Beer lovers, how do you factor them into your MFP?

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flibberdigibit
flibberdigibit Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love craft beer and am not willing to switch to Michelob Ultra if I don't have to, but I have no idea how to account for a beer in MFP if it's made local and there's no information on it. Is there a basic formula or good guess at how many calories some styles of beer contain?

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  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited May 2018
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    I'll log a reasonable approximation, typically matching the type of beer I'm drinking (porter, lager, IPA, etc). So if I'm drinking a local porter, I'll log a porter from a more well-known brewery and call that good enough.
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Ewww don't switch to something gross just because it's easier to log!

    I am a big craft beer fan. We have quite a lot of options where I am and it's awesome :)

    Some are sold in cans at our local grocery store, so those are easy to log
    Others do not can or bottle, so I just make an educated guess based on other similar entries and call it good.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    Calories ~= 2.5 * fluid ounces * abv%

    A 12 oz pour of a 7% IPA would be 210 kcal.
    A 22 oz pour of a 12% RIS would be 660 kcal

    Dryer beers will be a little lower than this formula, and richer beers will be higher than this formula.
  • flibberdigibit
    flibberdigibit Posts: 9 Member
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    I was just poking around to see what's already stored in MFP and it's all over the place. It looks like 150 is a safe bet, depending on the style, does that seem about right?

    I'm about to go camping for a long weekend and it's usually Coors Banquet for the easy drinkers, something nicer to keep it interesting like an NEIPA, or it's cocktails. Bloodies in the morning, gin and juice later, etc. and I know that some stuff is better than others. I've always heard clear liquor and clear mixers are better than juices or dark booze, but beer doesn't seem to have that same formula. I just saw someone log an IPA at over 300 calories. How can that be?!
  • jesguinn
    jesguinn Posts: 94 Member
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    What @Go_Deskercise said. Fortunately, so many of our awesome local beers seem to be in MFP these days!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    flibberdigibit wrote: »
    I was just poking around to see what's already stored in MFP and it's all over the place. It looks like 150 is a safe bet, depending on the style, does that seem about right?

    I'm about to go camping for a long weekend and it's usually Coors Banquet for the easy drinkers, something nicer to keep it interesting like an NEIPA, or it's cocktails. Bloodies in the morning, gin and juice later, etc. and I know that some stuff is better than others. I've always heard clear liquor and clear mixers are better than juices or dark booze, but beer doesn't seem to have that same formula. I just saw someone log an IPA at over 300 calories. How can that be?!

    150 is about right for your typical lager...but something like an IPA is going to be in the neighborhood of 200 give or take for the most part, but there are some bigger hitters out there.

    Stone IPA has 367 calories per 12 oz serving.
  • flibberdigibit
    flibberdigibit Posts: 9 Member
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    The irony is that I'm not even an IPA person! NEIPA, sure, but normally I go porters and stouts, or just good ol lagers if I'm sitting around in the summer. I guess it's good to know that the IPAs will make you pay for it.
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
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    flibberdigibit wrote: »
    The irony is that I'm not even an IPA person! NEIPA, sure, but normally I go porters and stouts, or just good ol lagers if I'm sitting around in the summer. I guess it's good to know that the IPAs will make you pay for it.

    mmmmmmm porters and stouts are my favorite!!!
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,982 Member
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    Just enter beer and the ABV/oz and it will almost always come up in MFP.

    If bot, just Google it and you'll find the info you need.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,419 Member
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    For an ABV-based reasonable approximation, use the calculator on the top right of this page:

    http://www.straighttothepint.com/beer-calories-calculator/

    Some craft brewers publish more accurate numbers on their web sites.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    flibberdigibit wrote: »
    I was just poking around to see what's already stored in MFP and it's all over the place. It looks like 150 is a safe bet, depending on the style, does that seem about right?

    I'm about to go camping for a long weekend and it's usually Coors Banquet for the easy drinkers, something nicer to keep it interesting like an NEIPA, or it's cocktails. Bloodies in the morning, gin and juice later, etc. and I know that some stuff is better than others. I've always heard clear liquor and clear mixers are better than juices or dark booze, but beer doesn't seem to have that same formula. I just saw someone log an IPA at over 300 calories. How can that be?!

    150 is about right for your typical lager...but something like an IPA is going to be in the neighborhood of 200 give or take for the most part, but there are some bigger hitters out there.

    Stone IPA has 367 calories per 12 oz serving.

    That's surprising, considering the ABV is low. I prefer IPAs over anything and I usually estimate about 200 - 250 for a craft brew. If it's a double IPA, then I'm probably not caring about calories at that point.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I estimate most drinks at 200-250 a pop and its worked for me.
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,718 Member
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    It would be great if the carb counts were also available. Although I don't care after the second pint, anyway.

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