The Calorie Conundrum

I asked for a doggie bag for my beer and the waitress just laughed.

 

I wouldnt waste my money on craft light beer. On a friday or saturday, if I'm going out/partying/having fun I'll start with 2 or 3 craft beers that are higher in calories/money/taste. After that I usually switch to something cheaper with less taste (Highlife or Miller Lite) because at that point the cost/calories of a craft beer isnt worth it to me. Especially considering I'm buzzed, and dont really care as much what I'm drinking at that point.

If i'm going to spring extra and buy a craft, I want it to be a legit good tasting beer. If budweiser or millercoors could produce an IPA (or porter stout) that was actually good and cheaper than craft I'd be the first to buy it.

 

Exercising regularly makes calories less of a conundrum.

 

http://supermarketnews.com/center-store/girl-power-alcoholic-drinks-women

Found this to be relevant.

 

Not sure why SA Light isn't craft in your view... it's as craft as anything out there. It's just exactly what happens to a beer when you take out the flavor (malt) to cut the calories down.

As for the calories... there are 110 calories in a can of Bud Light. Anyone out there who is actually concerned about those extra 12 calories is a lost cause and not worth going after. We're seriously talking about a packet of ketchup difference now...

 

Couldn't agree more. Society has become so fixated on counting calories when we really should be focused on living more active lives. If you exercise regularly and eat moderately healthy, you should not be concerned with how many calories are in your beers.

 

I'm not willing to sacrifice good beer for a low calorie beer plain and simple. I just get too much enjoyment out of drinking good beer. That being said, I understand the calories need to be cut elsewhere, whereas I usually skip the cheese on sandwhiches, drink a lot more shakes as meals these days, slim to never use much dressings or condiments, and stay away from white breads and pastas. Every little bit counts...and I also exercise regularly. Beer is a BIG motivator for all I described here.

 

Sure, if they started using corn, and then it would taste like every other crappy macro out there.

Not really sure where you're trying to go with this...

 

Brew more Berliner Weisses... /thread

 

Good, more quality beer for me. I don't think the craft market is suffering all that much currently. The demand seems to way outweigh the supply, so more demand is just going to make everything harder to get. Bottomline is that more people are choosing craft now than ever and it doesn't bother than some people aren't because of the calories in craft beer.

 

You have a point about introducing non-macro light beers, but the inherent problem still rests with the consumers of these products. The general consumer of macro lights is not going to consider a 'Dogfish Light Headed' or some other unrecognizable concoction from an unknown brewery. The act of drinking a Bud Light is simple, comfortable, and refreshing to them. We are the ones who venture outside the norm and seek flavor and balance. However, I doubt the market within the craft beer consumer base is enough to keep a light beer on the green side of profit. Sam and even Sierra can accomplish a light beer offering, but the more regional and local brewers would struggle with sales.

 

It sells quite well. But there are tons of light craft beers out there. They just don't say 'light' on the label. Seriously - anything in the 3.5-4% range is a light beer. Here is an entire local brewery (Notch) that does nothing but "light" beers:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22723

 

What BMC does to make their beers so light in calories strips the flavor and taste from the beer. Even if a craft brewery went through the same process they'd have to end up with a BMC Lite clone to even come close to the same calories. At that point, what's the point?

In the end I think you are up against the marketing budget and not the actual calorie count. Mass produced light lagers are just trying to one-up each other with calorie count because they can use it as a marketing gimmick. They are fighting for the same market share of people that are going to buy a BMC Lite either way, its just a matter of what color can or bottle it comes in.

 

Be more active. Drink what you want. I may have 3 or 4 or 6 craft beers on a Friday night, but i'm up at sunrise Saturday hiking, climbing, riding, swimming or something good for my body. I know what your saying about the untapped market but I had to rant...people are effin lazy. I think the biggest problem is what was mentioned above about taste, and I'm no nutritionist but I'm sure it's not easy making a low cal beer that will have the qualities desired by the craft community.

 

There's been a huge rise in session beers in MA over the last year. Lots of 3-4% flavorful beers on the market. The only problem is that they are usually the same price as a normal beer so I skip them. It really feeds into the theory of whether or not we'd drink craft beer as much if it didn't have alcohol.