What’s the Lowest Calorie Beer in Australia?

Feel like a beer but don’t want to completely blow your calorie counting goals while you’re doing it – we hear you. Every Friday night! And, while menus here in Australia often have the food calories on them, beer pumps are not so kind – so, we decided to try and work out which is the lowest calorie beer in Australia. So, which is it, and how does your favourite beer stack up? Read on to find out.

Table of Contents

A quick public service announcement before we get started. Just because a beer is lower in calories, it doesn’t mean you can drink more of it and be healthy! You should always drink responsibly and stick to sensible limits.

Determining Australia’s Lowest Calorie Beer…

Now, working out which is the lowest calorie Australian beer isn’t as simple as just looking at the calories per serving.

We know, we tried that!

First you have low-strength, mid-strength, super-strength issue to contend with. Generally the lower the ABV of a beer the lower calorie it is – but, not always and, maybe you don’t count light beer as beer!

Then, because beer comes in different size servings, a beer that only comes in a 330ml bottle is potentially going to look lower calorie than one that only comes in a schooner or pint, but won’t be the best choice if you upsize – plus different parts of Australia can have different drink measures (I’m looking at you South Australia) which makes comparing tap by tap tricky too.

So we’ve tried to break things down in the easiest way possible and list them by calories per 100ml – and then, give calories for a standard sized bottle/can for the brand and an NSW schooner (425ml) and an NSW pint (570ml).

Oh, and we’re only really covering the beers you’re likely to find in your local here, not all the craft breweries in town, otherwise this would be a book just for Sydney, let alone everywhere else!

So, per 100ml…

The Lowest Calorie Beer in Australia is …

By volume, the lowest calorie beer in Australia is James Boag Premium Light at 23 calories per 100ml – or just 86 calories per 375ml bottle. Admittedly this is a lower-alcohol beer at just 2.6 per cent.

However, the lowest calorie Australian beer per serving is Hahn Superdry 3.5% which has just 78 calories because it only comes in a 330ml bottle. At 3.5 per cent this counts as a mid-strength beer.

If you want to drink a pint or schooner rather than a bottle, your best bet is likely to be Pure Blonde which has 26 calories per 100ml -but is more likely to be found on tap than the other two. This has just 109 calories per schooner and 148 calories per pint. At 4.2 per cent this is another mid-strength option.


Oh, and obviously Pure Blonde is lower in carbs – but is it the lowest carb beer on the market. Actually no. See what is in our post on lowest carb Aussie beers.


So, what’s the lowest full-strength beer? That prize used to belong to Hahn Superdry which has 30 calories per 100ml – adding up to 99 calories a bottle, 127 calories for a schooner and 171 calories a pint.

And lastly, we haven’t forgotten you dark beer lovers either. The lowest calorie dark beer is Toohey’s Old which has 136 calories per bottle, 153 calories a schooner or 205 calories per pint.

A Few Extra Surprises

One of the reasons we like doing this kind of post is that we learn things too – and there were a few surprises in this one.

We didn’t expect Toohey’s Old to have fewer calories than Toohey’s New.

Finding out that our beer of choice when we’re being good – a bottle of Corona – only has 10 fewer calories than a pint of Pure Blonde was a bit of a shocker.

That lower calories didn’t always correlate to lower ABV – Hahn Premium Light versus Hahn 3.5% being a good examples of this.

And the main thing that surprised us – beer doesn’t have anywhere near as many calories as we thought! In fact, at an average of 133 calories, a 175ml glass of red wine has more calories than many of the bottles of beer on this list!!

Again, this does not mean you can drink more of it – just because it’s low calorie doesn’t negate the fact that alcohol isn’t the best for your health in other ways.

So, technically that’s all you really need to know to cut calories in the pub – but what if about your preferred tipple if it wasn’t in the list above, how does that stack up?

Find out below in our round up of the calories in the most popular Australian beers. There’s a quick table below per 100ml of the lowest top 20, or, if you just want the numbers for bottles, schooners or pints for your favourite, then scan down for a monster list – or, use the links in the Table of Contents above to go to your favourite.

The Top 21 Lowest Calorie Australian Beers – At a Glance

Beer NameCalories per 100ml
James Boag Premium Light23
Hahn Superdry 3.5%24
Hahn Premium Light24
Cascade Premium Light25
Iron Jack Crisp25
Pure Blonde Low Carb26
Hahn Ultra Low Carb26
Great Northern Super Crisp27
Summer Bright Lager28
Peroni Leggera28
XXXX Gold29
Coopers Dry29
Hahn Superdry30
Hahn Ultra Crisp30
Great Northern31
Tohey’s Extra Dry32
Carlton Dry33
XXXX Dry34
XXXX Bitter35
Cascade Bitter35
Toohey’s Old36

Calories of the Other Beers in the Pub

These are the beers you’re going to find on tap or bottled in most Aussie pubs … and yes, I know some of the below aren’t usually found on tap and so you can’t buy a pint of say, Peroni Leggera, but I’m future proofing things in case that changes!!

It also helps you compare things more easily.

Calories in James Boag Premium Light – 23 calories per 100ml

ABV 2.5%

Calories per 375ml – 86

Calories per schooner – 98

Calories per pint – 131

Calories in Hahn Superdry 3.5% – 24 calories per 100ml

ABV – 3.5%

Calories per 330ml – 78

Calories per schooner – 102

Calories per pint – 137

Calories in Hahn Premium Light – 24 calories per 100ml

ABV- 2.2%

Calories per 375ml – 90

Calories per schooner – 78

Calories per pint – 137

Calories in Cascade Premium Light – 25 calories per 100ml

ABV – 2.6%

Calories per 330ml – 86

Calories per schooner -110

Calories per pint – 148

Calories in Iron Jack Crisp – 25 calories per 100ml

ABV – 3.5%

Calories per 330ml bottle – 84

Calories per schooner – 106

Calories per pint – 142

Calories in Pure Blonde Low Carb – 26 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 86

Calories per schooner – 109

Calories per pint – 148

Calories in Hahn Ultra Low Carb – 26 per 100ml

ABV- 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 87

Calories per schooner – 112

Calories per pint – 150

Calories in Great Northern Super Crisp – 27 calories per 100ml

ABV – 3.5%

Calories per 330ml – 89

Calories per schooner – 115

Calories per pint – 154

Calories in Summer Bright – 28 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 94

Calories per schooner – 119

Calories per pint – 160

Calories in Peroni Leggera – 28 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 3.5%

Calories per 330ml – 92.4

Calories per schooner – 119

Calories per pint – 160

Calories in XXXX Gold – 29 calories per 100ml

ABV – 3.5%

Calories per 375ml – 109

Calories per schooner – 123

Calories per pint -165

Calories in Coopers Dry – 29 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 355ml – 103

Calories per schooner – 123

Calories per pint – 165

Calories in Hahn Superdry – 30 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.6%

Calories per 330ml – 99

Calories per schooner – 127

Calories per pint – 171

Calories in Hahn Ultra Crisp – 30 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 99

Calories per schooner -127

Calories per pint – 171

Calories in Iron Jack – 30 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 99

Calories per schooner – 127

Calories per pint – 171

Calories in Great Northern – 31 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 93

Calories per schooner – 132

Calories per pint – 177

Calories in Toohey’s Extra Dry – 32 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 375ml bottle – 122

Calories per schooner – 136

Calories per pint – 182

Calories in Carlton Dry – 33 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 330ml – 99

Calories per schooner – 140

Calories per pint – 188

Calories in XXXX Dry – 34 calories per 100ml

ABV- 4.2%

Calories per 330ml – 111

Calories per schooner- 144

Calories per pint – 194

Calories in XXXX Bitter – 35 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 375ml – 131

Calories per schooner – 149

Calories per pint – 199

Calories in Cascade Bitter – 35 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 330ml – 115

Calories per schooner -147

Calories per pint – 200

Calories in Toohey’s Old – 36 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 375ml bottle – 136

Calories per schooner – 153

Calories per pint – 205

Calories in Resch’s Draught – 37 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.5 %

Calories per 330ml – 122

Calories per schooner – 157

Calories per pint – 210

Calories in Carlton Draught – 37 calories per 100ml

ABV- 4.6%

Calories per 330ml – 122

Calories per schooner – 157

Calories per pint – 211

Calories in James Boag Premium – 37 calories per 100ml

ABV 4.6%

Calories per 375ml – 139

Calories per schooner – 157

Calories per pint – 211

Calories in Cascade Draught – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.7%

Calories per 330ml – 125

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint – 217

Calories in Cascade Lager – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.8%

Calories per 330ml – 125

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint -217

Calories in Toohey’s New – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.6%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint – 217

Calories in Byron Bay Lager – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner -161

Calories per pint – 216

Calories in Carlton Black – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV -4.4%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner -161

Calories per pint – 216

Calories in One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.2%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint – 217

Calories in Furphy Original – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint – 217

Calories in Furphy Crisp – 38 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 375ml – 142

Calories per schooner – 161

Calories per pint -217

Calories in Fat Yak – 40 calories per 100ml

ABV- 4.7%

Calories per 330ml – 132

Calories per schooner – 170

Calories per pint – 228

Calories in Victoria Bitter – 40 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.9%

Calories per 375ml – 150

Calories per schooner -170

Calories per pint – 228

Calories in Stella Artois – 40 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.8%

Calories per 330ml – 132

Calories per schooner – 170

Calories per pint -228

Calories in Stone & Wood Pacific Ale – 40 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 4.4%

Calories per 330ml – 132

Calories per schooner – 170

Calories per pint – 228

Calories in Kosciuzko – 41 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 330ml – 135

Calories per schooner – 174

Calories per pint – 234

Calories in Crown Lager – 41 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.9%

Calories per 375ml – 153

Calories per schooner – 174

Calories per pint -234

Calories in Asahi Super Dry – 41 calories per 100ml

ABV – 5%

Calories per 330ml – 123

Calories per schooner – 174

Calories per pint – 234

Calories in Peroni – 41 calories per 100ml

ABV – 5.1%

Calories per 330ml – 123

Calories per schooner – 174

Calories per pint – 234

Calories in Coopers Pale Ale – 41 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 375ml – 154

Calories per schooner – 174

Calories per pint – 233

Calories in Corona Extra – 42 calories per 100ml

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 330ml – 138

Calories per schooner – 178

Calories per pint – 239

Calories in White Rabbit White – 44 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 4.5%

Calories per 330ml – 145

Calories per schooner – 187

Calories per pint – 251

Calories in White Rabbit Dark – 45 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 4.9%

Calories per 330ml – 148

Calories per schooner – 189

Calories per pint – 256

Calories in Little Creatures Pale Ale – 47 calories per 100ml*

ABV – 5.5%

Calories per 330ml – 156

Calories per schooner – 199

Calories per pint – 268

Calories in Coopers Sparkling – 55 calories per 100ml

ABV- 5.5%

Calories per 355ml – 206

Calories per schooner – 233

Calories per pint – 313

Anyone Else Need a Drink Now?

So, there you go, our list of the lowest calorie beers in Australia – and yes, I know there are a whole load more that you can find in Dan Murphy’s or your local craft brewery that aren’t on this list. I kept it to beers sold in pubs so it wasn’t the longest post on the internet.

If however, I have missed out your favourite pub tipple, or a regional special, and you need the answer to how many calories it contains, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll do what I can to find out the answer and add it to the list …

Leave a Comment