How To Log Craft Beer?
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ehju0901
Posts: 373 Member
Hey everyone, so I'm pretty particular about logging all my food/beverages and I want to stick with this habit. Any tips on logging craft beers that do not have nutritional information on the label?
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Replies
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When I can’t find the calories of something not in the database, I will find something similar and use that amount.4
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An amazing number of them in the new england area are in the database. For the others, pick something similar with the same ABV. The alcohol is a big fraction of the calories.3
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »An amazing number of them in the new england area are in the database. For the others, pick something similar with the same ABV. The alcohol is a big fraction of the calories.
Here is the beer I will be drinking this afternoon: https://untappd.com/b/the-brewing-projekt-galactic-conquest/3922636
So just try to find another beer with a 7.1 ABV?2 -
Ballast Point’s Sculpin has an ABV of 7% and is 210 calories per 12 ounces.1
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L1zardQueen wrote: »Ballast Point’s Sculpin has an ABV of 7% and is 210 calories per 12 ounces.
Thank you! I will probably just log that!0 -
I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.4 -
Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available.
Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
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nanastaci2020 wrote: »Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available. Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
Depends. There are some fruit-flavored vodkas or other spirits with a fruit infusion that don't have added sugar, so the calorie increment over simple spirits is negligible. But if it tastes sweet, or your local is willing to tell you that it has added sugar in one form or another, then you're right to assume more. But unless you drink it by the truckload, being off by even a pretty big factor would get lost in the noise of other calorie-estimating errors, when you're using a ballpark equivalent like you are.
P.S. To OP: I estimate craft beer by ABV, too, and have been doing so whlle calorie counting for 5 years now (and I do like the IPAs, so I'm not talking extra-light). Some individual beers will have more calories from non-alcohol ingredients, but that discrepancy, too, will be lost in the noise, as long as you're not on the all-beer diet. 😉2 -
nanastaci2020 wrote: »Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available. Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
Depends. There are some fruit-flavored vodkas or other spirits with a fruit infusion that don't have added sugar, so the calorie increment over simple spirits is negligible. But if it tastes sweet, or your local is willing to tell you that it has added sugar in one form or another, then you're right to assume more. But unless you drink it by the truckload, being off by even a pretty big factor would get lost in the noise of other calorie-estimating errors, when you're using a ballpark equivalent like you are.
P.S. To OP: I estimate craft beer by ABV, too, and have been doing so whlle calorie counting for 5 years now (and I do like the IPAs, so I'm not talking extra-light). Some individual beers will have more calories from non-alcohol ingredients, but that discrepancy, too, will be lost in the noise, as long as you're not on the all-beer diet. 😉
I think @AnnPT77 is spot on here. I'd think that most of these drinks have similar alcohol content, but the sugar content can vary.
Craft beer can be a real challenge, because the alcohol content and body can vary so very widely, from a 3% abv gose to a 12% Belgian quad.2 -
Thanks for the feedback. Its mainly my OCD tendency to strive for accuracy that annoys me here. I don't drink them often, maybe 1-2 times a month I'll have 2-3. And I've continued to lose at a steady pace. So logic says my methods are not horrible.2
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nanastaci2020 wrote: »Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available. Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
Depends. There are some fruit-flavored vodkas or other spirits with a fruit infusion that don't have added sugar, so the calorie increment over simple spirits is negligible. But if it tastes sweet, or your local is willing to tell you that it has added sugar in one form or another, then you're right to assume more. But unless you drink it by the truckload, being off by even a pretty big factor would get lost in the noise of other calorie-estimating errors, when you're using a ballpark equivalent like you are.
P.S. To OP: I estimate craft beer by ABV, too, and have been doing so whlle calorie counting for 5 years now (and I do like the IPAs, so I'm not talking extra-light). Some individual beers will have more calories from non-alcohol ingredients, but that discrepancy, too, will be lost in the noise, as long as you're not on the all-beer diet. 😉
I think @AnnPT77 is spot on here. I'd think that most of these drinks have similar alcohol content, but the sugar content can vary.
Craft beer can be a real challenge, because the alcohol content and body can vary so very widely, from a 3% abv gose to a 12% Belgian quad.
Some of the fruity alcoholic bevs these days are artificially sweetened, too. I even ran across a "Lo-cal IPA", Slightly Mighty from Dogfish Head, at 4% ABV, that's sweetened with monkfruit extract. I tried it, to my discredit. It's a "just no" rating, from me.1 -
nanastaci2020 wrote: »Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available. Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
Depends. There are some fruit-flavored vodkas or other spirits with a fruit infusion that don't have added sugar, so the calorie increment over simple spirits is negligible. But if it tastes sweet, or your local is willing to tell you that it has added sugar in one form or another, then you're right to assume more. But unless you drink it by the truckload, being off by even a pretty big factor would get lost in the noise of other calorie-estimating errors, when you're using a ballpark equivalent like you are.
P.S. To OP: I estimate craft beer by ABV, too, and have been doing so whlle calorie counting for 5 years now (and I do like the IPAs, so I'm not talking extra-light). Some individual beers will have more calories from non-alcohol ingredients, but that discrepancy, too, will be lost in the noise, as long as you're not on the all-beer diet. 😉
I think @AnnPT77 is spot on here. I'd think that most of these drinks have similar alcohol content, but the sugar content can vary.
Craft beer can be a real challenge, because the alcohol content and body can vary so very widely, from a 3% abv gose to a 12% Belgian quad.
Some of the fruity alcoholic bevs these days are artificially sweetened, too. I even ran across a "Lo-cal IPA", Slightly Mighty from Dogfish Head, at 4% ABV, that's sweetened with monkfruit extract. I tried it, to my discredit. It's a "just no" rating, from me.
I tried the Slightly Mighty too, because the 60 Minute IPA is a decent choice if there isn't some interesting local beer to be had. It was so completely meh it was off-putting.0 -
Can we just stop to marvel how the alcoholic beverage companies have totally sidestepped normal food labeling? There aught to be a law!3
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nanastaci2020 wrote: »Do you think this 'rule' would work for vodka drinks? I like a mango peach lemonade-vodka from a local brewery. No calorie info available. Though I suspect it could be a higher multiplier as the fruit flavors likely come with some added sugar.
The closest I found online was Sons of Liberty Blueberry Lemonade Vodka, 7% ABV for 226 cals for a 12 oz can. Says no artificial sweeteners and 20g of sugar on that one. I estimate 300 for the ones I drink. (Dry County also makes a Blueberry Lemonade, but I prefer the mango.)I found a rule that seems to work fairly well for a wide variety of beer:
Calories = 2.5 * abv% * fluid oz
For example a 12 oz pour of a 6% abv pale ale would be 2.5*6*12=180 calories, while a 16 ounce pour of an 11% abv RIS would be 2.5*16*11= 440 calories.
This is going to estimate on the low side for richer, underattenuated brews, and on the high side for dryer, highly attenuated ones. But I think the error is fairly small, tens of kcal, so I ignore it.
There are USDA-based distilled alcohol entries for various proofs in the MFP database, but of course you would have to take a guess about added sugar if the packaging doesn't disclose that.0 -
I also use the 2.5 calories/ounce/%ABV estimate, which is close enough if you don't have further information. I do enjoy the heavy imperial stouts, some of which come in at 13% ABV and 390 calories per 12 ounce serving.
The FDA controls food labeling, but alcoholic beverages fall under a different federal agency called the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), where the information is optional.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Can we just stop to marvel how the alcoholic beverage companies have totally sidestepped normal food labeling? There aught to be a law!
Source: https://www.vox.com/2014/11/12/7195573/alcohol-nutrition2 -
Thanks for the help everyone, I’ll definitely be using this tomorrow while I’m at a brewery!
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »An amazing number of them in the new england area are in the database. For the others, pick something similar with the same ABV. The alcohol is a big fraction of the calories.
Here is the beer I will be drinking this afternoon: https://untappd.com/b/the-brewing-projekt-galactic-conquest/3922636
So just try to find another beer with a 7.1 ABV?
Another option is Fremont Lush IPA. It's pretty tasty, so see if you can find some to sample. Sometimes if there's one that's not in the database, like Sunriver Brewing's Vicious Mosquito IPA, I'll look through a few similar others and pick one in the middle.
Sometimes the brewery will have information even if it's not in the database. Or maybe there's some information on the internet not from the brewery to help inform your logging.
If you find something even bigger than Galactic Conquest, you could look at Pelican's Beak Breaker Double IPA or Block 51's Sticky Hands. Lots of calories there!
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »An amazing number of them in the new england area are in the database. For the others, pick something similar with the same ABV. The alcohol is a big fraction of the calories.
Here is the beer I will be drinking this afternoon: https://untappd.com/b/the-brewing-projekt-galactic-conquest/3922636
So just try to find another beer with a 7.1 ABV?
Another option is Fremont Lush IPA. It's pretty tasty, so see if you can find some to sample. Sometimes if there's one that's not in the database, like Sunriver Brewing's Vicious Mosquito IPA, I'll look through a few similar others and pick one in the middle.
Sometimes the brewery will have information even if it's not in the database. Or maybe there's some information on the internet not from the brewery to help inform your logging.
If you find something even bigger than Galactic Conquest, you could look at Pelican's Beak Breaker Double IPA or Block 51's Sticky Hands. Lots of calories there!
Thanks for the help! I started out strong and logging all my beers but then as the day went on the logging started to slack and so on and so forth...
Safe to say, I'm back on the diet train as of today lol.1
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