Bell’s Brewery Announces “Light Hearted,” The Low-Cal Version of Two Hearted IPA

Who says big beer news doesn’t drop on a Friday afternoon? Bell’s Brewery just lit a particular corner of the internet on fire with the following announcement: A new, low-calorie, low-ABV version of the iconic Two Hearted IPA is coming to national distribution in cans. We have very few details about the new Light Hearted IPA at the moment, other than the snazzy looking photo of the can, and Bell’s description, which you can see in the tweet below.

As we wrap up our #TwoHearted celebrations, we have something to share.

Light Hearted, a lo-cal IPA with many of the characteristics of its namesake, but without all the calories, will debut in early 2020,

All malt, balanced, flavorful, hoppy and only 3.7% ABV. More to come. pic.twitter.com/0qBMIzQtzc

— Bell’s Brewery (@BellsBrewery) August 16, 2019

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Those who happen to live in the Kalamazoo area may have already been familiar with the idea of Light Hearted, as the brewery first produced a version of the beer in bottles as a taproom exclusive sale back in April. Curiously, that version of Light Hearted was listed as 4.5% ABV and 110 calories, with 8.7 grams of carbohydrates. Seeing as the canned version of Light Hearted is stated to be 3.7% ABV, we can assume that Bell’s decided to push the concept even further after the initial release. Could this mean a calorie count under 100? Is Bell’s attempting to create the IPA answer to Michelob Ultra, and its runaway growth in recent years? Or simply arm itself with a tool to battle the success of a very visible local competitor in Founders All Day IPA? Regardless, whatever the nutrition numbers on Light Hearted end up being, it’s sure to be a lot lighter than a 12 oz serving of the original Two Hearted, which clocks in at 212 calories and 17 grams of carbs. It’s curious that the brewery chose not to announce those numbers now, considering that calorie count is the product’s primary selling point.

The announcement understandably comes during the middle of Bell’s weeklong celebration of the Two Hearted brand, which also coincides with the release of the 11% ABV Double Two Hearted. We look forward to a trying a full “Hearted Heat” at some point, with all three lined up next to one another, to see exactly how they compare.

It sounds like it will be a while before we get our answers, though. As Bell’s states, look for Light Hearted IPA (can we really call it “IPA” at 3.7% ABV, by the way?) in 2020.