The Calorie Conundrum

I'm on a beer diet per say, and I've drastically altered my eating habits, working with a nutritionist. I need to lose weight after going wild on Alpine and Pliny at XMAS time. I drink primarily 64 or Miller Lite, maybe 2 a night. I supplement with a KBS or a Foothills BA Porter, Two Hearted ale maybe twice a week and limit is one a sitting. That 64 scratches the itch and I sip on it, is it great? No, but it's with a purpose. I'm losing weight and saving some money without depriving myself entirely. Beach week in July will be a blow out, then I'll be good again. Depends on the person, in my 20's I could drink two cases a week and not gain weight, in my 50's I gain weight, my knees are bad etc. Bigfoot has over 300 calories as an example. I wouldn't really be interested in Craft light, if I'm going for good beer I want the best I can get.

 

I think any good craft brewer that puts out quality products has stated that they like to make beer that they like to drink (Stone in particular) and they aren't brewing for the masses so I don't think they have any ambition yet to make a beer that will be mass marketed for the diet friendly people.

 

I guess that might depend. I would assume the craft would be far superior to 64, but drinking say a Prima Pils light would be disappointing compared to Prima Pils. And it would cost more. If I'm going to drink crap beer I'd just as soon stick to the 64 which I don't expect much of except to trick my brain into thinking I'm still drinking a beer. I think it would be tough to keep in the quality and taste by cutting anything. Mainly your cutting the sugars and carbs and the alcohol. hard to imaging say a 100 calorie Prima at 3.5% ABV that would seem worthwhile.

 

forget "light" beer, and forget these high ABV beers.... 8%??? 9%??? 10%++++ who needs it... the craft beer industry should concentrate on making and marketing a non-alcoholic version of a belgian tripple that tastes the same.... that is what craft beer drinkers want!!!!

 

You should really try 21st Ammendment's Bitter American if you can. It's ~4.4 ABV, so the calories should be on the lower side, but it's got plenty of flavor. It's a far cry from the american light lager. "The Other Beer Site" estimates the calories at 132, which I grant is twice that of an MGD64, but it makes up for it in flavor. If you're drinking 2 Miller Lites or MDG64 a night, one Bitter American would equal be calorie-wise and I bet it would scratch your beer [and hops] itch much better.

Yards Brawler is worth a look as well. It's light on calories and ABV too and has way more flavor than any macro amerian light lager.

 

If I were concerned about caloric intake, I'd probably just shy away from drinking Mephistopheles at 1:30am like I did last night. Just drink less beer if you're concerned, and exercise more. Simple.

Fortunately I'm already so huge I've given up, so I can drink what I like.

 

I just don't think his point on this specific issue has merit (as well as many others), yet he continued to repetitively drill the argument. Thus my comment on him being ignorant. I readily agree with many other points he has made on other forums. To call someone close-minded is a similar type of statement. Way to crawl down to my level.

 

That's Mr. Rogers giving little kids the finger on the air. It's amazing on so many levels.

 

Oh, dear God, no.

The calories aren't the problem. It's the lite beer drinkers that worry me.

 

have a few shots of moonshine before starting on the beer.

 

Doesn't the average lite beer drinker feel like their lite beer tastes pretty close to the non-lite version? It seems like the gap between lite beer to the non-lite version is much smaller than the gap from popular mass consumed beers/bmc to most craft beers.

I don't think the lite beer market is truly a demographic that is interested in tastier beers.

To me personally, I treat beers like soda and rarely drink more than one a day. I really enjoy all types of beer and have a huge beer cellar backlog, but I believe in healthy moderation and enjoying the beer that I do drink to the fullest!

 

Maybe for now this may be true, but who knows. Right now if you want flavor you need a balance of hops and malt, increase the hops you need to increase the malt to balance it out, and up go the ABV/carbs/calories. Hell even a regular Martini with something like Beefeaters is probably over 300 calories, if you use a 3oz pour. One sight I looked up had all the info on all beers and liquors and Beefeaters was 114 calories by the ounce. So for now I'll live on 64, and supplement 3-4 times a week with a craft brew (1) of some type, and I'm fine with that for now. On special occasions like vacations , fuck it. I'll drink what I want, it's a marathon not a sprint.

 

You should read autoextremest.com and you would see what a Porchephile thinks of the Cayanne and the "Buttster".

 

light craft beer could be great if taken on by the craft beer world. im not going to argue with anyone or change my mind. just my thoughts and 2 cents. if they want to do it and it taste good i'll drink it.

 

As someone who is nearing retirement age, I most certainly have started paying attention to calories. Some of those high ABV bombers have well over 1000 calories per. As many have stated, I have started drinking more of the lower ABV craft beers. Not "Lite" beers,simply lower ABV. They are easy to find,particularly in the summer. Many are very good and flavorful . Never tried Sam Adams Light, probably would appeal to craft beer drinkers more if it was called Sam Adams Mild. Or if it was barrel aged.....

 

There is one example I thought of along the lines of what Hanzo proposed. Lexington Brewing Company makes a decent Kolsch. But its name is "Kentucky Ale Light".

To be honest, I avoided it at first. I would have tried it sooner if it had been named "Kentucky Kolsch" instead. That is why few do what he suggests, it drives away their core market -- the craft drinker. Does it more than make up for that by bringing in the light beer drinker?

No idea, although they are growing (according to the Brewers Association, they were the largest microbrewery in 2011 -- the closest to 15k barrels without going over). I dont know the breakdown between KY Ale, KY Ale Light, and their Bourbon Barrel Stout.

 

The guy that wrote this is an idiot. Can't even get his facts straight. The only PA GI makes is Green Line which is only available in IL and has an ABV of 5%. I assume he is referring to their IPA which weighs in at 5.9%. Point is; this guys research sucks. If he does not know, or did not take the time to research the difference between a PA and an IPA.......what he has to say is highly suspect throughout.