So you like beer....

lonnyl_99
lonnyl_99 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So do I, and as you know, it's not always the best thing for someone trying to loose or keep weight off. What I really like are the shandys and things like Blue Moon and Shock Top orange.

Summer Shandy and Blue Moon are both High in calories, even many light beers are. I switched to Miller 64 last year as my beer of choice at 64 calories a can. I have since moved to Bud Select at 55 Calories a can. That however has not helped with my desire for tastier choices. It came to me when I was at a baseball game and they did not have Summer Shandy. The Bartender said.. ok heck, I can make you a Shandy. He proceeded to put a little lemon sour in the bottom of the glass before adding the beer. To my surprise it was actually quite good. So with a little experimenting I now make the following substitues for some of my favorite beers.

Blue Moon (160 calories) = Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz of Trop 50 (68 calories)

Summer Shandy (130 calories) = Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz Minute Maid Light Lemonade (59 calories)

I have also mixed Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz Minute Maid Light Watermellon Blueberry Lemonade (59 calories)

I am sure I will find more, but for the occasional beer, these make great alternatives.

Replies

  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 275 Member
    I'm not wild about some shandys. They often have a bit more 'beer' or 'ale' taste than I care for. But I have found some hard ciders or some of the fruity ales that I simply adore. I will look at the can or bottle to see calorie count and sodium amount. There can be a big difference between them. For example: Angry Orchard Green Apple is about 200 calories per bottle and very little sodium, while a 10 oz Redd's Wicked Black Cherry hard ale is about 240 calories, but most of the day's allotment of sodium. I don't fuss about the sodium much unless I am retaining water or my blood pressure goes up. Then I avoid it.
  • wryone4
    wryone4 Posts: 118 Member
    I love, love, love a good beer, but if I am drinking beer, I want a good craft one, and they tend to be calorie-heavy. So, once in a while I indulge, but I switched to an occasional bourbon (on the rocks) as my go-to drink. It has been such fun to sample different craft bourbons and discover new favorites.
  • rcreynol3090
    rcreynol3090 Posts: 174 Member
    I like good hoppy ales, and would rather skip a beer than drink the swill that is light beer and mass-market pilsners.
  • TravisJHunt
    TravisJHunt Posts: 533 Member
    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    I drank so much Coors Light this past weekend. Ugh.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    lonnyl_99 wrote: »
    So do I, and as you know, it's not always the best thing for someone trying to loose or keep weight off. What I really like are the shandys and things like Blue Moon and Shock Top orange.

    Summer Shandy and Blue Moon are both High in calories, even many light beers are. I switched to Miller 64 last year as my beer of choice at 64 calories a can. I have since moved to Bud Select at 55 Calories a can. That however has not helped with my desire for tastier choices. It came to me when I was at a baseball game and they did not have Summer Shandy. The Bartender said.. ok heck, I can make you a Shandy. He proceeded to put a little lemon sour in the bottom of the glass before adding the beer. To my surprise it was actually quite good. So with a little experimenting I now make the following substitues for some of my favorite beers.

    Blue Moon (160 calories) = Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz of Trop 50 (68 calories)

    Summer Shandy (130 calories) = Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz Minute Maid Light Lemonade (59 calories)

    I have also mixed Bud Select (12oz) + 2oz Minute Maid Light Watermellon Blueberry Lemonade (59 calories)

    I am sure I will find more, but for the occasional beer, these make great alternatives.

    Thanks for the suggestions. While I love a good beer, 150+ calorie beers can rarely fit into my calorie goals which are relatively low right now since I am lighter and close to goal. I do like a beer here and there during the week, but if I want to bank some calories for the weekend for increased eating and a few good beers, I really have to keep whatever I have to 100 calories or less on weekdays, and for other reasons we cannot keep hard liquor in the house. That said, plain Miller Lite gets very boring very fast. I also like a good glass of wine here and there (I probably prefer that to beer most evenings) and I've experimented with making different wine spritzers to keep it lower calorie, and I've found several that I really like. Full calorie wine is for the weekends. :)
  • Jayco141
    Jayco141 Posts: 221 Member
    Yuck! Give me an ultra Hoppy, melt my face, IPA rather than those Fruity beers...
    And if not beer, I will have a Vodka - Seltzer - splash of cranberry (80 calories with Titos Vodka)
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    edited January 2018
    Drink what you like. There's no accounting for taste.

    That said, I'd rather have one DIPA at 280 kcal per bottle than any kind of shandy or light beer.

    In my opinion, Shock Top is an ABInBev product, and Blue Moon is a MolsonCoors product, so I'll pass on both.

    U.S. Brewery Ownership: https://sommbeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Beer-ownership-Dec-30.pdf
  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    Personally I consider it the same kinda treat as my occasional chocolate bar, so I usually sacrifice a small portion of my calories to get a bottle of my regular stuff (I'm a big fan of dark beers and ciders, and stuff from local breweries)
    I've tried some of the "light" versions, and it just never tasted quite right, and I don't like mixing my beer with sweeter lemonade type drinks :(
  • xWintersKnightx
    xWintersKnightx Posts: 59 Member
    My family owns a homebrew supply shop and beer is a part of everyday life. I should probably look into the caloric intake of homebrew varieties more. For now, its typical to just log them in as a comparable off the shelf brand.

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