Bud Light's nutrition label could shake up craft beer

You know one of the worst things about craft beer?

The best of it is even more caloric than sugary soft drinks. A lot more. 

A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola has 140 calories. A 12-ounce can of Two Hearted Ale from Bell's Brewery? 212 calories. 

Or how about Breakfast Stout from Founders Brewing Co.? 270 calories. 

Those are two of enthusiasts' most beloved beers in America. They're loaded with flavor, made with quality ingredients and, for Michiganders, they're locally made. But if a New Year's resolution has you watching calories, it's now harder than ever to pretend beer doesn't count. 

Pop cans, bags of chips and candy bars have long included mandatory nutrition-fact labels. Soon, the country's biggest beer brands, such as Bud Light, Miller Lite and Corona, are expected to join them voluntarily. The beer aisle until now has been a place you could easily suspend judgment; the federal government doesn't require the same labeling for alcoholic beverages. 

Perhaps this helped give bigger, bolder craft beers a leg up in the market. Make beer more flavorful, even if that means double or more calories — Bell's Expedition Stout (383 calories) is about four times as caloric as than Miller Lite (96) per 12-ounce serving — and a lot of people will go for it. 

But even in an era when champion athletes are treated to fast food at the White House, lower-calorie beverage options are making strides. Last year, low- and no-calorie seltzers such as LaCroix were forecast to have nearly tripled the amount sold in 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported. And Michelob Ultra (95 calories per 12-ounce serving) had the biggest gain for a beer brand in 2017, with sales growing by 23.6 percent over the previous year to $1.6 billion. 

Now here we are at the start of 2019, with Bud Light announcing serving-facts labels on its boxes starting in February. 

Smart move. It has 110 calories. Combined with the brand's hokey, mead-drinker-disparaging TV advertisements, perhaps this can help Anheuser-Busch InBev stem sales-volume declines the brand has experienced while craft breweries gained market share. 

What's more, you may have noticed more restaurant menus posting beer nutrition facts. That's because, as of last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires chains with 20 or more locations to publish calories contained in menu items, including beer as well as food. 

The rest of the big breweries, including others under AB Inbev as well as MillerCoors, Heineken USA and more, also plan to voluntarily publish serving facts and more on packaging by the end of 2020, according to the Beer Institute trade association. 

Whether independent craft breweries do the same is yet to be seen. Of course, much of the calories in stronger craft beers come from alcohol — Two Hearted Ale has 7 percent alcohol by volume; Bud Light has 4.2 percent — and there's a good chance people don't drink as much of the former as the latter in one sitting. 

But it's notable that Founders last year started selling its Solid Gold Premium Lager (4.4 percent ABV, 140 calories) in 24-packs, displayed and priced not far from Bud Light in a number of stores. 

Calories, of course, are a way of measuring the energy-producing value of things we eat and drink. Estimated daily needs vary among factors such as height, age, weight and activity, but they generally range "from 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day for adult women and 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day for adult men," according to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 

It makes a difference whether calories come from, say, alcohol or sugar, but among the risks with over-consumption: obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even cognitive impairment, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In December, Comstock Park-based Perrin Brewing Co. launched its Clear Coast, Fresh Hard Seltzer on draft in Michigan. It has mango and guava flavors and is 5 percent alcohol with 100 calories. That's even less caloric than Bud Light.

But to be sure, it's damn hard to beat the flavors of a Two Hearted Ale or Breakfast Stout. 

Calorie counts of popular beers from Michigan's two largest breweries

Founders Brewing Co. 

Kentucky Breakfast Stout, 340

Breakfast Stout, 270

Dirty Bastard, 270

Porter, 230

Centennial IPA, 220

All Day IPA, 140 

Solid Gold, 140

Bell's Brewery

Expedition Stout, 383

Hopslam, 294

Kalamazoo Stout, 221

Two Hearted Ale, 212

Amber Ale, 184

Oberon, 187

Oarsman, 137

Source: Websites of Bell's Brewery and Founders Brewing Co. 

Spirits of Detroit columnist Robert Allen covers craft alcohol for the Free Press. Contact him: rallen@freepress.com or on Untappd, raDetroit and Twitter, @rallenMI.