Calorie Counting Right now, brewers in the U.S. aren’t required to disclose their beers’ calorie count on labels. Under increasing pressure for transparency, the Beer Institute — a trade group representing the likes of Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Heineken USA and Constellation Brands — has unveileda voluntary disclosure initiative.. The breweries represented by the group (which produce about 80 percent of the beer sold in the U.S.) have committed to listing nutritional information on their bottles by 2020. Taking such measures, however, can be extremely costly and in many cases unrealistic for smaller breweries. Now that the FDA has made printing calorie counts mandatory for food outlets with 20 or more locations, any brewery that wants its beers on those menus will have to comply. As more information trickles out during this transition, we have at least enough facts to understand the calorie ranges of different beer styles. Lagers, pilsners and sometimes amber ales ring in lowest, with 100 to 150 calories per 12-ounce serving. Those hazy India pale ales that are so popular have 200 to 400 calories in the same size serving. Something like a barrel-aged stout can pack a real punch: Just a 6-ounce pour of the Bruery’s barrel-aged imperial stout contains 500 calories. Why such a difference in calories among styles? Let’s take things back to where calories in beer come from: protein, alcohol and carbohydrates, according to Mark Eurich, the technical committee chairman for the American Society of Brewing Chemists. The bulk of these three components come from the malt, typically made of barley or wheat. The malt starts as a starch, and during brewing its natural enzymes convert that starch to sugars. Added yeast then converts most of the sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol. It's important to note that all but the lightest session brews have more calories per-ounce than soda, and they can add up quickly. To help you count and thereby control your caloric intake here' a simple way to estimate the calories/ounce. Just multiply the ABV of the beer by 2.5. This works for 12 oz. bottles / cans of craft beer. If your having a full pint use 3.0 x the ABV. It's easy to do the calculation figure so if you're counting calories do it often and you won't be surprised by beer again. One last thing - if the beer is great the calories are worth it! |
| Feature News from beernexus.com |
Edited by Jim Attacap
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| BEERNEXUS the crossroads of the beer world |
Here's To Good Health A new study found that beer contains more protein and B vitamins than wine, is high in antioxidants, and brings with it a reduced rate of cardiovascular disease. Even more the study confirmed that .beer contains trace amounts of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium, fluoride, and silicon plus a range of polyphenols such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Those compounds can lower the risk of developing atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and heart disease due to their anti-inflammatory effects. In terms of diabetes, xanthohumol, a key ingredient used to make beer, has been found in multiple studies to reduce the likelihood of insulin resistance. Regular beer, as opposed to light or dark, has the highest levels of polyphenols. Even more, Scientific Reports says that beer really can make you happier, has a number of brain health benefits as it hits a specific dopamine receptor. The term “happy hour” seems to have some scientific backing |
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The Last Blockbuster Gets Beer The last remaining Blockbuster in the U.S. is in Bend, Oregon. Alaska was home to a few holdout locations, thanks to the high price of broadband internet there, but those too closed this summer. The last Blockbuster is now selling beer. The beer is logically called The Last Blockbuster and is brewed in collaboration with Bend’s 10 Barrel Brewing Company. The brewery itself was bought by Anheuser-Busch in 2014. The beer will be released September 21 with a party at—where else—America’s last Blockbuster— and it will also be available for a limited time at 10 Barrel’s locations - two in Bend; one in Denver; one in Portland, Oregon; one in Boise, Idaho; and one in San Diego..The beer is a schwarzbier, a traditionally German style brewed with roasted malts that gives it a black color and dark-cocoa flavor. A press release says the beer “pairs perfectly with buttery theater popcorn and your favorite movie-sized chocolate. The label say it has "a light body, smooth finish, and hints of nostalgia.” |