The Calorie Conundrum

IMO, if you're that worried about the calories, skip the beer entirely.

 

They shouldn't. Craft beer isn't about cutting calories. It's like making a healthy non-fat pie - sure, you can do it, but it's going to taste like shit. Craft beer is about making beer that doesn't taste like shit.

Also, the big issue is people need to be trained that calories mostly come from alcohol in a beer. So when people go out and drink 8 Bud Lights to save on calories, they'd be in the same exact spot calorie-wise if they just drank 6 Sam Adams Boston Lagers instead.

 

Drink session beers.

I made a mild that had roughly the same calories as a regular light beers (not the ultra lights).

 

In my opinion, the people choosing to drink light beer don't want flavorful beer anyway, regardless of the calories.

 

Let them drink swill.

 

Did you even read his message? If you're drinking one Miller 64 then sure, noting can compete. If you drink three then you can just drink a SNPA or something instead.

Just like everything involving caloric consumption how many calories per serving something has is almost completely irrelevant, it's how many servings you actually eat. If you care about calories and taste then eat/drink less of the thing that's better. It's that simple.

That said, Sam Adams Light. So... where's the issue?

 

This. If they just want to drink they can drink vodka and diet soda or seltzer at 80 cals per drink.

 

The article already solved the conundrum:

Just drink less. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Craft beer is a "sometimes food". Cut calories elsewhere. Or drink less.

There already are plenty of session beers that come in around 100 calories for a 12oz serving - just look for most beers in the 3.5-4.0% range. If the industry starts marketing those as "calorie savings" though, then craft just becomes no better than BMC level marketing tactics.

Again though, I just don't think beer is a place where one should worry about calories. If you're going to enjoy a beer, then enjoy a beer. The difference between 150 calories and a 100 calories in a glass is completely negligible compared to the rest of the food somebody shoves down their gullet every day. We're seriously talking about less calories than a single slice of cheese on a sandwich at lunch...

 

Umm, and so the general public will continue to see nothing but ads for macro light lager and then buy random-ass craft light beer... why?

I don't think you have a coherent theory of what's happening here.

 

I wouldn't take beer or health recommendations from msnbc.

 

Well, you can drink 3 Mich Ultras or 1 Bigfoot. Seems like a no brainer to me. The fallacy is that anyone just drinks one or two light lagers. Six packs are seen as "single servings". The irony is that light beers are the beer of choice for binge drinking.

 

You said yourself they completely own the market for light beers. No craft brewer could compete with the marketing of BMC light beers. I doubt a craft brewer would be able to compete with the cost of a $6 six pack of Bud Light either. Not to mention craft supporters may see it as a brewery selling out, while many light beer drinkers will support whatever is the cheapest least offensive option.

As rlcoffey mentioned I think the only way would be for a craft brewer to market anything like this would be to make a mild but even then it would most likely need to be priced more competitively with light beers rather than craft and I don't see that happening.

 

Should wine producers offer lower calorie offerings diluted with water? Should whiskey be sweetened with xylitol? Those MSNBC and equivalent suggestions only go by calories, and frankly if you're a true beer advocate and not a lush you really shouldn't ever have to worry about weight gain due to imbibing.

My .02

 

If you're eating healthy meals and not snacking on salty/sugary treats, then you can pretty much drink whatever beer you want.

All things in moderation. If you're trying to watch your calories, just eat till you're full -- not till you're stuffed. If you do that, drinking whatever beer you enjoy shouldn't be a problem.

For whatever reason, we have this bizarre sentiment in America that if it's on your plate, you absolutely must eat it and you're wasteful/ungrateful if you don't. It's stupid. If you're satisfied, why would you keep eating? Seems just as wasteful to shove unnecessary food in your mouth after you're already full as it would be to just throw it away.

Or better yet -- get a doggy bag and take it home for later.