Great Northern is the success story of modern Australian brewing.
From it’s launch in 2010, it’s grown to become the top-selling beer brand in Australia and is billed as a crisp, refreshing and easy drinking beer.
In this article we look at how many calories there are in each of the Great Northern beer varieties: Great Northern Original, Great Northern Super Crisp and and Great Northern Zero.
See also: 10 Great Low Calorie Beers
How Many Calories in Great Northern Original?
- 117 calories
- 6.4g of carbs
- 12./8g of alcohol (4.2% ABV)
Great Northern Original comes in 375ml bottles and cans. Each 375ml bottle or can contains 117 calories.
There is 6.4g of carbohydrate in each can or bottle and 12.8g of alcohol (Great Northern Original has an ABV of 4.2%).
How Many Calories in Great Northern Super Crisp?
- 100 calories
- 5.3g of carbs
- 10.5g of alcohol (3.5%) ABV
Great Northern Super Crisp is Great Northern’s mid strength option and has a slightly lower alcohol content than Great Northern Original.
Not surprisingly, Super Crisp is also a little kind on the waistline with 100 calories in a 375ml bottle or can vs Great Northern Original’s 117 calories.
Similarly, it is lower in carbs with 5.3g per 375ml.
How Many Calories in Great Northern Zero?
- 68 calories
- 15.4 carb
- Zero alcohol
Great Northern Zero, as the name suggests, is Great Northern Brewing’s zero alcohol beer. It is lower in calories than either of its cousins, but is significantly more rich in carbs with approximately three time as much carbohydrate as either Great Northern Original or Super Crisp. This is typical of zero alcohol beers.
The dirty little secret is they often contain sugar, which is consumed by the yeast in beers with alcohol during the brewing process. In the case of Great Northern Zero, it contains 1.9g of sugar, whereas the other varieties don’t have any.
How Does Great Northern stack up on calories vs other beers
You can see from the list below that Great Northern compares favorably on calories and carbs its main rival, XXXX Gold, and other leading Australian beers.
- Great Northern – 117 calories, 6.4g of carbs
- XXXX Gold – 135 calories, 10.5g carbohydrates
- Victoria Bitter (VB) – 155 calories, 12.2g carbohydrates
- Carlton Draught – 150 calories, 11.5g carbohydrates
- Tooheys New – 140 calories, 11.3g carbohydrates
- Coopers Pale Ale – 170 calories, 11.5g carbohydrates
- James Squire 150 Lashes Pale Ale – 160 calories, 11g carbohydrates
- Little Creatures Pale Ale – 160 calories, 13g carbohydrates
- Cascade Premium Lager – 140 calories, 9.9g carbohydrates
- Matilda Bay Fat Yak Pale Ale – 160 calories, 12g carbohydrates
- Hahn Super Dry – 115 calories, 6g carbohydrates
More About Great Northern
Great Northern was launched by Australian brewing giant Carlton United Breweries (CUB) in 2010 as a competitor to rival XXXX, owned by Japanese giant Lion.
Super Crisp was launched several years later to rival XXXX Gold – Lion’s best-selling mid strength beer.
CUB has since been taken over by Japanese drinks giant Asahi.
Great Northern’s success has come in part from innovative advertising campaigns that play on the relaxed outdoor lifestyle in northern Australia and the drift away from traditional full strength beers such as Victoria Bitter.
“With its fruity aroma, low bitterness and clean, crisp finish, it’s the ultimate refreshment for the Great Northern conditions,'” is the way Great Northern Brewing describes the beer in its marketing.
While it is hugely popular, Great Northern’s taste is too bland for many beer drinkers with critics saying it is so light on flavor it almost resembles a soda water.
“Insipid neutral borderline watery brew. Sharply over carbonated, inhibiting drinkability. High cereal sweetness,” was the verdict from one reviewer on Beer Advocate.
Australia’s top selling beers of 2022
- Great Northern (Brewed by CUB, part of Asahi)
- Carlton Dry (CUB/Asahi)
- XXXX Gold (Lion, part of Kirin)
- Coopers (independent)
- Victoria Bitter (CUB/Asahi)
- Corona (Anheuser-Busch InBev, brewed in Australia by CUB/Asahi)
- Tooheys (Lion/Kirin)
- Hahn (Lion/Kirin)
- Pure Blonde (CUB/Asahi)
- Asahi (CUB/Asahi)
