a bottle of corona light beer
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Corona Light Calories (Complete Breakdown)

Corona Extra, the flagship brand of Grupo Modelo, is the most popular imported beer in the United States. Its light-beer sibling, Corona Light, offers the thirst-crushing, easy-drinking experience of Corona with fewer calories and carbs. If you’re wondering about the carb and calorie content of Corona Light, look no further! We’ve compiled all you need to know below.

The standard 12 fl. oz (355 ml) bottle of Corona Light has 99 calories, with 4.8 grams of carbs. This is fairly standard for a light beer in the American style and not dissimilar from its main competitors. 

Is that all you need to know about your ice-cold bottle of Corona Light? Of course not! Read on to find out more useful information about Corona Light, including nutritional information and ingredients, and find out how this light beer compares to other Mexican and American adjunct lagers.

Stefan, the founder of Beveragebeaver.com, holding a bottle of corona light

How Many Calories Are In Corona Light (4.0% ABV)?

Corona Light, in the standard 12 fl. oz bottle, has 99 calories. This includes 4.8 grams of carbs, 0.8 grams of protein, and 0 grams of fat. Corona Light is sold exclusively in 12oz bottles or cans. 

Corona Light’s 99 calories are very much in keeping with the standards for the style. Light American lagers like Busch Light or Bud Light have similar calories. Compared with its elder sibling, Corona Extra, which has 148 calories per bottle, Corona Light is much lighter. 

The ingredients in Corona Light are water, barley malt, non-malted cereals, and hops. These are standard beer ingredients, which explains the presence of carbs in this beer. Among the non-malted cereals in the Corona Light ingredient list is corn, which is native to Mexico and is a feature of most Mexican adjunct lagers. The inclusion of corn is why these beers are called “adjunct” lagers, not just lagers. 

How Many Calories Compared To Other Mexican and American Lagers?

In the table below, we compared Corona Light to other American light lagers. Corona Light is the light-beer version of the flagship Corona Extra product and competes with other macro brewed light beers of the style. This includes Natural Light, Bud Light, and Busch Light. We also included Corona Extra in the table below so you can see how this light beer compares to its non-light counterpart.

BeerCalories per 12 oz
Corona Light99
Coors Light102
Miller Light100
Heineken Light99
Bud Light110
Corona Extra148

As you can see, Corona Light’s 99 calories is a touch lower than other light beers, if only by one, two, or three calories. It is about the same as its main international competitor, Heineken Light, and not as calorific as Bud Light, which has the most calories of the beers in the table above. 

How Much Sugar Is In Corona Light?

Did you know that alcohol labeling regulations in the United States do not require manufacturers to list the sugar content of their alcoholic beverages? That’s why we do not know the exact amount of sugar in your bottle of Corona Light. 

You can, however, make an educated guess based on the fact that beer is typically not very high in sugar. While sugar-containing ingredients are used in beer production, this sugar almost totally converts into alcohol. The alcohol content of a beer is responsible for much of the beer’s calorie count, but beers are usually low in sugar. 

Is There Fat In Corona Light?

Beer is also fairly low in fat, as a general rule. There are few, if any, fat-heavy ingredients involved in beer production. None of the ingredients in Corona Light are high in fats, so Corona Light has zero fat. 

Is Corona Light Keto-Friendly/Low Carb?

While Corona Light’s lower carb count compared to Corona Extra makes it seem keto-friendly, it’s worth looking closely at what that means for you. 

Today’s beer drinkers are more health-conscious than any previous generation. Many people have achieved their health goals by following keto and low-carb diets. Devoted beer fans often wonder if they can still indulge in their favorite brew while sticking to the restrictions of a new diet. A light beer such as Corona Light seems purpose-built for this market, so you might be wondering whether you can still enjoy a Corona Light and stay keto. 

You can usually consider a low-carb diet to be one that restricts your carbohydrate intake to 100-150 grams per day. One Corona Light has 4.8 grams of carbs, which won’t take up too much of your carb allowance. At only 5% of your carbohydrate allocation, a Corona Light is probably a worthwhile treat every now and then. 

The keto diet, on the other hand, is a more extreme version of the low-carb diet. Keto diets can reduce your carb intake to as low as 20 grams per day or 50 grams per day. Most of the calories for those on a keto diet come from fats and protein, which Corona Light is very low in. 

Corona Light’s 4.8 grams of carbs certainly won’t tip you over the edge of even the most restrictive keto diet, but it’s worth remembering that you might not be able to enjoy carbs in food as well as a Corona Light.

Corona Light is often used as a substitute for Corona Extra because they are effectively the same beer. Corona Light just has less alcohol, fewer carbs, and a lower calorie count. Corona Light is definitely a more keto-friendly choice than Corona Extra, but it is probably not the best choice compared to a glass of water. 

The reason Corona Light is more keto-friendly than Corona Extra is that the bulk of the calories in beer come from carbohydrates.

Is Corona Light A Healthier Beer?

Corona Light is probably a healthier beer than Corona Extra (unless you actually want to increase your carb count). However, as with your diet choices, the exact definition of “healthy” depends on your choices. Corona’s 4.0% ABV and 4.8g of carbs are leaner than many full-strength beers. For most diet purposes, you could have a Corona Light interchangeably with other light beers, like Busch Light or Coors Light. 

However, compared to a glass of water or unsweetened black coffee, Corona Light has far more calories and carbs. It is also worth considering the alcohol content of a beer. Corona Light’s 4.0% is far lower than many full-strength beers, which accounts for its lower calorie count.

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