Beer

CajunNino
CajunNino Posts: 269
in Food and Nutrition
I am a homebrewer and beer enthusiast. I've backed off my consumption simply to jump start my weight loss as I cannot in good conscience afford the calories right now. However, I know there are health benefits to craft beer - all natural ingredients and there's nothing quite like kicking back with something flavorful that you brewed yourself.

How many beer lovers out there? And how have you managed your nutrition?
(And please... if your favorite beer is something like Dos Equis, Bud Light, or any mass produced pale/premium lager, just scroll past)

Replies

  • kevokie
    kevokie Posts: 53 Member
    Hey follow homebrewer here. I have just started my weight loss journey myself.
    I have two batches of delicious home brew sittin in a closet right now. I have just had to set it aside and realize
    that the beer is going to hinder my progress. Now I have had a couple of beers since I started but I have cut waaaaaaaaay back.
    Not sure that helps!

    I have the ingredients for a batch that I need to brew ASAP, thanks for reminding me!
  • CajunNino
    CajunNino Posts: 269
    Hey follow homebrewer here. I have just started my weight loss journey myself.
    I have two batches of delicious home brew sittin in a closet right now. I have just had to set it aside and realize
    that the beer is going to hinder my progress. Now I have had a couple of beers since I started but I have cut waaaaaaaaay back.
    Not sure that helps!

    I have the ingredients for a batch that I need to brew ASAP, thanks for reminding me!
    I've been kegging lately, but still have to bottle (friends & family want a taste and it makes it easier). Just put an APA in secondary, but wanted to get started on a batch of BelgianStrong Ale..... rethinking that to a Belgian Wit..... little bit lighter for the hot months.
    I can still enjoy....but not as much 'til I get more in shape.
    Cheers!
  • Generalle
    Generalle Posts: 201 Member
    mmmmmmmm beer....... :drinker:
  • RacerX_14
    RacerX_14 Posts: 578 Member
    Beer is my friend! I am a big fan of Terrapin, Sweetwater, Sam Adams, and Blue Moon.
  • lalalalyndsey
    lalalalyndsey Posts: 565
    I like beer because it's good
    I drink beer because I should
    If there was a song to sing
    I'd sing it and beer you bring

    I drink beer when I am sad
    'Cause the beer it makes me glad
    Now there's nothing left to sing
    So lets go drink beer

    Beer is good, beer is good, beer is good
    And stuff
    Beer is good, beer is good, beer is good

    Let's go drink some
    BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER!

    When it's warm, it tastes real crappy
    But cold beer will make me happy
    When I throw-up on the floor
    I get up and drink some more

    They say beer will make me dumb
    It are go good with pizza
    Now that we have drunk some beer
    Let's go drive a car

    Beer is good, beer is good, beer is good
    And stuff
    Beer is good, beer is good, beer is good

    Let's go drink some
    BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER!

    Dude, I think you've had enough
    No!

    Let's go drink some beer!

    I am drunk, drunk is me, I am drunk, WEE
    I am drunk, drunk is me, I am drunk, WEE
    I am drunk, drunk is me, I am drunk, *BURP*

    aka... I love beer... usually an ipa drinker myself ;3
  • WonderKP
    WonderKP Posts: 146 Member
    Hey follow homebrewer here. I have just started my weight loss journey myself.
    I have two batches of delicious home brew sittin in a closet right now. I have just had to set it aside and realize
    that the beer is going to hinder my progress. Now I have had a couple of beers since I started but I have cut waaaaaaaaay back.
    Not sure that helps!

    I have the ingredients for a batch that I need to brew ASAP, thanks for reminding me!
    I've been kegging lately, but still have to bottle (friends & family want a taste and it makes it easier). Just put an APA in secondary, but wanted to get started on a batch of BelgianStrong Ale..... rethinking that to a Belgian Wit..... little bit lighter for the hot months.
    I can still enjoy....but not as much 'til I get more in shape.
    Cheers!

    I love belgian wit beers
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    My dad makes his own beer too, then his girlfriend makes dog treats and bread from the spent grains... Beer is amazing. I am a big fan of it, but not wine... lol! If I want beer I will make room in my day for it... It's not that bad if you stick to 12 to 16 oz servings... of course not everyone can do that.
    Ha! We went to the Brew Ha-Ha in May, tasted beers from microbreweries from ALL OVER COLORADO! So fun and really good. I got smashed, but last year I drank the same amount and was only buzzed. I blamed the weight loss! lol! Lucky for me, my husband wasn't as drunk and after walking to dinner we got home safely... My hubby LOVES beer, his favorite is called Odin's Tipple and it's from Norway I think... A little brewery with 4 dudes who brew in their spare time, so it's hard to get it all the time. Personally I think that 1554 from New Belgium is great, but I'm a HUGE fan of English brown ales and Hefienwiesens from pretty much any one. :-) I can't stand hoppy beers though, no IPAs for me!!
  • stevean
    stevean Posts: 7 Member
    I'm a newbie here, and a longtime homebrewer and I'm a BJCP judge.

    Go for styles that can be made with small OG but still be tasty. Also, you can hop the hell out of some styles that normally aren't that hoppy, or vary hop characteristics, such as using American C hops in a Mild or Ordinary Bitter. Think of an Irish Dry Stout but sporting a nice Cascade & Amarillo hop nose....

    Here are a few styles that are by definition < 1.040 or are just above it so you can make them around 1.040 and yet still come out tasty

    Berliner Weisse
    Mild
    Ordinary/Best Bitter
    Irish Red
    Scottish 60/-
    Irish Dry Stout
    Schwarzbier
    VIenna Lager
    Brown Porter
    Witbier
    Blonde Ale

    Most highly flavored beers can be made into low gravity variants of existing styles, packing lots of flavor.
    Small IPA or APA
    Small Belgian Pale Ale
    Small Dubbel or Tripel
    Small Saison
    Small Porter
    Small Am. Amber

    Not sure about Bocks. Might be worth a try.

    IMO, I think the milder styles (Kolsch, Dortmunder, etc) would wander periously close to BMC when taken to these low starting gravities, but they can still be tried out.


    I was judging 1st Round NHC a few years ago on the Light Hybrids table. One of the entries (a Cream Ale) had a notable lacto infection, but it was the cleanest lactic flavor I've ever had. We scored it a 22, but we kept it on the table for the rest of the flight as a palate cleanser. It really was delicious, and was essentially a fantastic "Berliner Cream Ale". Even though there's no such style, this is exactly the kind of creativity we can apply to come up with flavorful beers that are still low calorie, without subjecting ourselves to BMC swill. Not everything has to be an 1.130 RIS or BW.

    Jen Talley won a boatload of GABF medals brewing for Squatter's Pub in Utah, where the laws require low gravity.
    She did it by bringing out the other flavors and balancing everything so that even though they are lighter beers, they are still packing flavor and balance.

    my .02
    HTH-
  • sbedwards1077
    sbedwards1077 Posts: 32 Member
    I am a huge mircrobrew fan! I have just been limiting myself lately, not cutting it out completely. I do track it with my food. I love IPA and amber beers.

Categories