Lite
78/100
The short takeA clean, very light beer that drinks easily and leaves too little flavor to satisfy. The lean body fits a light beer.
Tasted Karl HillHow we score
Who it’s for Someone counting calories who will trade flavor for how light the can is.
In the glass
- Nose
- Clean, and almost empty. Malt and hop barely show before the sip, and neither bitterness nor crispness is waiting in the aroma.
- Palate
- Very light and restrained. The beer stays clean and uncomplicated, but the middle of the sip does not have the flavor intensity or the depth to stay engaging. The leanness is real. The beer behind it is not.
- Finish
- Clean, and brief. The sip ends almost as soon as it starts, and little of a flavor that was already slight carries any further. Not enough malt, bitterness, or crispness stays behind.
Structure and likeness Show Hide
Structure
- Body
- Very light
- Finish length
- Short finish
How beer-like is it?
Separate from the score. A convincing resemblance is not a higher rating.
Recognizable as a light beer. Thinness fits the style and is not the fault. The shortfall is interest: not enough malt, hop, bitterness, or crispness to repay the sip.
The beer
Athletic Lite gets the weight right and then runs out of beer. The sip is clean, very light, and easy, and so restrained that it feels underdeveloped rather than delicate. A light body belongs here. Thinness is not the charge. The charge is how little flavor arrives with it.
The middle of the sip has neither the intensity nor the depth to hold attention. Malt, hop, bitterness, and the crisp snap a light beer can still offer stay too faint to matter. After the sip, what is left is clean and short, with almost nothing to taste. The score credits the cleanliness and how easy the can is to drink. It comes off for the short finish and for flavor that never concentrates.
Nothing is wrong with it in the way a poor nonalcoholic beer is wrong. There is no clash and no off note in the lean frame. The parts simply do not add up. Twenty-five calories in the can give that restraint a purpose for someone counting every one. Light does not have to mean empty. Other lean nonalcoholic beers keep more brewing character than this and still drink easily. Lite earns the cleanliness and the drinkability. It does not earn the flavor.
Clean, highly drinkable, and underwhelming.
78 sits below the median of the 36 naturally low alcohol beer bottles we've tasted.
The bottle
Trade record, where to buy, and product facts.
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Athletic describes the process as proprietary.
Research notes
The front of the can reads Athletic Brewing Co., Lite, Non-Alcoholic Brew, Contains Less Than 0.5% Alc/Vol, 25 calories, 5 g carbs, and 12 fl oz (355 ml). It does not print sugar. The can’s own line calls Lite an everyday brew with a crisp, dry finish, and says it was brewed in the USA. Brewer’s notes on the page name Noble hops over a rice and malt body. That is also producer copy. On 2026-10-19 Chris Furnari, senior communications manager, wrote that every Athletic brew is fully fermented to less than 0.5% ABV and that the process is proprietary. He did not name a machine. The method is Withheld.
Where to buy
- Athletic Brewing
- Package
12 fl oz can
- Typical price
-
$10.99 / 6 × 12 fl oz cans
≈ $1.83 per can
- Availability
Year-round. Athletic’s about page includes Lite among the essential brews sold in stores and from the brewery. The shop lists a 6-pack at $10.99 and states a four 6-pack minimum.
Prices and availability are independently observed and may change. Retailer listings do not imply endorsement. A different package is labeled as a different format. Reader-service exceptions and commercial links are identified above; neither affects scores, rankings, classification, verification, or editorial coverage.
Product facts
- Producer
- Athletic Brewing Company
- Origin
- Milford, Connecticut, and San Diego, California, United States
- Bottle / can
- 12 fl oz (355 ml) can
Sources disagree on Ingredients. Send a correction
Sources & verification
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Where sources disagree
Sources disagree on the following points.
- Ingredients: The product page lists malt. The can lists malted barley, with rice, wheat, hops, and yeast. The record follows the can.
Evidence at a glance
- Producer documented7 facts
- Bottle verified6 facts
Sources
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Producer athleticbrewing.com
Producer documented3 notes
- Production
- Chris Furnari (Athletic Brewing, 2026-10-19) said every Athletic brew is fully fermented to less than 0.5% ABV. The Lite page does not describe a removal step.
- Production method
- Furnari’s 2026-10-19 reply does the same and names no machine. The method is Withheld.
- Barcode (EAN/GTIN)
- The can back shows a barcode whose digits are not clear enough to confirm this code. Not copied into the essay.
-
Bottle / can label athleticbrewing.com
- ABV
- Ingredients (sources disagree)
- Calories
- Volume
- Country
- Region
3 notes
- ABV
- Chris Furnari’s 2026-10-19 note covers every Athletic brew at that ceiling.
- Calories
- Can back, average analysis per 12 fl oz: 25 calories, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 0 g fat. Sugar is not printed. The front of the can also prints 25 calories and 5 g carbs.
- Region
- The can names Milford, CT 06460 and San Diego, CA 92121. The public region stays the two cities.
Product record history Sourced changes and open disagreements. Prior claims stay on the record when sources conflict.
- ReviewedReviewed and published.
- UpdatedCatalog record updated from sourced research.
- Fact corrected · IngredientsCorrected from Water, malt, rice, wheat, hops, yeast (producer product page). to Water, malted barley, rice, wheat, hops, yeast (can back).. The can back names malted barley. The product page had said malt.
- OpenDiscrepancyIngredients.
Compare holds up to four. Want to try keeps a bottle in My Bottles.
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