As a new year opens up, many of us strive to change our ways, to do things differently than we might have last year. Often, a top resolution is to lose weight, get back in shape, or be healthier. If this is your plan, as it is mine, then eat less, exercise more, and choose healthy foods. However, do not sacrifice your enjoyment of life by turning to light, or even worse, low carb beer. Do not ‘tolerate’ your beer, take pleasure in it. I say, resolve to drink better beer this new year!
It would seem that, in hopes of losing weight, light beer would be a great option. And, while light beers do have less calories, carbohydrates, and lower alcohol levels than standard strength beers, the lack of many redeeming qualities sought after in typical brews should damn light beer from the start.
Light beers are, for the most part, a lighter version of a brewery’s typical lager. The most obvious method of obtaining a light beer is adding water to the premium brew. A more typical method is to run a batch of beer through various filters, removing ingredients, color, and most any appealing aspect of the original. Light is also connected to lower ABV levels, so less malt and hop are used in the brewing process from the start. To fill that void, more adjuncts are added (think rice, corn, grits), costing the brewer less, and making your beer lighter in color and reducing the flavor in the process.
Follow my thinking on this. Why would an individual drink light beer in the first place? These beverages have very little if any flavor. If you are a person who enjoys tasty brews, and drinks a few at a sitting, then swapping over to light beer would serve almost no purpose. The only reason I can find that people drink light beer is to become inebriated. If this is the case, then drinking 6 or 8 light beers is similar in calorie and carb counts to two or three beers of regular strength. The loss of flavor far outweighs the few calories you save when drinking light beer compared to ‘regular’ beer.
There really isn’t even a light beer worth mentioning. Sam Adams Light is tasty enough, but it’s not really a light beer, as it falls just under most American macro breweries premium lagers in calories, and is not a lighter version of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Do not waste your money on Amstel light, it is nothing more than a marketing ploy, and not much better than the American macro light beers.
Here are a few examples of calorie counts: Budweiser-145, Bud Light-110, Michelob-155, Michelob Light-113, Michelob Ultra-95, Sam Adams Boston Lager-160, Sam Adams Light-124, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale-200, Anchor Steam-153, Pabst Blue Ribbon-153, Miller High Life-143, Coors Light-102, Stella Artois-140, Corona Extra-148, Corona Light-105, Yuengling Lager-135, Blue Moon Belgian White-171, McEwans Scotch Ale-295.
Although I will argue against it and encourage all to continue to enjoy the beers of winter, if you do not want to go with the heavier malty beers, seek out more summer fare, like Pilsner or Munich Helles, Kolsh or English Mild. And, it may not be the best stout in the world, but you can’t go wrong with Guinness Draught- just 126 calories. Just drink what you like! Enjoy the brews…
Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.
