Need a good substitute for beer

That's quite interesting, thanks for explaining it, I glanced at the article and was somewhat concerned about "fish bladder" because I love Guinness, so you've made me feel better haha. The only other thing that caught my attention was the dextrose in Michelob Ultra because I was thinking of buying it (because low calorie) but I have blood sugar concerns and didn't want extra-sugared beer, but your explanation makes sense. :flowerforyou:

Also, please read this - http://banoosh.com/blog/2014/04/03/8-beers-stop-drinking-immediately/

No - please don't!!!

Fish bladder is isinglass - a fining that has been used in beer for centuries. It helps settle out the yeast to the bottom of the fermentor, and the beer is then racked off, leaving the yeast + isinglass behind.

Caramel has colors from the melanoidin reaction. Sugars plus amino groups from protein. The color of the grain used to make EVERY beer comes from the kilning/roasting process, which produces melanoidins. Any time you brown a piece of meat or onions, you are producing melanoidins. All the caramel color used in Newcastle Brown is is a concentrated form of this same thing, so they can add just the right amount to get exactly the color they want without the bitterness that comes from using the grains directly. I've used Sinamar in my homebrews for this that is essentially concentrated wort.

Propylene glycol is used to chill beer. In a cooling jacket. It doesn't go into the beer itself.

The rest is simply an anti-GMO screed with no scientific understanding whatsoever. I mean, what the hell is "GMO Dextrose"? GMO means genetically modified organism, and dextrose is just another name for glucose. Any sugar (or high fructose corn syrup, which is a mix of glucose and fructose) is going to be turned to alcohol by the yeast.

Don't drink those beers (except the Guinness) because they are BAD beers. Don't not drink them because of a bad blog article.

That's quite interesting, thanks for explaining it, I glanced at the article and was somewhat concerned about "fish bladder" because I love Guinness, so you've made me feel better haha. The only other thing that caught my attention was the dextrose in Michelob Ultra because I was thinking of buying it (because low calorie) but I have blood sugar concerns and didn't want extra-sugared beer, but your explanation makes sense. :flowerforyou:

weed

This. I feel sorry for non-users when they're in a deficit.

Agreed, no substitutes.

Don't drink near beer. Instead seek out lower-calorie styles. I find that often a single bottle of a well-made, lower-gravity beer is just as satisfying as something heftier. Some examples would be:
- Maerzen (sorry don't know how to umlaut)
- Vienna lager
- Milk stout
- Bitter
- "Session IPA"
- Hefeweizen
- Koelsch

Rule of thumb: for a 12 ounce pour, calories = alcohol by volume x 30. So for 4% abv, that's 120 calories.

Good suggestions, thanks! I don't think I've ever tried any of those brands, I'm going to have to make a list for my next trip to the beer store, haha. I believe that Guinness is relatively low-calorie compared to some but it's so expensive, I usually drink Maclay's, which is cheap but goes down WAY too easy.

These are styles, not brands. Just fyi so you don't feel silly when you ask for them. And yes, Guinness is a good lower calorie option. The lower the abv generally the lower the calories. ABV is often listed on the beer menu as well. There are plenty of other options out there besides Guinness for lower calorie that aren't crap beer. I'm often surprised by the beers in the MFP database. Shop around and scan some bar codes. Try some new things.