Many love beer, but for some, it can trigger painful gout attacks. If you’ve had to give up your favorite brews due to high uric acid levels, take heart—there are delicious low-purine beer options worth exploring. Many large breweries now offer lighter varieties that go easy on purines. Craft brewers also seek to satisfy beer and health concerns with innovative techniques.
Top 10 Best Low Purine Beer:
- Guinness Draught
- Beck’s Premier Light
- Amstel Light
- Corona Light
- Heineken Premium Light Lager
- Michelob Ultra
- Pilsner Urquell
- Samuel Adams Light
- Redbridge
- Solstice Lager
In this article, we’ll introduce tasty low-purine beer to add back to your repertoire. From domestic favorites to imports perfect for summer, these light brews allow you to enjoy the flavors you love without risking a gout attack. You can then explore some of these options on tap at great beer bars around Chicago. Some of the Best Beer Bars in Chicago offer knowledgeable staff who can recommend sessions from the featured brands, balancing great taste with lower purines.
Table of Contents
10 Best Low Purine Beer
If you love beer but have gout, here are ten beers low in purines that cause gout flare-ups. Purines are found in many foods and break down into uric acid in our bodies. Too much uric acid leads to gout pain. Low purine beer lets you enjoy a cold without worrying about gout attacks.
Guinness Draught
Guinness Draught is a dry stout beer first brewed in Ireland in the 1700s. It has a dark brown color and a creamy head when poured correctly. The malt used in brewing gives Guinness a roasted flavor. It is slightly bitter but also has hints of coffee and chocolate. While stouts typically have higher purine levels than other beers, Guinness Draught contains moderate amounts of purines that should be okay to drink in moderation for most people with gout.
- Alcohol content: 4.2%
- Carbohydrates: 11g per serving
- Calories: 125 calories per serving
Beck’s Premier Light
Beck’s Premier Light is a German pilsner-style beer made by Beck’s Brewery. It has a light golden color and a lighter body than regular beers. Beck’s Premier Light has a subtle flavor with notes of grain and honey. It is brewed using the filtration process, which helps reduce purines. As a light beer, Beck’s Premier Light contains low purines, making it a safer choice for people with gout. Beck’s Premier Light would be considered an excellent low-purine beer option for gout sufferers.
- Alcohol content: 3.0%
- Carbohydrates: 3.2g per serving
- Calories: 96 calories per serving
Amstel Light
Amstel Light is a light-lager beer that Heineken brews in the Netherlands. It has a very light golden color and a crisp, smooth taste that is refreshing to drink. As a light beer, Amstel Light is low in purines, which makes it a suitable option for those looking to enjoy an occasional beer while managing their gout. Its light body means a person can enjoy one Amstel Light without feeling too full. Amstel Light is popular among those watching their purine intake, as it provides the flavor of an imported lager without exacerbating gout symptoms.
- Alcohol content: 3.5%
- Carbohydrates: 3.6g per serving
- Calories: 95 calories per serving
Corona Light
Corona Light is another low-purine beer option, this time from Mexico. Brewed by Constellation Brands, Corona Light is a pale Mexican-style lager with only 4.1% ABV, making it low in both purines and alcohol. Its light-bodied flavor profile is crisp and refreshing. Iconically, Corona Light comes in a clear bottle, allowing the sunlight to pass through and illuminate the golden beer within. Due to its shallow purine content and calories, Corona Light can be enjoyed in moderation as part of a balanced diet for gout sufferers. The crisp, refreshing taste has made Corona Light a go-to imported light beer suitable for those needing to limit their intake.
- Alcohol content: 4.1%
- Carbohydrates: 3.7g per serving
- Calories: 102 calories per serving
Heineken Premium Light Lager
Heineken Premium Light Lager is a light lager beer made by Dutch brewery Heineken. It has a lower alcohol content of around 4%, making it lighter than regular beers. It only has around 95 calories per bottle but is also very low in calories. Importantly for those watching their health, Heineken Light contains fewer purines than regular beer. Purines are compounds in some foods and drinks that can cause gout, a painful joint condition. With its light and crispy taste, Heineken Premium Light Lager has become a popular choice for beer drinkers who want to enjoy a beer but must limit their purine intake to avoid gout flare-ups.
- Alcohol content: 3.0%
- Carbohydrates: 3.7g per serving
- Calories: 95 calories per serving
Michelob Ultra
Another highly recommended low-purine beer is Michelob Ultra, made by the prominent American brewery Anheuser-Busch. Michelob Ultra has a light lager beer style and uses a unique brewing process that reduces the purine content. At only 95 calories per bottle, it is also shallow in calories, carbs, and alcohol. Many lists that recommend the best low-purine beers for people with gout will include Michelob Ultra. It has a clean, smooth taste that beer lovers enjoy. Heineken Premium Light Lager and Michelob Ultra are widely considered suitable options for those who want to drink beer while also watching their purine consumption for health reasons like gout management.
- Alcohol content: 4.2%
- Carbohydrates: 2.6g per serving
- Calories: 95 calories per serving
Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell is one of the most famous pilsners from the Czech Republic. As a pale lager, it uses a pilsner malt that gives it a light golden color. The malt is low in purines compared to darker malts like roasted barley. During the brewing process, Pilsner Urquell also removes many purines through filtration. This helps make it a lower-purine beer option. While it still has some purines, drinking Pilsner Urquell occasionally should not cause problems for most people with gout.
- Alcohol content: 4.4%
- Carbohydrates: 11g per serving
- Calories: 148 calories per serving
Samuel Adams Light
Samuel Adams Light is an American light lager brewed by Boston Beer Company. Known for its balanced flavor, Samuel Adams Light uses a brewing process that reduces purines. It starts with ingredients like pilsner malt, which are naturally lower in purines than roasted grains. The company also filters the beer multiple times to remove leftover yeast particles and proteins that contain purines. This thorough filtration technique effectively minimizes purines in Samuel Adams Light. Samuel Adams Light can be an enjoyable beer to drink in moderation for someone watching their purine intake due to gout.
- Alcohol content: 3.7%
- Carbohydrates: 6g per serving
- Calories: 110 calories per serving
Redbridge
Redbridge is a gluten-free beer made from sorghum instead of wheat. This makes it a good option for people with gout as it is not only gluten-free but also low in purines. Redbridge has a light amber color and a mild, slightly sweet flavor. It goes down smoothly and is easy to drink, with an alcohol content of 4.8%. Many people with gout find Redbridge enjoyable to drink without triggering gout symptoms.
- Alcohol content: 0.5%
- Carbohydrates: 5g per serving
- Calories: 90 calories per serving
Solstice Lager
Solstice Lager by Stella Artois is another beer low in purines, although it contains gluten. This is because it is triple-filtered, which removes extra yeast and sediment that could cause purine levels to be high. Solstice Lager has a golden color and a smooth, light taste. It is refreshing to drink on a hot day. With only 4.5% alcohol and 105 calories, it is also healthy for people watching their weight or diet. The triple filtering process makes Solstice Lager smooth enough for many with gout to enjoy without worry of flare-ups.
- Alcohol content: 4.6%
- Carbohydrates: 11g per serving
- Calories: 148 calories per serving
See Also: 15 Best Ale Beer to Try in 2024
FAQs
What beer has the least purines?
In general, lighter-colored beers like pilsners and lagers contain the fewest purines. Beers made from rice or corn instead of barley are also relatively low. American macros like Bud Light or Coors Light are among the lowest in purines.
Is there any purine-free beer?
While no beer can be completely purine-free, some Japanese brews come very close. Sapporo Umami Shibori and Suntory All-Free claim to remove over 99% of purines through an advanced filtering process.
How do you reduce purines in beer?
Brewers use special yeast strains and extended filtration to remove more purines from the final product. Using adjunct grains like rice instead of barley during brewing reduces purine content. Choosing lighter styles and avoiding roasted or dark beers further limit purines.
What is a low purine diet?
A low-purine diet limits foods high in compounds called purines, which the body breaks down into uric acid. In addition to most beers, high-purine foods include organ meats, anchovies, sardines, salmon, and beef. A low-purine diet focuses on lean proteins, dairy, fruits, and vegetables.
See Also: Top 15 Best Asian Beers To Try (Most Famous Asian Beers Only)
Conclusion
There are many tasty options for beer lovers seeking to limit purines or avoid acid reflux. Whether you want to support your gout management or reduce stomach upset, the featured low-purine beers allow you to enjoy a cold without risking a flare-up. Selecting from the low-purine beer top 10 choices reviewed here, you can rediscover your favorite beverage while supporting your health goals. Get out there and find your new go-to gout or acid reflux brew!
Kendall Jones: Seattle journalist, freelance writer, and top contributor to Washington Beer Blog. Published 5,400+ stories on beer and brewing.