Living in Colorado, it’s hard not to love craft beer. A few years ago I jumped on the keto bandwagon in order to lose some weight, and unfortunately at that time, it meant beer other than Mic Ultra was pretty much out of the question. Today, however, more and more craft breweries are wading into the low-carb beer territory, so I’ve spent the last few months searching out the best tasting keto-friendly craft beers. In no particular order, here are the top five brews you should be drinking in 2020.
Verboten Brewing Company
Somebody to Love
Brut IPA
Coming in at 5.05 gram of carbs per 12oz, Verboten was the first craft brewery in Colorado to release a Brut (or extra-dry) style IPA. This brewing style not only allows the multitude of flavors from the hops (rather than just the bitterness) to stand out, it also naturally leads to a lower carbohydrate and calorie count. If you’re missing IPA’s, this is one of my top choices with a satisfying, well-balanced finish.
Boulevard Brewing Company
Easy Sport
Recreation Ale / Blonde Ale
Boulevard is one of the brewing companies also paving the way with adding functional ingredients – mainly electrolytes – to appeal to the exercise-conscious beer aficionado. In this case, Easy Sport adds potassium, magnesium, and sea salt to the mix – three ingredients that should catch the attention of anyone on the keto diet. Although it’s categorized as a blonde ale, the addition of tangerine peel and sea salt makes Easy Sport, at only 4.5 grams of carbs, my go-to replacement when I’m craving a gose.
New Holland Brewing Company
Lightpoint
Functional White Ale / Wheat Beer
Another great choice in the new functional beer offerings, Lightpoint comes in with a mere 2.3 grams of carbs, brewed with coconut water, raw honey, and orange peel. Missing the lightly citrus flavors of wheat beers such as Blue Moon or Hoegaarden? This is your replacement.
Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner Ruby Redbird
Fruit Beer
At 3.1 net carbs, Shiner Ruby Redbird comes through with an interesting contrast in grapefruit and ginger flavors, leading to a tart yet refreshing finish. A great porch brew after mowing the lawn in the dead heat of summer.
Avery Brewing Company
Pacer IPA
Hazy IPA / Session IPA
At only 3.5 grams of carbs, Avery delivers one of the best, most satisfying IPAs to those who are missing the hops while counting carbs. Pacer, hands-down, tastes exactly like the kind of Session IPA that the world has come to expect from the master brewers at Avery, and at a significantly less carb count than other leading low-carb IPAs on the market.
