The Low Calorie Pints We Think Deserve to Feature in Your Christmas Celebrations
Christmas is a special time of year. For many of us, it means proper quality time with family, catching up with long-lost friends, heading back to our childhood homes and finally resetting after a chaotic end to the working calendar.
For gym-goers, calorie counters and everyday athletes of all stripes, it also means loosening the reins on our diets.
Being too strict with yourself over the festive period goes against every rule in the Christmas spirit manifesto.
Keeping pace with your usual portions is practically impossible, and passing up a few extra roast potatoes because you’re “being good” will hardly help the mood around the table.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to blow a whopping great hole in your macros. One of the smartest ways to emerge the other side of Christmas without all the trimmings is by keeping an eye on the liquid calories.
Office parties, 10am Christmas Day beers and New Year’s Eve knees-ups are all bound to happen — there’s little point fighting it.
But with a few tactical tweaks, you can limit the damage to your intake. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some low calorie pints that’ll have you feeling merry throughout December.
We’re not talking bottles or miniature cans here; we’re talking proper pints, courtesy of Beerwulf, poured like a pro through your very own BLADE machine.
But before we get stuck into the nuts and bolts, let’s first look at how you can identify the low calorie pints from the heavy hitters.
What Makes a Pint Lower (Or Higher) in Calories?
Not all pints are created equal, and when it comes to calories, a couple of key culprits tend to do the heavy lifting.
Alcohol is the biggest one. At roughly 7 calories per gram, it adds up fast, which is why higher-ABV beers naturally clock in on the heftier side.
The stronger the brew, the quicker your daily intake starts disappearing.
Carbohydrates are the other major contributor. Malt-forward styles, quirkily flavoured craft specials and hop-heavy IPAs often hang onto a little extra sweetness that the yeast didn’t fully polish off.
Those leftover sugars quietly bump their calorie total towards the North Pole.
This is why a stout or punchy IPA can drift towards the 300-calorie range (and beyond), while classic session-strength lagers — usually around the 4-4.5% ABV mark — tend to stay around 200 calories or less per pint.
There are, of course, ultra-lean options out there: low-calorie bottles and zero-alcohol beers that dip under 100 calories.
But when everyone else is cheersing with a proper foamy pint, the bottled and canned “light” alternatives don’t always scratch the itch.
So instead of steering you towards featherweight beers, we’ve pulled together a line-up of pub favourites that strike a better balance — pints you recognise, but won’t steamroll your calorie budget.
Here’s how they measure up.
Brixton Reliance Pale Ale
Reliance Pale Ale is a beer with heritage. Inspired by local traders, cobblers, vinyl sellers and tailors at the heart of Brixton’s Reliance Arcade, it’s brewed with premium English barley and bright, lively hops.
Flavour-wise, it delivers notes of pine and grapefruit, finished off with a refreshing, balanced bitterness that makes it an easy drinker for all occasions.
Calories & Carbs
A pint of Brixton Reliance Pale Ale (4.2% ABV) contains:
- 196 calories
- Around 14.5g of carbs
That puts it firmly in the low calorie pints bracket — lighter than many ales, a good whack below most IPAs and a noticeable reduction from heavier festive brews.
Enjoy a Crisp Pint, No Pub Required
For December only, Beerwulf is offering something worth shouting about:
- £100 off Brixton Reliance Pale Ale starter packs.
Each pack includes:
- A BLADE home beer tap
- An 8L Birra Moretti keg
- A BLADE dome
Perfect for hosting, BLADE — the premium home beer tap — offers a plug-and-pour system that’s simple to set up.
Designed to chill and serve low calorie pints at the optimal temperature of two degrees Celsius, each keg delivers 14 pub-quality beers and 30 days’ freshness. It’s the ideal kit for beer lovers seeking perfect execution, every time.
Amstel
If there’s a pub within walking distance, chances are you’ll find Amstel on the taps. As one of the UK’s go-to lagers, it’s the kind of dependable pint people reach for when they want something clean, crisp and easy-drinking.
Calories & Carbs
A pint of Amstel (4.1% ABV) comes in at:
- 176 calories
- Around 10g of carbs
As low calorie pints go, you won’t find many lagers in the mainstream that can compete with Amstel.
Beerwulf’s Festive Keg Deal
Fan of Amstel? Beerwulf has yet another impressive December offer on the table:
- 4 x 8L BLADE kegs for £100.
That’s 32 litres of pub-standard Amstel — plenty to fuel office parties, family drop-ins, Boxing Day football marathons and New Year’s celebrations, all without fighting for elbow room at the bar.
If you don’t already own a BLADE machine and want to stock up on Amstel, rather than enjoying one of the starter packs, Beerwulf also sells the kit separately.
You can rent one, pick up a refurbished model for cheaper, or treat yourself to a brand-new tap ready for your Amstel kegs.
All BLADE machines come complete with a two-year warranty, giving you peace of mind while you enjoy your low calorie pints.
Birra Moretti
Birra Moretti has quickly cemented itself as one of Britain’s favourite continental beers. This iconic Italian Pilsner is smooth, well-balanced and carries that unmistakable premium feel — the kind of pint that looks like it should be calorie-heavy.
In reality, it’s lighter than many people assume.
Calories & Carbs
A pint of Birra Moretti (4.6% ABV) usually contains:
- 239 calories
- Around 19g of carbs
It’s undeniably a richer option than Amstel, but still perfectly manageable over the festive stretch.
Birra Moretti is another to feature in Beerwulf’s £100-off December deal for starter kits. You’ll get the same BLADE equipment, including a drip tray, plus 8L of beer.
Cruzcampo
Cruzcampo, the pride of Andalusia, has climbed rapidly in the nation’s beer rankings, largely thanks to its ultra-refreshing, easy character.
It’s one of those lagers you can happily sip throughout an entire evening: full of flavour, but far lighter on the palate than many of its continental counterparts.
Calories & Carbs
Cruzcampo (4.4% ABV) comes in at approximately:
- 218 calories per pint
- Around 19g of carbs
That puts it shoulder to shoulder with Birra Moretti in the sliding scale of low calorie pints. It’s bold enough to feel satisfying, yet still surprisingly friendly on the macro front. A solid choice if you’re after a festive pint that won’t ambush your waistline.
Cruzcampo, like Birra Moretti and Brixton Reliance, is available in Beerwulf’s starter pack deal. For just £409.90 (usually £509.90), you get the BLADE machine — complete with a handy full gauge — dome and an 8L keg.
The beer itself works out to £1.84 per pint, which is far cheaper than any local can afford to offer these days.
Heineken
Last, but by no means least, is Heineken. Largely considered the most iconic beer in the world, you can almost guarantee that every ice-cold sip will hit the sweet spot with its satisfying profile and subtle fruity notes.
Anywhere you go, you’ll always recognise the green bottle, red star and often funky beer taps. It’s also the strongest beer on this list, so let’s see how the calories stack up in a full pint.
Calories & Carbs
A pint of Heineken (5% ABV) comes in at:
- Roughly 235 calories
- Around 18g of carbs
If you’re searching for low calorie pints with some oomph, Heineken is possibly your smartest play. You can pick up the BLADE Heineken Starter Pack for £406.90 via Beerwulf’s website — £100 cheaper than you’d find it outside the month of December.
Not found your favourite pint on this list? There are plenty more beer deals to discover through Beerwulf. Head to their website today and cheers your way through Christmas.
SEE ALSO: 3 Popular Lagers That Won’t Blow Your Macros This Christmas
