Does “light” beer refer to lower calories or lower alcohol?
The “light” designation has a different meaning in Canada than in the U.S. In Canada, the definition of “light beer” is a beer of 4% or less alcohol per volume and 2.6% or more alcohol per volume. Calories are not considered in the Canadian definition. In the U.S, however, “light” refers to beers containing less than 100 calories. Some brewers use a special process to break a portion of the unfermentable sugars into simpler, fermentable ones, creating a beer with fewer calories and an alcohol content comparable with regular beer. Such a beer, having less than 100 calories but greater than 4% alcohol, would attain a “light” designation in the U.S. but a “regular” designation in Canada.
The “light” designation has a different meaning in Canada than in the U.S. In Canada, the definition of “light beer” is a beer of 4% or less alcohol per volume and 2.6% or more alcohol per volume. Calories are not considered in the Canadian definition. In the U.S, however, “light” refers to fewer calories. Some brewers use a special process to break a portion of the unfermentable sugars into simpler, fermentable ones, creating a beer with fewer calories and an alcohol content comparable with regular beer. Such a beer, having fewer calories than its full-strength version but greater than 4% alcohol, would attain a “light” designation in the U.S. but a “regular” designation in Canada.
