Beer: "Carb-counters face limp, lifeless brews"
 

Carb-counters face limp, lifeless brews

By James “Dr. Fermento” Roberts

http://www.anchoragepress.com/archi...wvol13ed9.shtml

Somehow I'm blessed. For me, drinking beer is an occupational hazard. I risk hangovers, DUIs, scorn from the missus, and, undeniably, the potbelly that is the bane of most voluminous drinkers. Beer is considered a fattening vice better left to those who don't care about their bodies, yet I remain a mean, lean, drinking machine.

I don't diet, count carbohydrates or endure rude amounts of sweaty exercise to thank for my somewhat scrawny, muscle-less physique. I've never been able to figure out why I can drink so much beer and not pack on the paunch. As best I can tell, my metabolism burns off more than I can consume, which is probably why I continue to consume with abandon. I'll talk about hangovers in another article.

In deference to my less fortunate readership, however, I know how you struggle, and I sense your pain. Also, I'm not blind to the spate of low-carbohydrate beers that's crowding precious liquor store space better spent on craft beers.

Atkins probably wasn't a beer drinker, but if he was, I'm assuming he was weaned on nothing more flavorful than the light beer predecessors of today's low-carbohydrate alternatives to calorie-rich craft and microbrewed beers.

A beer's manufacture includes malted barley, and in the case of mainstream American mass-produced brands, adjuncts like corn and rice, which contribute to an average of about 145 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrates per serving. It's no surprise low-carb and low-cal beers averaging roughly 95 calories and 2.6 carbohydrates are gaining appeal among the diet-conscious.

Light beers now account for 45 percent or more of our domestic beer market, and the new low-carb beers are a hot ticket when it comes to gaining precious market share.

Still, it all comes at a price, and that sacrifice is flavor. Under the guise of a caring and concerned dieter, I discreetly purchased three of the low-carb beers available in Anchorage and ran home to closet-drink them, hidden from my discerning and hyper-critical peers.

I found Michelob Ultra, Rolling Rock Green Light and Marstens Low Carbohydrate beer far less than I could reasonably tolerate, even on a hot day where I'd easily sacrifice some flavor for light body and easy, rapid-quenching prowess. Amstel, in a recent media blitz, claimed their 5.0 carbohydrate Amstel Light is only two pretzels-worth of carbohydrates higher than new low-carb heavy-hitters like Michelob and Rolling Rock. If that's the only difference, I'll forgo a whole meal to stick with my carb-fat craft and microbrewed favorites.

Michelob Ultra was the first on the market. It's also one of the blandest, most insipid beers ever to invade my senses.

Am I being hyper-critical? I approached a shapely young lady in the liquor store who was packing a six pack of the pricey stuff and asked if she really liked it. “It's great,” she said. “It's just about as good as the light beers I've been drinking all my life.”

Now, if light beers are your forte, then the transgression from little flavor to no flavor would be no stretch of the palate. Not to be crass, but my pee is usually darker than this beer and my Monday morning breath reeks of more hops.

Michelob's offering smells more like coarse grain and alcohol than the firm malt underpinnings that define even the lightest of well-brewed brews. I hate to be harsh, but water filtered through straw has greater appeal for me.

Rolling Rock Green Light isn't much different, but it's darker than the others, if color is any gauge of flavor these days. It's also packaged in a green bottle, allowing more light to get to the beer, which probably contributed to its somewhat skunky nose and an overall wet-cardboard sensation in the finish.

If there is such a thing, the exception to the bunch is Marstens Low Carbohydrate beer from Brouwerij Martens, Bocholt, Beligum. As far as I'm concerned, this beer gives Belgian beer as a whole a bad name, but to its credit, it has some malt character, a trace of hop character and a clean, albeit thin, finish. It's also elusive; right now it's only available at SubZero, the Belgian ale/martini bar affiliated and co-located with the venerable Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse.

But if you're going out for a beer in a fine establishment like SubZero, aren't you already treating yourself, and shouldn't you splurge just a little bit? Just keep your mitts out of the pretzel bowl and scarf down one less corn dog tomorrow and you'll do just fine.

I'm confident that my readership is far less concerned with carbs than character and I'm barking up the wrong hop vine to begin with. If you're dieting, give up something else. Beer is from heaven and carb counting is for children of a lesser beer.

I actually thought of gotbeer as I was reading this, completely forgetting he'd posted this article. :D Go figure, right?

Related article:

Low-carb beers come up short in taste test

Dana Carpender
United Feature Syndicate
Mar. 3, 2004 12:00 AM

If I could wave a wand and magically de-carb any food, it would be good beer. I love beer, and many foods seem incomplete without it, such as barbecue or a rich, hot curry.

Sadly, the average beer has about 15 grams of carbohydrate per 12-ounce serving. You simply aren't going to be able to drink much of something like this without torpedoing your low-carb plan. Which is, of course, why there are now a few beers on the market that are being touted for their low carb content.

Michelob Ultra was the first beer to take aim at the low-carb market, and Rolling Rock now makes a low-carb beer, too. However, there are some light beers of longer standing that are also low enough in carbs for us to drink - in moderation, of course.

The time has come for a low-carb beer tasting. Tough work, but somebody's got to do it.

Here are the results, from lowest to highest carb:

• Michelob Ultra, 2.6 grams: Maybe expecting rich flavor from a beer this low in carbs is too much to ask. The most charitable comment was, "Very light taste," but that was just a nice way to say bland and boring.
• Rock Green Light (by Rolling Rock), 2.6 grams: Most of us thought Rock Green Light was a little better than Michelob Ultra, with a little more of a crisp bite and hops flavor, and with a bit more of a buzz on the tongue. Still, the bottom line was "bland."
• Miller Lite, 3.2 grams: The Grand Old Man of light beers, Miller Lite has been low carb all along. We were unanimous that Miller Lite had considerably more flavor than either of the two lowest-carb beers. The consensus was, "tastes more like a regular beer," with a nice hoppiness and fullness to it, without a bitter edge.
• Milwaukee's Best Light, 3.5 grams: Two of our guest testers felt Milwaukee's Best Light smelled bitter on pouring, and they found it to taste bitter and harsh. Our home-brewing friend suggested this might be because this was our only beer in a can rather than a bottle. My husband and I had no problem with Milwaukee's Best Light, but it's our house beer.
• Coors Light, 5 grams: Our tasters didn't find Coors Light to have the bitter aftertaste they'd noticed in other beers, and we all agreed it tasted quite similar to Miller Lite, with a similar body and hop flavor. The consensus? "Worth drinking." But since Coors Light tasted so similar to Miller Lite, I'd probably choose the beer with 1.8 grams less carb per bottle.
• Corona Light, 5 grams: This tasted "skunky," a quality you either like or loathe. We all felt Corona was fuller-bodied than the other beers we'd tested thus far, with a lot of bitter edge. Following the Corona tradition, we tried it with lime, and all agreed that this improved the beer.
• Amstel Light, 5 grams: Our pickiest taster liked Amstel Light. Indeed, we all agreed that this beer was the best of the bunch. It had a stronger grain flavor than the others and was very smooth, with a fuller flavor than most. We advise saving Amstel Light, with its 5 carbs, for special occasions.

One final note: Remember that all alcohol, no matter the carb count, will dramatically slow your body's fat-burning process. You know that more than one or two drinks a day is pushing it, right? Well, if you're having trouble losing weight, you might want to cut that back to no more than one or two a week.

Cheers!

Dana Carpender is the author of 500 Low-Carb Recipes. Reach her through her Web site, www.holdthetoast.com.

The new Coors 2.6 carb beer, "Aspen Edge", also lacks the bitter aftertaste of Ultra - in fact, it is almost taste-free. I'm presently drinking the two 50/50.

Coming from Germany (in case I haven't mentioned it often enough for people to start rolling their eyes hehe), I was happy to find that America had finally discovered brewing acceptable beers resembling what I am used to... there is NO WAY I would put any of those light beers in me. Then again, I would not drink regular Miller, Coors, Bud, Michelob and what else, because they aren't BEER imho.

I'd rather stick to red wine and vodka/diet tonic while in the lovely U.S., but not endulging in the fabulous beergardens of my home country will be tough if not impossible during summer.... at least I get more exercise thanks to pedestrian zones (!), public transportation, and the overall culture of walking.

That saves me every time... but I am going off topic now.

I can honestly say I'm not a fan of domestics myself, or light beers for that matter (domestic or not), but since B bought the Michelob Ultra I was willing to take a sip. It isn't half bad. I used to drink Miller Lite (pitchers were cheap when sharing with friends!!) and Corona Light (which has a tendancy to go skunky cuz no one else drinks it!) and I think I like Michelob Ultra better than either of those.

Unfortunately, it doesn't beat a good bottle of Leinie's (among many others I could name), especially Berry Weiss. Too bad the carb count in that is so high! I think I'll stick to wine myself.

I agree, the "mainstream" american beers are just horrible.

Yep, forgive my beer-snobbery, but I have always felt that most domestic beers oughta be poured back into the horse. I've just had to reclassify beer as a "special occasion" substance and try to enjoy the rare Guinness or Paulaner with as little guilt as possible. I wonder if there will ever be good LC stout?

Grimalkin -- agree 100%! My husband used to brew beer, he loves ales.... but when he goes out, it's usually also either Guinness or Manchester Cream Ale (kind of like a drink & meal combined, at least imo). He hasn't brewed in a few years now, cause he seems have less digestive problems when drinking wine. But brewing a low carb beer may be his next challenge....

Hey, I am (or was) the ultimate beer-snob - that's where "gotbeer" same from. Samuel Smith's Organic was my fave, although any Samuel Smith was great. I'd settle for a Guinness only when money was tight.

The only part of LC that I struggled with was the beer - hell, I even drank Samuel Adams Light during my "induction" (a huge, multiple violation of the Rules, to be sure).

Over time, I adapted, but I still miss Samuel Smith. I used to drink one every couple of months when I & my long-time (20 year) Bridge buddies got together for a game, but one of them died last fall, so even that excuse is done.

Count me in as a beer snob. I never drank beer in college, preferring the agony of staying sober when all around me were having a great time, rather than submit to the taste of Old Milwakee et al. When I was 25, my gf (at the time) talked me into a bottle of Theakston Old Peculier, and I thought--Wow, beer can actually be good!

I've barely had any beer for a year, though, since starting LC. <sigh> However, I was just in Berlin and made sure to take a weekend off the diet so I could enjoy myself! ;)

low carb beer
 

I Myself Love Beer. If I Wasn't Doing Low Carb I Wouldn't Even Look At Low Carb Beers Out There But......i Appreciate An Alternative When Your Trying To Be Good And Stay Low Carb.

Yes, Old Peculier was also quite popular among my bridge pals. Turbo Dog and Blackened Voodoo were occasional quirky treats. Old Speckled Hen in a can is quite nice; the bottled version is sometimes skunky.

Haha, look at all of us poor beer-loving LCers. What makes it much worse for me is that I've noticed that since giving up sugar my sense of taste has become more discriminating, funky tastes are more noticable, and what used to be merely inferior is now downright unpleasant. But what was good is now great.

If I could find Felinfoel Double Dragon Welsh Ale around here again, I think I would be in sinner's paradise...

Felinfoel Double Dragon Welsh Ale - I think I've seen that at Whole Foods; never tried it, though.

It is delightful. I found it for sale online but it is in cans, I'm afraid to even try as I generally prefer draught or bottled, and would hate to be disappointed!