested. Yuengling Light is in the same style, but it didn’t fare as well because it had cardboard-tasting off-notes as well as some other defects.


Try these calorie cutters. If you’re counting calories, try a Michelob Ultra, Budweiser Select, Busch Light, Miller Lite, or Natural Light. All have fewer than 100 calories a serving and taste very good, though all have slight drawbacks--such as lower flavor intensity. Michelob Ultra, Budweiser Select, and Natural Light have a finish that tasted a bit too much like club soda. Run, however, from a Beck’s Premier Light. Though a beer with just 64 calories per bottle might seem tempting, our experts said there was “little beer flavor in this skunky light beer with cardboard and oxidized notes.


Do not shun cans. They might not be trendy, but they protect beer from light and tend to keep it fresh longer.


Consider a keg for parties. In past tests, we found that keg beer tasted fresher (and therefore better) than beer in a bottle or can. We expect the same to hold true for the light beers we tested this time around.


Beer is a delicate drink. Fresh is better when it comes to beer quality (“aging” is for wine lovers), and freshness is lost when beer is exposed to light and heat. So pay attention to expiration dates when they do exist. Unlike many foods, old beer won’t make you sick, but you might be in for a nasty surprise if you decide to pop the top of the can that’s been sitting in the back of your refrigerator since last summer’s pool party.