The European Light Beer We Ranked Dead Last In Our Taste Test

Beer certainly isn't just beer. The styles, flavors, and heaviness of the beers we enjoy run the spectrum, including stouts and porters, hoppy IPAs and mild shandys, and ales and lagers. But, at least in terms of calories, light beers are the best. To see which light beers brought the one-two punch of low calories and max flavor, we tasted and ranked 14 domestic and imported light beers. The results varied widely, but our least favorite beer of the bunch was Amstel Light from the Netherlands.

We'll start with the positives. First, this light beer comes in at 95 calories, which puts it in the same range as most light beers with under 100 calories. It also looks good: the packaging is nice, and the beer has a good color. That's where the positives stop. We thought this light beer almost had a flat taste to it, then there's this weird aftertaste that follows the flatness. Even cold, it tasted like it had been sitting out at room temperature for hours. It's just not very good. If you're at a party and this is the beer du jour, it's not going to kill you or anything, but almost any other light beer would be better.

Many other reviewers agree with us about Amstel Light. Two YouTubers who review beers gave Amstel Light a 4 and 4.5 out of 10, respectively, with one saying "that's the wateriest beer I think I've ever had." A separate YouTuber was slightly more positive and gave the beer a 3.56 out of 5 rating. That said, some reviewers enjoy Amstel Light. A Redditor says, "Amstel light ... is my go-to light beer." Total Wine customers rate the beer a 4.8 out of 5. One customer had this to say: "Favorite light beer for over 20 years. Tastes like a REAL [sic] beer and not a watered down version of a real beer."

Because it's an import, Amstel Light costs you a little more than a typical domestic light beer. A six-pack of bottles runs around $10.99 and a 12-pack sets you back $16.99. That's a fairly high cost for, in our opinion, a mediocre beer. Instead, we recommend Blue Point Brewing Co. Long Island Light and Samuel Adams American Light, which we ranked as our two favorite light beers. If Amstel Light is your thing, we're not here to judge — you do you — but we'll take a pass.