Founders All Day Light IPA: New 3% ABV Session IPA Coming in 2026

Founders All Day Light IPA Is Coming in 2026

This morning I bring you a first look at a new light beer coming in 2026 from Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The brewery is taking its popular session-beer concept into even lighter territory with All Day Light IPA, a new Light Session IPA designed to deliver an easy-drinking IPA experience at just 3% ABV and 25 IBU.

The new beer is clearly positioned as a lower-calorie, lower-carbohydrate alternative for drinkers who want hop-forward flavor without the alcohol and calorie load traditionally associated with an IPA.

According to the new packaging, Founders All Day Light IPA will contain just 85 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving. At 3% ABV, that makes it an exceptionally sessionable option for beer drinkers looking for something flavorful enough to drink throughout an afternoon, evening or extended gathering.

The can describes All Day Light IPA with a simple promise: “Flavorful AND Easy Drinking.”

That messaging is reinforced by the beer’s official style designation: Light Session IPA.

And while Founders has not yet released complete brewing details or official tasting notes for this upcoming beer, the label gives us a pretty good idea of where the brewery is taking the new release.

What Is Founders All Day Light IPA?

Founders All Day Light IPA is a new 3% ABV Light Session IPA scheduled to arrive in 2026.

The beer is being packaged in 12-ounce cans, with the label prominently highlighting its low-calorie and low-carbohydrate profile. Each 12-ounce serving contains 85 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates.

That puts All Day Light IPA firmly into the rapidly expanding category of lighter craft beers that aim to preserve the flavor experience associated with traditional craft styles while reducing alcohol, calories and carbohydrates.

The new beer also appears to be a natural evolution of the broader session-IPA concept.

Session IPAs traditionally emphasize drinkability and lower alcohol while retaining the hop character consumers expect from an IPA. Founders takes that idea even further here by dropping the alcohol level to just 3% ABV and emphasizing the beer’s nutritional statistics directly on the front of the package.

For drinkers who enjoy IPA but don’t necessarily want a 6% or 7% beer every time they reach for one, that could be a compelling combination.

3% ABV Makes This an Ultra-Sessionable IPA

The headline number on All Day Light IPA is undoubtedly 3% ABV.

That’s an extremely sessionable alcohol level for an IPA, particularly one that is being marketed specifically around flavor and easy drinking.

The term “sessionable” has become increasingly important in the beer market as drinkers have shown more interest in beers that can be enjoyed over longer periods without the alcohol intensity of traditional craft beer.

Founders is leaning directly into that trend with All Day Light IPA.

At 3% ABV, the beer is designed to be considerably lighter than many of the brewery’s traditional IPAs while still carrying the IPA designation. Rather than presenting the lower alcohol content as a compromise, the label makes it one of the beer’s central selling points.

The front of the can prominently identifies the beer as ALL DAY Light IPA, while the bottom emphasizes LIGHT SESSION IPA.

It’s a straightforward indication of what Founders wants this beer to be: a lighter IPA that can be enjoyed repeatedly.

Only 85 Calories and 6 Grams of Carbs

The other major talking point is the nutritional profile.

Founders All Day Light IPA contains 85 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving.

For comparison purposes, many traditional craft IPAs carry considerably more calories and carbohydrates, although exact nutritional values vary substantially depending on alcohol content, residual sugars, malt bill and brewing process.

Founders is therefore placing All Day Light IPA firmly in the better-for-you and lighter-beer conversation without abandoning the craft-beer identity.

The 85-calorie figure is particularly notable because it puts the beer below the 100-calorie threshold that has become an important benchmark for many light-beer consumers.

The 6 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving further reinforce the beer’s positioning.

Importantly, however, this isn’t being marketed simply as a light lager.

Founders is calling it a Light Session IPA.

That distinction matters because the target consumer isn’t necessarily someone who has abandoned craft beer. Instead, All Day Light IPA appears aimed at the craft-beer drinker who wants an IPA-style experience with a substantially lighter nutritional and alcohol profile.

Founders All Day Light IPA Quick Facts

Label Text:

Per 12 fl. oz. (355 mL): 85 calories | 6g carbohydrates | 1g protein | <1g fat

Stay tuned to MyBeerBuzz for the full Founders All Day Light IPA release details, availability information and tasting notes as they become available.

Related Founders Coverage from mybeerbuzz.com:
Founders Brewing has continued to expand its portfolio with beers that explore different levels of alcohol, flavor and drinkability. Keep checking MyBeerBuzz for more Founders beer news, new release announcements, label reveals and upcoming 2026 craft beer releases.

About Founders Brewing:

Founded in 1997 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders Brewing Co. has grown from a small regional craft brewery into one of the most recognizable names in American craft beer. The brewery was established by Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, two homebrewers whose early beers eventually evolved into a brewing philosophy centered on bold flavors, creativity and beers that pushed beyond conventional style boundaries.

Founders became particularly well known for its IPA, imperial stout and barrel-aged beer programs. Beers such as All Day IPA, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard and KBS helped establish the brewery as a major player during the growth of American craft beer. The brewery’s reputation has been built around producing beers with distinctive character while continuing to experiment with ingredients, brewing techniques and different approaches to traditional beer styles.

One of Founders’ most recognizable successes is All Day IPA, a session IPA designed to deliver substantial hop character at a lower alcohol level than many traditional American IPAs. That beer’s success makes the arrival of All Day Light IPA especially interesting. The new 3% ABV release takes the session concept even further, combining the brewery’s IPA identity with a dramatically lighter alcohol and calorie profile.

Founders’ Grand Rapids brewery remains an important part of the city’s craft beer culture and the broader Michigan brewing scene. Over the years, the brewery has developed a reputation for balancing approachable flagship beers with limited releases and highly sought-after specialty offerings.

The arrival of All Day Light IPA demonstrates that Founders continues to explore how far the IPA category can evolve. With only 3% ABV, 85 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving, the beer represents a very different approach from the brewery’s historically bigger and more intense offerings.

For 2026, Founders is essentially revisiting one of its most successful concepts—sessionable IPA—and making it even lighter while promising that the beer will remain “Flavorful AND Easy Drinking.” That combination could make All Day Light IPA an important new addition to the Founders portfolio.

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