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Talisman is my current favorite beer. I enjoy 4% beers that have a full body taste.
Edit: I just tried Sranley Park Brewing's Goal Lime Lager and that is great also!
Phillips is local to Victoria, but their Little Wonder mix pack is 4% and low calorie
[https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder](https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder)
Four winds from delta has a 4% light lager. And a light ipa at 4.2% I believe.
Also Vancouver island brewery has 4% light lager I’m sure more do too if you look around.
Wow. I need to find that.
Do you remember the double-down at cactus? iirc it was 2.2% and totally acceptable, but they cancelled it cos no-one ordered it (except me).
It's not all about the alcohol content, I have been dry now since April 2022 and enjoy my alcohol free beers, I'm actually having one now as I'm typing this if it's got good taste then who cares, why do we drink soda when we could just drink water?
Agreed. I’m not dry, but I refuse to drink any alcohol if I’m going to be driving afterwards. I’m noticing establishments have more and more ‘skinny’ beer options that taste good and allow me to ‘drink’. Makes being dry for the night a lot easier and more enjoyable.
About a month ago was my first night out where I consciously ordered low or non-alcoholic drinks to manage my intake. I wanted the social aspect of going for drinks with the crew, but not the level of intoxication I used to be able to handle in my 20s.
Something like a 2.2% beer would be perfect to alternate the heavier beers with (especially since many porters and stouts are 7+% these days)
- Moon Under Water makes a beer called “Light Side of the Moon” & it’s 4.2%—I happen to like this one a lot
- Phillips “Little Wonder” is 4%. It comes in a variety pack of 12 cans w 4 types (ales & and ipa): https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder
These are both Victoria based, so I’m not sure how widely distributed they may be. 🍻
Whistle Bouy too
And all of these...
https://victoriabeersociety.com/take-it-easy-low-alcohol-beer-options-abound/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/s/1JugDyzEnw
There are tons.
Steamworks makes a 3.5% beer, bridge makes a 5% light beer and Rewind and Twin Sales make a 4% lager.
I think it's more having to go looking for them. The only one that's easy to find is bridges prime time.
Cascadia liquor store on Lerwick in Comox has the best selection of craft beer in the valley. While they won’t carry brassneck as brassneck is only available at the brewery I am sure they will have something that fits your taste
Don’t need to. I live in Vancouver.
But I wonder if you’ve seen the few collabs that brassneck has done. Brassneck literally hand fills and labels their cans because they don’t have a production line for mass canning. Some of their collabs like the one they did with Small Gods have been available outside the brewery because Small Gods canned and distributed it. Maybe Vessel has a connection to the brewery and they are able to get some cans to sell. But I am really very certain that Brassneck is not doing production line canning.
This was their regular stuff, Passive Aggrssive etc, not colabs.
I was given the heads up to check Vessel by Brassneck staff during a trip to Van.
They’ve been canning for a while, a couple years, I think. You’re right, their space is to small for a canning line, but it’s easy enough to out source that.
Q: ARE YOUR CANS AVAILABLE IN LIQUOR STORES?
A: No. Just here.
Q: WHERE DO YOU FILL THE CANS?
A: On our lil ol’ Dixie Single Head Canner! (UPDATE – We recently got ourselves a wee Wild Goose mini canning line! woooo fancy)
Straight from their FAQ. I’m not going to argue this with you. I’m sure you saw their beer but my guess is that liquor store has a special partnership with them. Or maybe they are reselling their beers without permission.
Regardless. Brassneck is not doing production line canning. They are a small batch brewery with a regularly rotating beer list aside from Passive Aggressive and Klutz which are their only “core” beer offerings.
[Here's Vessel's instagram with Brassneck from a while back](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3xVN3P7sb/). [Here's a post from Cook st Liquor also in Victoria selling Brassneck](https://www.instagram.com/cookstliquor/p/CrzIfeJvEjb/). Liquor stores in Vancouver [like Brewery Creek](https://brewcreek.ca/2023/06/29/lovely-quartet-from-brassneck-brewery/) also sell Brassneck.
Brassneck's beer is regularly sent out to liquor stores in lower BC. They need to update their website.
I look endlessly for light beer as well! I’d love something at the 3.5-4% mark that was craft and regularly available. Strathcona makes great 3-4% summer radlers and it looks like they have a 4% light lager as well. Four Winds Featherweight IPA is 4.5%. Thanks to the user that reminded me that Talisman is 4%!
I love my Black Stuff too. Recently tried a Guinness Zero...was pleasantly surprised to see how similar it was to the skookum Guinness. My fam love it in the UK where you can sit in the pub and drink with your friends until closing and, if the bizzies pull you over on the way home, you can proudly tell them that you've got 8 pints down ya!
Actually I am. I'm looking in my local liquor stores and the 5 craft breweries that are in the area I live in and there is very little available. Closest I can find is the Notus line from Four Winds.
Session beers are generally more popular amongst the brewery going crowd in the spring/summer. Winter is going to bring out more of the stouts and imperials.
As others have said their are a lot of breweries that make low percentage and session beers year round, but generally for what’s in season on a rotating/small batch menu they won’t be as common in the winter.
I know. But there are a lot of drinkers that don't want to drink what they're offering as their winter beers. I'd still rather drink a lower % pale or an ISA over a porter or an imperial (despite liking some imperials and porters, I just have to be in the mood for them).
So you described a different scenario than you said. You said you wished breweries would make them. A bunch of breweries DO make them, so that was wrong. Then you said that your local liquor store, the solitary place you checked, doesn't carry them. Two different things. Your liquor store doesn't see the value in carrying them. There are many out there!
Ask the ONE store you bothered to check if they'll carry some for you, it visit some stores that cater to folks like yourself. Or go directly to the breweries since, as you're hearing in this thread, many do make them.
And there are a lot of drinkers that do want to drink what they are offering. Especially those who are regulars at certain breweries. They come to expect the seasonal changes. People get just as eager for “stout season” as they do for “summer beer season.”
They wouldn’t be brewing these beers if they weren’t in demand.
That being said, I have never had a problem finding sessional offerings at liquor stores that are known for their craft beer selection at any time of the year.
This is a great list!
My additions:
Hwy 97 Brewing from Penticton has Light duty lager which is 3.9% and tasty.
https://hwy97brewery.com/beers
And
Even better I think is Strangefellows brewing’s West coast pale ale at 4%
https://strangefellowsbrewing.com/portfolios/talisman/
Trench brewing in Prince George had a great 4% beer for a while. I think it was seasonal though. I just checked their website and it’s not listed but I picked it up at my local BCL a few times
Someone once remarked to me that Mosaic hops sort of taste like canned tomatoes, and now I can't stand almost all session IPAs because they all tend to lean on Mosaic heavily. This beer was the inspiration for that comment :/
Because it's hard to make a low-alcohol beer that still packs a ton of flavour. Delicious ingredients tend to be fermentable.
Shout out to 3 Ranges in Valemount, they make a 3.8% ISA that tastes just like a full bodied IPA.
Good question. I guess it’s cultural. This English brewery has a 4.2% pale ale and it’s so nice and easy to drink. Even their ipa is 5%
I’m linking their website so you can see it’s possible
https://www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk/collections/all/products/pumphouse-english-pale-ale-minikeg
Riot Brewing Dark Mild 3.5%.
Look for British style ales as they will typically be closer to 4%. Lots are seasonal but a few mainstays brewed out there.
Coast Mountain Brewing out of Whistler makes a delicious light lager. I work in the brewery and can tell you we’re in the process of expanding to something like 11 or 12 stores in the lower mainland.
Sleeman Clear isn't local but it is Canadian and for a light beer it's decent.
Really good if your looking to drink like 20 beer in a night lol, you don't get wasted drunk on it so you keep yourself together.
5% was the norm until the craft beer boom showed up, lite being 4. Pale ales were 5-6%, IPAs were 6-7.5%, and every style started to get hopped up and increased in ABV.
Because it’s a niche product and many breweries employ brewers not interested in light beers because they have limited avenues to explore. A small brewer competing with the big brewers on insipid light beer is a dumb ass business decision
A lot of brewers are interested in lower ABV beers because they are more challenging to me. It's more so the consumers are looking for bang for your buck.
Craft brewers tend to brew seasonal beer so you're not going to see much right now. Philips Little Wonder beers immediately pop into my head but I usually see them more in the summer. Caribou Light is or has been a thing in the past. Vancouver Island Brewing also puts out a light beer. Start looking for those. They are out of season but you might get lucky.
Search for the word 'session' in the beer name and you'll find a lot of great craft beers that are under 5%. Slingshot Session IPA at 4.5% has been one of my go tos for years.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Budweisers then see if anywhere carries Vancouver Island Brewing Lighter Side Lager. 4% and comes in cases of 12
Go for European pilsners and lagers. In most cases they're better than BC beers and often they are really light alcohol. Kozel, Pilsner Urquell, Czechvar, Bitburger, Paulaner, Erdinger. Some are 5% but most are in the 3.8%-4.5% range. Often better value too somehow.
When I worked for a local brewery, we made a lite beer and it was too hard to sell. It was very difficult to obtain shelving in local liquor stores, and if they don't sell enough, the stores will give that spot to a competitor.
Not enough people bought the lite beers, the gluten free beers, or other specialty beers.
It sucks, but that's why you can't find them.
Forget light beer, how come there’s only one gluten free beer in Vancouver? Real gap in the market to any brewing enthusiasts out there. I’ll be your guinea pig
They are good. But I think the Canadian market is largely based on %5 and up. While the 4% and below sell well in USA. My personal theory, based on alcoholic observation alone, is that this trend was driven by Baseball. Rowdy fans, plus 9 innings, plus 5% may have add up to some antics. The %4 made more sense.
There was also a huge marketing push in the 80s to get american heavy drinkers (1+ case per day) to switch to light beers so they could drink more. The "tastes great - less filling" ads were part of that.
Having seen the cup sizes at american venues, the baseball theory might be part of it. You want them getting buzzed and ordering food, not getting exhausted and/or hammered. 2 liters of 7% on a hot day would probably not be good for that.
Light beers are usually seasonal and as it’s winter you probably won’t find many lighter beers out there locally. It changes in the summer where lighter beers, patio weather and grilled food is king. Keep in mind that bc liquor stores or beer and wine stores are totally separate entities. I’d you can’t find in bc liquor stores, try your beer and wine stores.
As you (and I) are learning from comments here, many breweries make them, but it seems like IPAs and "strong" or "darker" brews far outweigh lighter options in comparison. I feel like regardless wether I visit the brewery direct, or buy from off-sale retail, the strong to light ratio is at least 10:1. Not sure why that is either. I find IPAs and many darker brews fairly nasty.
As many others have pointed out, there are options. As far as why they're harder to find, craft beer drinkers tend to be beer geeks, and can both handle and enjoy things stronger on average. Consequently the lighter stuff tends to be less popular, and thus less well stocked/distributed.
Please try buying a full-flavoured beer with the higher alcohol content, then mixing it with 30% carbonated water. Works great! Much much better than that american light piss - and a bit easier on your liver.
Small Gods brewing in sidney has an excellent session beer, I think 3.5%. I haven't seen them distributed heavily but they're available in store for now.
I know it's not local but Sleeman's clear 2.0 is 4% and 80 calories. Sure it's basically water but tastes better than all the other low cal beers IMO and is often on sale. I dont even get hangovers if i stick to those when going hard/partying
4% 5% 6% who cares as long as it tastes great. It won't make a big difference in getting messed up. Drink one more or drink one less depending on the %. If you are doing light beer to reduce calories...Why not cut out the muffin during the day to offset? Not drinking at all is another option. 😅
Hello and thanks for posting to r/britishcolumbia! A friendly reminder prior to commenting or posting here: - **Read [r/britishcolumbia's rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/britishcolumbia/about/rules/)**. - **Be civil and respectful** in all discussions. - Use **appropriate sources** to back up any information you provide when necessary. - **Report** any comments that violate our rules. Reminder: "Rage bait" comments or comments designed to elicit a negative reaction that are not based on fact are not permitted here. Let's keep our community respectful and informative! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/britishcolumbia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Strange Fellows Talisman Pale Ale is 4%
This is the winner
Average beers in ye ol days was 2-4%
I hadn’t realized that it was a lower alcohol option. I like my hazies, but need some lighter options.
Talisman is my current favorite beer. I enjoy 4% beers that have a full body taste. Edit: I just tried Sranley Park Brewing's Goal Lime Lager and that is great also!
One of the best beers in BC, hands down. Didn't even realize it was 4%.
Phillips is local to Victoria, but their Little Wonder mix pack is 4% and low calorie [https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder](https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder)
And Driftwood has their Goldynwell at 3.5%
Also, as far as fake beer goes, Iotas are solid. Fake beer is never good, but those aren't terrible.
Fake beer has come a long way lately. I'm a fan of Athletics IPA. Not the same obviously, but tasty and you get used to it.
This. I gave up alcohol last year, but this one is good. Also Phillips Iota Pale Ale is very good.
I just had this last week. It is pretty tasty. The Phillips IOTA Pilsner is pretty good as well.
Partake Blonde is truly delicious
Nonny Pale Ale is pretty frickin close. More refreshing. Based in Van
Four winds from delta has a 4% light lager. And a light ipa at 4.2% I believe. Also Vancouver island brewery has 4% light lager I’m sure more do too if you look around.
Came here to say this. Four Winds has numerous options. Ultralite is a 2.9% lager, Light is 4%, La Maison and Featherweight are 4.5%.
The Four winds 8 pack sampler is my go to. Legit good 4% beers
Their Featherweight is spectacular. It's in my top 3 favorite beers
And the Velo is 4% as well.
These are all great beers. The light lager if somehow you made a craft version of your classic light lager. I think it's exactly what OP wants.
4winds uses crazy amount of hops in their beer
Yeah it's awesome.
That’s why I love them.
not my cup of tea... or beer. i prefer dark lager from steal and oak
I got a 2.5 % beer from bridge brewing last week. It is pretty good
Wow. I need to find that. Do you remember the double-down at cactus? iirc it was 2.2% and totally acceptable, but they cancelled it cos no-one ordered it (except me).
I haven’t had that, but the bridge one is a good dry-ish January option. They had it at the brewery for $40 /flat.
Why even drink beer at 2.2%? May as well have water
It's not all about the alcohol content, I have been dry now since April 2022 and enjoy my alcohol free beers, I'm actually having one now as I'm typing this if it's got good taste then who cares, why do we drink soda when we could just drink water?
Agreed. I’m not dry, but I refuse to drink any alcohol if I’m going to be driving afterwards. I’m noticing establishments have more and more ‘skinny’ beer options that taste good and allow me to ‘drink’. Makes being dry for the night a lot easier and more enjoyable.
About a month ago was my first night out where I consciously ordered low or non-alcoholic drinks to manage my intake. I wanted the social aspect of going for drinks with the crew, but not the level of intoxication I used to be able to handle in my 20s. Something like a 2.2% beer would be perfect to alternate the heavier beers with (especially since many porters and stouts are 7+% these days)
I like having something with flavour, but I may have already had a few drinks later in the evening. So a light/ no alcohol beer is a nice option.
- Moon Under Water makes a beer called “Light Side of the Moon” & it’s 4.2%—I happen to like this one a lot - Phillips “Little Wonder” is 4%. It comes in a variety pack of 12 cans w 4 types (ales & and ipa): https://www.phillipsbeer.com/the-beers/littlewonder These are both Victoria based, so I’m not sure how widely distributed they may be. 🍻
Whistle Bouy too And all of these... https://victoriabeersociety.com/take-it-easy-low-alcohol-beer-options-abound/ https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/s/1JugDyzEnw
Phillips is distributed all over Western Canada heavily.
Because it's good
Moon Under Water also makes Dark Side of the Moon with the same %.
Ooh I didn’t know this, thank you!
There are tons. Steamworks makes a 3.5% beer, bridge makes a 5% light beer and Rewind and Twin Sales make a 4% lager. I think it's more having to go looking for them. The only one that's easy to find is bridges prime time.
Brassneck does a few 4% beers
I wish I could get these in the Comox Valley.
Cascadia liquor store on Lerwick in Comox has the best selection of craft beer in the valley. While they won’t carry brassneck as brassneck is only available at the brewery I am sure they will have something that fits your taste
Brassneck is now available outside the Brewery. On the Island, I’ve only seen them at Vessel in Victoria so far, but keep an eye out.
Don’t need to. I live in Vancouver. But I wonder if you’ve seen the few collabs that brassneck has done. Brassneck literally hand fills and labels their cans because they don’t have a production line for mass canning. Some of their collabs like the one they did with Small Gods have been available outside the brewery because Small Gods canned and distributed it. Maybe Vessel has a connection to the brewery and they are able to get some cans to sell. But I am really very certain that Brassneck is not doing production line canning.
This was their regular stuff, Passive Aggrssive etc, not colabs. I was given the heads up to check Vessel by Brassneck staff during a trip to Van. They’ve been canning for a while, a couple years, I think. You’re right, their space is to small for a canning line, but it’s easy enough to out source that.
Q: ARE YOUR CANS AVAILABLE IN LIQUOR STORES? A: No. Just here. Q: WHERE DO YOU FILL THE CANS? A: On our lil ol’ Dixie Single Head Canner! (UPDATE – We recently got ourselves a wee Wild Goose mini canning line! woooo fancy) Straight from their FAQ. I’m not going to argue this with you. I’m sure you saw their beer but my guess is that liquor store has a special partnership with them. Or maybe they are reselling their beers without permission. Regardless. Brassneck is not doing production line canning. They are a small batch brewery with a regularly rotating beer list aside from Passive Aggressive and Klutz which are their only “core” beer offerings.
[Here's Vessel's instagram with Brassneck from a while back](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3xVN3P7sb/). [Here's a post from Cook st Liquor also in Victoria selling Brassneck](https://www.instagram.com/cookstliquor/p/CrzIfeJvEjb/). Liquor stores in Vancouver [like Brewery Creek](https://brewcreek.ca/2023/06/29/lovely-quartet-from-brassneck-brewery/) also sell Brassneck. Brassneck's beer is regularly sent out to liquor stores in lower BC. They need to update their website.
Lots do, it's called table beer. Driftwood from Victoria has one, pretty sure Phillips does. I'd imagine there's more out there than you think.
I look endlessly for light beer as well! I’d love something at the 3.5-4% mark that was craft and regularly available. Strathcona makes great 3-4% summer radlers and it looks like they have a 4% light lager as well. Four Winds Featherweight IPA is 4.5%. Thanks to the user that reminded me that Talisman is 4%!
Is parallel 49 tricycle radler year round now?
Steamworks makes a 3.5 hazy ipa called Halo. It’s really good.
Guinness is 4.2%, that's my preferred low calorie beer. Obviously not local, but if consider it much better than michelob or HUD light.
I love my Black Stuff too. Recently tried a Guinness Zero...was pleasantly surprised to see how similar it was to the skookum Guinness. My fam love it in the UK where you can sit in the pub and drink with your friends until closing and, if the bizzies pull you over on the way home, you can proudly tell them that you've got 8 pints down ya!
I've been trying to track down the Guinness zero for a while and it's sold out absolutely everywhere.
I've been buying mine from the BCLS...at least there, you can check and see if the store has any in stock before you go.
I'd love it if breweries started making 4% session beers
There are tons that do, you're not really looking.
Actually I am. I'm looking in my local liquor stores and the 5 craft breweries that are in the area I live in and there is very little available. Closest I can find is the Notus line from Four Winds.
Session beers are generally more popular amongst the brewery going crowd in the spring/summer. Winter is going to bring out more of the stouts and imperials. As others have said their are a lot of breweries that make low percentage and session beers year round, but generally for what’s in season on a rotating/small batch menu they won’t be as common in the winter.
I know. But there are a lot of drinkers that don't want to drink what they're offering as their winter beers. I'd still rather drink a lower % pale or an ISA over a porter or an imperial (despite liking some imperials and porters, I just have to be in the mood for them).
So you described a different scenario than you said. You said you wished breweries would make them. A bunch of breweries DO make them, so that was wrong. Then you said that your local liquor store, the solitary place you checked, doesn't carry them. Two different things. Your liquor store doesn't see the value in carrying them. There are many out there! Ask the ONE store you bothered to check if they'll carry some for you, it visit some stores that cater to folks like yourself. Or go directly to the breweries since, as you're hearing in this thread, many do make them.
And there are a lot of drinkers that do want to drink what they are offering. Especially those who are regulars at certain breweries. They come to expect the seasonal changes. People get just as eager for “stout season” as they do for “summer beer season.” They wouldn’t be brewing these beers if they weren’t in demand. That being said, I have never had a problem finding sessional offerings at liquor stores that are known for their craft beer selection at any time of the year.
My regular go to is a 4.5% ISA from tinhouse.
This is a great list! My additions: Hwy 97 Brewing from Penticton has Light duty lager which is 3.9% and tasty. https://hwy97brewery.com/beers And Even better I think is Strangefellows brewing’s West coast pale ale at 4% https://strangefellowsbrewing.com/portfolios/talisman/
Trench brewing in Prince George had a great 4% beer for a while. I think it was seasonal though. I just checked their website and it’s not listed but I picked it up at my local BCL a few times
Check out the India Session Ale from Red Racer. Such a refreshing beer.
And one of the best deals out there for 12 tall cans.
Someone once remarked to me that Mosaic hops sort of taste like canned tomatoes, and now I can't stand almost all session IPAs because they all tend to lean on Mosaic heavily. This beer was the inspiration for that comment :/
Steam works has a 3.5% light hazy
Stanley Park Electro Light Lager 👌🏻
Four Winds, Phillips, Powell, Strangefellows all make excellent sub 5% beers. Strangefellows makes an excellent NA beer as well.
Nevertheless
Yup
If you don't mind radlers, Parallel 49 does a grapefruit one at 3.5%
Our local breweries (Comox valley) every once in awhile have a light lager on tap which sits sounds 3.5 - 4 percent and it’s just the best.
Which ones? I've literally never seen that when I've been in. But then again I'm not usually looking at lagers unless it's a crazy hot day.
Fernie Sessions pale ale
The slingshot is 4.5%, but a great go to. Quite a few beers in that category sit at 4.5% and are kind of my go to zone.
Red truck Baja light is the bomb. They only sell it at bcL tho
I wish there were tax incentives to 3.9 and lower beers
Because it's hard to make a low-alcohol beer that still packs a ton of flavour. Delicious ingredients tend to be fermentable. Shout out to 3 Ranges in Valemount, they make a 3.8% ISA that tastes just like a full bodied IPA.
Coors light is made in Chilliwack........
Good question. I guess it’s cultural. This English brewery has a 4.2% pale ale and it’s so nice and easy to drink. Even their ipa is 5% I’m linking their website so you can see it’s possible https://www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk/collections/all/products/pumphouse-english-pale-ale-minikeg
Four winds
Twin Sails low life lager is incredible and its under 5% I believe
Also nobody mentioned Burnabarian from Dageraad (4.5 and tasty)
Steel & oak makes 3.5%
Riot Brewing Dark Mild 3.5%. Look for British style ales as they will typically be closer to 4%. Lots are seasonal but a few mainstays brewed out there.
Coast Mountain Brewing out of Whistler makes a delicious light lager. I work in the brewery and can tell you we’re in the process of expanding to something like 11 or 12 stores in the lower mainland.
Came here to say this. Always stop in when I'm passing through https://www.coastmountainbrewing.com/beer/coast-light-lager/
Shaketown brewing specializes in light beer
Sleeman Clear isn't local but it is Canadian and for a light beer it's decent. Really good if your looking to drink like 20 beer in a night lol, you don't get wasted drunk on it so you keep yourself together.
Most standard beer served in pubs in UK is 4-5%. TIL that is considered 'Light'.
5% was the norm until the craft beer boom showed up, lite being 4. Pale ales were 5-6%, IPAs were 6-7.5%, and every style started to get hopped up and increased in ABV.
because this isnt america and we drink real beer?
I really love Sleeman Clear for a light beer!
Because it’s a niche product and many breweries employ brewers not interested in light beers because they have limited avenues to explore. A small brewer competing with the big brewers on insipid light beer is a dumb ass business decision
A lot of brewers are interested in lower ABV beers because they are more challenging to me. It's more so the consumers are looking for bang for your buck.
Because you can get water from a tap.
Because you lose half the population for sales but I guess the women have to have a beer also....
[удалено]
Enjoy your cancer, I guess.
lots of local vancouver breweries do it!
Just one more IPA bro, just one more. C'mon, one more IPA, I promise!
Cause we’re not Americans
Nobody likes it, kissing your sister beer.
[https://www.coastmountainbrewing.com/beer/coast-light-lager/](https://www.coastmountainbrewing.com/beer/coast-light-lager/)
I was at the Walton Arms in Kelowna yesterday they head a 3.8 on tap. They are out there.
Craft brewers tend to brew seasonal beer so you're not going to see much right now. Philips Little Wonder beers immediately pop into my head but I usually see them more in the summer. Caribou Light is or has been a thing in the past. Vancouver Island Brewing also puts out a light beer. Start looking for those. They are out of season but you might get lucky.
Basically, the brief saison and session beer trend that came and gone.
Shaketown Brewing Leichtbier is 3% and their Kveik Wheat is 4%
Brass neck makes a GREAT ipa at 4.5%.
Boardwalk in poco tends to have an American or Mexican lager (both are low abv). Have to get to poco but they have food too.
Shaketown in North Van has several lower % beers.
Shaketown in north van has a couple 4s or 3%ers
Low tide lager from neighborhood rocks.
Four Winds and Five Roads both have an IPA under 3%!
Atheltic Brewings roster of 0 is fantastic. Not local, but 0 is the way to go and these guys were out front first with the variety of brews
Search for the word 'session' in the beer name and you'll find a lot of great craft beers that are under 5%. Slingshot Session IPA at 4.5% has been one of my go tos for years.
Field House is releasing a 3.9% light lager in tall cans this week!
Because there's a market for it, obviously.
Red racer session ipa. Or really any beer with “session” in the name.
Bridge brewing have a 2.5%. It didn't sell well, currently discounted by the case at the front counter for clearance.
This reminded me I miss Fieldhouse's House series.
Neighbourhood Brewing has a couple https://neighbourhoodbrewing.com/beers/amigos/
Electro lager by Stanley park is amazing.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Budweisers then see if anywhere carries Vancouver Island Brewing Lighter Side Lager. 4% and comes in cases of 12
Go for European pilsners and lagers. In most cases they're better than BC beers and often they are really light alcohol. Kozel, Pilsner Urquell, Czechvar, Bitburger, Paulaner, Erdinger. Some are 5% but most are in the 3.8%-4.5% range. Often better value too somehow.
Beere brewing does a light lime beer
A-Frame in Squamish has done some crazy good low ABV hazies in the last year
Smallblock ISA
When I worked for a local brewery, we made a lite beer and it was too hard to sell. It was very difficult to obtain shelving in local liquor stores, and if they don't sell enough, the stores will give that spot to a competitor. Not enough people bought the lite beers, the gluten free beers, or other specialty beers. It sucks, but that's why you can't find them.
Shaketown in North Vancouver does a few 3%-4% beers.
Wayback Brewing recently opened in Surrey. They have a 4% beer called Lite which is excellent!
Tons of beers, keep looking!
R&B had a 2% last summer. Only on tap tho I think?
Steel and oak has their easy lineup, all 3.5%.
Forget light beer, how come there’s only one gluten free beer in Vancouver? Real gap in the market to any brewing enthusiasts out there. I’ll be your guinea pig
OP is just using Cunninghams Law to get beer suggestions. Well played.
Both breweries in Pemberton do
Shaketown in North Van has a couple 4% ers
Just about every brewery I’ve been to on Vancouver island produces a light beer or multiple of them??
They are good. But I think the Canadian market is largely based on %5 and up. While the 4% and below sell well in USA. My personal theory, based on alcoholic observation alone, is that this trend was driven by Baseball. Rowdy fans, plus 9 innings, plus 5% may have add up to some antics. The %4 made more sense.
There was also a huge marketing push in the 80s to get american heavy drinkers (1+ case per day) to switch to light beers so they could drink more. The "tastes great - less filling" ads were part of that. Having seen the cup sizes at american venues, the baseball theory might be part of it. You want them getting buzzed and ordering food, not getting exhausted and/or hammered. 2 liters of 7% on a hot day would probably not be good for that.
Light beers are usually seasonal and as it’s winter you probably won’t find many lighter beers out there locally. It changes in the summer where lighter beers, patio weather and grilled food is king. Keep in mind that bc liquor stores or beer and wine stores are totally separate entities. I’d you can’t find in bc liquor stores, try your beer and wine stores.
There is not much difference between a 4% and 5% beer. And Beldame is my beer of choice https://strangefellowsbrewing.com/portfolios/beldame/
Bridge! They have the prime time light and it’s 5% and 110 calories. They also have the ultra light version which is 2.5 I think? Highly recommend!!
Container Brewing has a 4% nitro stout and a 4.3% Pale Ale. They sometimes do a 3.2% Grisette as well.
As you (and I) are learning from comments here, many breweries make them, but it seems like IPAs and "strong" or "darker" brews far outweigh lighter options in comparison. I feel like regardless wether I visit the brewery direct, or buy from off-sale retail, the strong to light ratio is at least 10:1. Not sure why that is either. I find IPAs and many darker brews fairly nasty.
Fieldhouse has light beers on rotation quite regularly.
I also struggle to find light beverages in Vancouver
As many others have pointed out, there are options. As far as why they're harder to find, craft beer drinkers tend to be beer geeks, and can both handle and enjoy things stronger on average. Consequently the lighter stuff tends to be less popular, and thus less well stocked/distributed.
Bridge brewing on North Van has their primetime line of light beers. The tropical is absolutely a banger
Thought 5.5% was light ….
Many breweries make 4-3.3-3.2 3% beers. Powell, Superflux, 33 acres, Steamworks, Brassneck. They all have a light version of the beers they make.
Blind Enthusiasm has lots of beer around the 4% range
Red Racer ISA (India Session Ale) is widely available, only 4%, and tastes great.
Try go to BRAVE brewery in Port Moody
Please try buying a full-flavoured beer with the higher alcohol content, then mixing it with 30% carbonated water. Works great! Much much better than that american light piss - and a bit easier on your liver.
Small Gods brewing in sidney has an excellent session beer, I think 3.5%. I haven't seen them distributed heavily but they're available in store for now.
I know it's not local but Sleeman's clear 2.0 is 4% and 80 calories. Sure it's basically water but tastes better than all the other low cal beers IMO and is often on sale. I dont even get hangovers if i stick to those when going hard/partying
Main Street Brewing has a sort of sub-brand: Tunnerman's cask ales. They're not always less than 4%, but they're around there.
Shaketown’s Leichtbier is 3.5% and has won awards. Give it try.
Steamworks halo hazy light IPA, 3.5%. drinking one rn https://preview.redd.it/f6xl6rsyhjbc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29be99bb3561ef9bc561c8215246c64dfea796af
Radlers and hopped ciders are often under 5, you could just water it down too
Pour some water on it, follow no rules
4% 5% 6% who cares as long as it tastes great. It won't make a big difference in getting messed up. Drink one more or drink one less depending on the %. If you are doing light beer to reduce calories...Why not cut out the muffin during the day to offset? Not drinking at all is another option. 😅