| Counting Calories by Jeff Langdon Jr. Hi Bob! I recently went into a pub and ton their beer menu they listed the style of each beer, its serving size, its alcohol level, and its calories. Yes, calories. I tried to close one eye but couldn't ignore it. I'm not on a diet but I watch what I eat, Now have to watch what I drink too? If you love beer like I do is the dreaded beer belly in my future? After all, alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram (almost as much as fat, which contains 9 calories per gram). Those calories can add up after a few bottles, with about 150 calories in your typical, 12-ounce serving of 5 percent-alcohol beer. Calorie-counting, gets a lot trickier in the world of craft beers. Many imperial stouts, barley wines, IPAs, Belgian styles and bocks measure 8 or 9 percent alcohol by volume — or even much more. In addition, many of these beers — especially highly hopped, bitter beers — tend to be sweeter, with extra calories from carbs (which add another 4 calories per gram). I realize that beer is lower in carbs compared with, say, bread, it has lots more carbs than wine. A standard 5-ounce glass of wine contains just 1 or 2 grams of carbohydrates. A 12-ounce serving of a 5 percent-alcohol beer has between 10 and 20 grams of carbs — or 40 to 80 extra calories. Up the ABV, and your calories start to balloon. A 12-ounce bottle of 9.6 percent ABV Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine, one of my favorities, will contain roughly 300 calories, 200 of which come from the alcohol. Right up there among the most calorie-packed beers is Dogfish Head's 120-Minute IPA (another favorite - I have no luck), which contains 20 percent alcohol — twice that of Bigfoot. One bottle may contain more than 500 calories. That's about the same energy as you'd get from a cup of granola — or four glasses of wine. The way that the wine industry advertised red wine as healthy making many think beer just causes beer bellies, was very clever but not true. First let me say that the antioxidants in wine may not be as readily absorbed as the ones in bee. And I hope most people realize that you shouldn't blame big bellies on beer. Beer drinkers who are overweight or obese are probably eating too much greasy pub grub and spending too many hours on the bar stool. But the brewers shot themselves in the foot when they came out with 'low- carb' beer, implying that everything else they made was 'high-carb, Don't get me wrong. My philosophy on drinking such hefty beers is that the higher alcohol content boosts flavor — which makes the extra calories worth it. And besides, I also enjoy many craft beers that have about the same calorie counts as mainstream lagers. Thanks for reading this. ---------- Thanks Jeff for sending in your article. I enjoyed reading it and know all of my readers will too. I agree with you that when it comes to beer taste is what counts the most. Most people who drink in moderation shouldn't be overly concerned about calories. Many thanks for sharing with us - please write again! I'd like to invite everyone to send me their own columns about anything related to beer in any way just as Jeff did. I select the best and publish them here. So join in and get writing! Cheers! Bob |
| BeerNexus proudly presents Bob Montemurro "the ombudsman of beer" Bob and Friends Speak of Beer...... |
 |
| |
 |
| Want to be a "friend of Bob" and write a guest column? Just e-mail your article to Bob HERE. |
 | |  | |  |
| Bob does not verify authorship of articles. All articles are assumed to be written by the sender. |