I did a search and didn't find much but was wondering about the sugar in beer. Specifically Milk Stouts. I like them but started to wonder if milk stouts had too much sugar compared to other beer and how this might effect ones sugar levels (if you watch such things).
Sure. Lactose is a sugar, so one can readily assume that milk/sweet stouts will have more sugar than other beers without these ingredients. But don't neglect alcohol, either. It is safe to assume that the higher the ABV, the more sugar the beer will have. My suggestion: In the absence of firm nutritional information, look at the alcohol content first. Look for added ingredients second, and take style into consideration. One other thought: If there's a particular beer you want to know about, cruise over to the Homebrewing Forum (or a homebrew site), and see if clone recipes have been posted. That might tell you something about added sugars.
I'm no scientist, but I believe the calories in beer come from both the post fermentation residual sugar carbohydrates as well as ethanol alcohol. In the case of milk stouts, part of the calorie load also comes from lactose (a type of sugar), but I don't think they are necessarily more calorie heavy than most beers in the same ABV% range.
If you can find it, the final gravity of a beer will correlate to the amount of residual sugars in the beer. Nearly all the other calories will come from the alcohol (and a little from the protein in the malt). Milk stouts (and other non-dry stouts in general) will have a higher calorie count than say a saison (assuming you actually had a high ABV saison that was still near 1.0 FG). I'm not sure about the effects on blood sugar. From what my diabetic friend has told me, it's a bit difficult to judge the effects when alcohol is involved.
Thanks, I was just wondering. I'm not concerned about the calories. Shit...I'm the same weight as I was at 21!! (my wife and all her friends hate me ) I don't have sugar related health issues but I do eat a clean diet (ok..not counting beer ). I know that beer already has a fairly high sugar content and a good point was made above about the higher ABV beers. But I was wondering if the lactose was an extra kick to an already potentially high sugar beverage. I guess on the plus side I haven't had a soda of any kind in years. Diet soda many years. Regular soda... maybe close to 30 years.
http://www.beer100.com/calories_in_beer.htm I think you need to look at the carbohydrate level in beers. Carbohydrate breakdown is what raises a persons blood glucose level. Beers with Lactose probably do have a higher carb level in them since lactose is not fermentable. Simple sugars are fully fermentable so I'm not sure how much carbs they would produce. *this info may not be 100% accurate as I am no doctor/dietician/scientist.
I found this: So yes, it looks like the carbs are the sugars here. A bit more direct I'd say. Although carbs are basically sugars it is more so the refined and/or starchy carbs. But even good carbs can become sugars. If we don't burn them the get stored in a bad way. Like as fat or processed by the liver (I think) and made triglycerides. Well...something like that....I don't remember. Lancaster Milk Stout Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 Bottle (12oz) Amount Per Serving Calories from Fat 0 Calories 192 % Daily Values* Total Fat 0g0% Saturated Fat - Cholesterol 0mg0% Sodium 0mg0% Total Carbohydrate 49g16% Dietary Fiber 0g0% Sugars 49g Protein 0g Vitamin A -Vitamin C - Calcium -Iron - *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
