The 10 Healthiest Beers for Tailgating

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While there are a few of us who work out because it makes us feel good, even the most fitness-minded among us work out at least partially because it makes us look good. At the end of a long week of pumping iron and running miles a day, we want to show off our hard work. So, we go to the bar or the club and drink the pounds we shed right back on. This is even worse during football season. After sixteen weeks of wings, brats and nachos, we can do nothing but put on XXL jerseys to hide our shame. We’re here to help. If you are going to drink your way through Sunday Funday, you can at least do it the healthiest way possible. Here are The 10 Healthiest Beers for Tailgating.

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No. 10 - Brooklyn Local 1

Style: Bottle-Conditioned Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 9%

Calories: 245

We’re huge fans of Brooklyn Brewery at Sneaker Report. Considering no one can actually afford to live in Manhattan, many of our staffers are in striking distance of the birthplace of this sweet nectar. We know what you’re thinking. 245 Calories. Ugh. But, at 9% alcohol you are getting double the booze compared to the normal swill tailgaters toss down their gullets. All the beer commercials brag about low calories, but this often comes with a sub-4% ABV, which means you’ll be drinking more if your goal is to “get crunk”, and let’s face it, you aren’t drinking soda. There are some other benefits here as well. Local 1 is a bottle-condition beer, meaning that yeast is added right before the bottle is sealed. Adding the yeast this late in the process will yield B-Complex vitamins, protein, and minerals.No. 9 - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale

ABV: 5.7

Calories: 171

That bittersweet taste that turns less experienced beer drinkers off from pale ales comes from hops. Not only are they addictively delicious once you acquire the taste, but hoppy beers are also a source of phenols. The phenols in Pale Ales pack the punch of additional anti-oxidants and assist your protein metabolism, important for all you gym rats who subsist on protein shakes.

No. 8 - Short’s Spruce Pilsner

Style: Imperial Pilsner

ABV: 7.15%

Calories: 210

We are already suspicious of fruity beers, so the prospect of trees in our beer gave us pause. After looking into it, we found that not only do beer snobs go crazy for this brew, but that spruce tips are supposed to increase circulation, help with joint stiffness, and decreasing stress. This probably won’t decrease stress as much as smoking trees, but at least this is legal for non-medicinal purposes. Besides, with 7% alcohol, you’ll be buzzing just fine as is.

No. 7 - Porterhouse Oyster Stout

Style: Oyster Stout

ABV: 5.2%

Calories: 144

Yes, there are oysters in this beer, but you can’t taste them. With the Porterhouse Oyster Stout, you still get the nutty, coffee-tinged smoky flavor you want from a good dark beer. And they’ve been doing it since 1929, so they must be doing something right. Oysters and dark beers have long been paired because of the way their unique tastes work together. Even better, this brews provides the health benefits of a stout combined with the protein and minerals of those delectable sea morsels.

No. 6 - Abita Purple Haze

Style: American Style Wheat

ABV: 4.2 %

Calories: 128

Purple Haze might be low in alcohol, but it also quite low in calories. Additionally, it is one of the lowest-carb brews on the list, which is a bonus. What sets Purple Haze apart from the competition, however, is that it is brewed with raspberry puree, which provides additional vitamins and nutrients. So, when your friends are mocking you for drinking a fruity beer, take it like a man, and remember to mock them for that spare tire in a few weeks.

No. 5 - Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat

Style: Whitbier

ABV: 4.8%

Calories: 145

Any wheat beer is a good choice for sneaker lovers. Wheat beers have been shown to fight muscle inflammation and assist with respiratory issues in runners. And, well, since this website is called Sneaker Report, you should always have a wheat beer on tap. Not only is this wheat beer extremely low in calories, but as we’re sure your health-conscious friends have told you, pomegranate is one of the best fruits you can put in your body. The fruit is purported to help prevent a dozen different diseases.

No. 4 - Lambrucha

Style: Lambic

ABV: 3.5%

Calories: 105

Hipsters and hippies alike sing the health praises of kombucha, as it is filled with vitamins and is known as a top hangover cure. So, drink a bunch of these at night, and then drink some virgin Lambruchas when you wake up and you should be good to go.

No. 3 - Beamish Irish Stout

Style: Stout

ABV: 4%

Calories: 130

Not only is this stout low in calories, it is also bears the health benefits associated with darker beers. Dark beers are full of phenols. Phenols are full of anti-oxidants, which slow the effects of aging, which is also, you know, one of the reasons we work out. Stall Time’s wrinkly march all of over face while enjoying this smoky, chocolaty brew.

No. 2 - Modelo Especial

Style: American Style Lager

ABV: 6%

Calories: 145

If you have a taste for American Syle Lager, which is what we think of when we think of a typical American mass-market beer, we recommend Modelo Especial. While most of the beers from the Miller, Bud and Amstel families hover around 4% alcohol, Modelo has 6% with a similar caloric content. Modelo has a unique, refreshing taste that you might just like better than the typical dollar draft usual suspects.

No. 1 - Guinness

Style: Stout

ABV: 4%

Calories: 126

We saved Guinness for last, not because it is necessarily the healthiest on the list, though it is up there. We suggest Guinness because we know that most of the beers on this list are the kind of craft beers available only at quirky neighborhood bars and beer warehouses. This is one of the only beers on the list you are going to find at your neighborhood Buffalo Wild Wings or local gas station on the regular. We’ve already told you how good stouts are for you. So, even if your beverage choices are limited, you have the option to put down the beers you see in the commercials and grab a brew with some real health benefits.

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