Anyone who loves beer knows the ongoing debate between low calories and good taste. Is it possible to have a low-calorie, great-tasting beer? And where exactly do the calories in beer come from?
Beer is made up of four ingredients: water, barley, hops, and yeast. In some cases ingredients other than barley are used, such as rice, corn or wheat. These may be used for reasons of cost, flavor, or body.
Most of the calories in beer come from carbohydrates, most of which come from malt. As mentioned above, barley is the most popular grain used in malt, but others are used as well. All of these grains have different carbohydrate counts, which means that using one over the other will affect the total amount of carbohydrate in the beer. You can also brew with higher or lower amounts of malt to increase or decrease the total carbohydrate count.
It is important to remember that the style and amount of malt play a huge role and therefore have a huge impact on the taste of the beer.
In addition to carbohydrates, a smaller amount of calories comes from the alcohol in the beer. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, so higher-alcohol beers (the alcohol per volume of the beer [ABV]usually represented as a percentage) will have more calories than those with a lower alcohol content.
There are many good reasons to be aware of the number of calories you consume throughout the day. However, just as important is enjoying what you are eating and drinking. And maybe a low-calorie beer isn’t exactly your thing. No problem. Enjoy what you like, just do it in moderation.