Healthiest Beer for the Buck

[Longtermgrowth]

Question for those of you that look at the ingredients in your beer: What do you settle on for the cheapest beer with the least harmful ingredients?

For those that haven't looked it up, I'm thinking mainly about dextrose and/or maltose being used, or other GMO (genetically modified organisms, i.e. soaked in Roundup) ingredients like GMO rice or corn.

So far, the most accessible beers I've found that qualify are Heineken and Amstel Light due to the German purity law (Reinheitsgebot).

It seems that most anything Miller/Coors has the dextrose and/or maltose ingredients. Bud/Bud light looks to have the GMO rice, and anything cheaper than those in their line, think Natural or Busch, also have the dextrose and/or maltose additives.

Seems one has to go with an expensive imported beer, or expensive local craft beer that may be heavier that one might wish to drink, just to avoid these harmful additives?

[SrGrumpy]

A nice thick Guinness has shockingly few calories. Not sure about the maltose/dextrose factor.

[Longtermgrowth]

Mods: if this link is inappropriate to post, please remove. It's what really got me thinking about what's in my beer: https://foodbabe.com/2013/07/17/the-sho ... s-in-beer/

SrGrumpy: I think I read a more recent article mentioning that Guinness stopped using fish bladder as an ingredient; not sure what they did about the other bad ingredient listed in original article.

[jharkin]

Funny, when I'm drinking beer I'm not thinking about being healthy or saving calories. If I wanted to be that healthy I would give up beer Light beer should be a crime imnho.

BTW GMO has nothing to do with Roundup. If your food was soaked in roundup it wouldn't even grow. Foods can be GMOd to resist Roundup but they use the technique for lots of other reasons as well, and for much of it there is not enough research to properly understand the risks. GMO food and pesticide use both pose health risk to humans for different reasons but a discussion of the details is likely to get heated/political and lead to a thread lock.

[BanquetBeer]

First of all why do you think dextrose (corn sugar) or maltose (grain sugar) additives are bad? Dextrose gets 100% converted to alcohol by yeast and all the sugar component of maltose gets converted while the other molecules provide complexity/texture/etc - maltose is from grains, that is how you make beer. These components are cheaper to add than to buy grain and steep it - table sugar isn't as good for breakdown by yeast.

GMO would likely have less pesticide than non because they are usually modified to be naturally resistant.

I haven't read anything about GMO being bad for anyone.

Personally I drink local TX or Colorado beers, mix of some imports. I used to brew my own and added both maltose and dextrose if I wanted to up the alcohol.

[vinvedi]

I recommend a German Import, Clausthaler Dry Hopped, 0.5% alcohol, 75 calories, brewed according to Reinheitsgebot - water, yeast, barley malt, hops and nothing else

[ETadvisor]

If you agree that Red Wine (resveratrol) is good for you then the darker beers (porter and stouts) have similar amounts of the content.

[Millennial]

The purpose Reinheitsgebot was to try to lower prices for wheat and rye, which were needed by bakers to ensure the German food supply. I have never seen any evidence to suggest that Reinheitsgebot-compliant beers are healthier.

Dextrose and maltose are nearly 100% metabolized to ethanol by the yeast, so even if they are ingredients they're not going to be present in the beer by the time you're drinking it. Maltose is also added to beer from grain, like malted barley, which is Reinheitsgebot-compliant, so there will be maltose in all beer at some point.

That foodbabe article linked above lacks any basis in science, I would recommend a heavy dose of skepticism. Statements like "XX is in beer, and is also an ingredient in antifreeze!" are designed to be misleading, as they offer no evidence that XX is harmful. As a counterpoint, it's technically true that *water is an ingredient in all beers, and it's also an ingredient in antifreeze!*; it's still a useless statement.

[moghopper]

I recommend a German Import, Clausthaler Dry Hopped, 0.5% alcohol, 75 calories, brewed according to Reinheitsgebot - water, yeast, barley malt, hops and nothing else

I can't consider an NA to a be a beer, really.

[SrGrumpy]

Mods: if this link is inappropriate to post, please remove. It's what really got me thinking about what's in my beer: https://foodbabe.com/2013/07/17/the-sho ... s-in-beer/

SrGrumpy: I think I read a more recent article mentioning that Guinness stopped using fish bladder as an ingredient; not sure what they did about the other bad ingredient listed in original article.

I don't mind a little fish in my beer as long as they take out the bones. The Foodbabe: She must be a delight at dinner parties. I will have a beer for breakfast in her honor.

[avalpert]

Well, when you get your information from hacks you will develop unfounded concerns. This is kind of like asking which penny stock will have the highest return because some talking head on CNBC said that stocks are overvalued.

[KyleAAA]

Heinekin and Amstel Light aren't German beers so I'm skeptical they're bound to the Reinheitsgebot.

[FlyOverState]

... Seems one has should has to go with an expensive quality imported beer, or expensive quality local craft beer that may be heavier that one might wish to drink, just to avoid these harmful additives?

FIFY

[miles monroe]

Funny, when I'm drinking beer I'm not thinking about being healthy or saving calories. If I wanted to be that healthy I would give up beer Light beer should be a crime imnho.

this.

i drink beer but i don't try to convince myself that there is anything healthy about it.

[bottlecap]

That article is a good bit of bunk if you do a little google research. However, because of it, a lot of brewers have changed their recipes. Easier to change than deal with the misinformation.

But let's get real. It's beer, not health food. I'm not worrying about GMOs and such.

I'm having an Evil Twin Brewing Imperial Biscotti Break with lunch. Based on your post I found out the pint has 345 calories.

Oh well. It's worth every calorie, no matter what's in it.

JT

[Blueskies123]

If you want a focused answer to your question with no other aspects, then it would be the one with the least alcohol and fewest calories.

[finite_difference]

A nice thick Guinness has shockingly few calories. Not sure about the maltose/dextrose factor.

Guinness++.

Not just least alcohol/calories, but also natural ingredients. German beer should also be high-quality (Reinheitsgebot). Also probably good American craft beer.

[fposte]

The Food Babe's column has been widely derided as pseudoscience--here is a specific and thorough response to her beer post.

[JonnyDVM]

A nice thick Guinness has shockingly few calories. Not sure about the maltose/dextrose factor.

Only 210 calories per pint. Solid IMO. Fear of GMOs is way overblown and is totally without scientific merit. If you really want to "drink healthier" then beer isn't the answer. Switch to vodka.

[Frank Grimes]

Even vodka is pretty calorie dense, think I've seen that listed at about 100 cals per shot.

I don't know of many alcoholic beverages that are healthy so I just accept it and eat healthier elsewhere in my diet to make up for it.

[Longtermgrowth]

Some interesting responses. Always like hearing others point of view, especially on this forum since there are some really smart posters here. Thanks for the link, fposte.

[Radjob4me]

IF GMO is a concern, then I don't know that the German purity law Reinheitsgebot will save you from that. Whose to say the German brewers aren't using GMO barley? Or GMO hops? And most beers generally fall into the category of barley, hops, yeast and water. And those that don't often just have other things like rye or oats or other roasted malts or even fruits that would make them fall out of the purity law rules...

And as for Guinness, the fish bladder (isinglass) is not an "ingredient" - it was used as a natural way to clarify beer and/or wine. Some beers naturally have protein particles or fine grains that can make for a cloudy appearance and this was used to "gel" to the particles and then it would all be left at the bottom of the fermentation tank, resulting in a clearer beer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass

Finally, I am totally in the camp that healthy and beer don't cross paths for me. I love my beer but know it's going to add those useless calories, especially an awesome imperial stout...

Kind of nice to have a beer thread

[Nestegg_User]

Come on over to Bend and drink the local craft beer, after say hiking Misery Ridge on Smith Rock or doing the Tumalo Falls trail. You won't even think of the calories...

Hmmm, is it going to be Monkless, Crux, Bend Brewing, Three Creeks, Cascade, Ten Barrel, or ??? Lots of choices and styles--- and yes some good porters and Belgian ales too

[SimonJester]

If you want a focused answer to your question with no other aspects, then it would be the one with the least alcohol and fewest calories.

You want Corona Light, its pretty much water with slight beer flavoring...

But for my money I'm looking for a high ABV, imported German, or some nice local craft beers work also...

[PFInterest]

Question for those of you that look at the ingredients in your beer: What do you settle on for the cheapest beer with the least harmful ingredients?

For those that haven't looked it up, I'm thinking mainly about dextrose and/or maltose being used, or other GMO (genetically modified organisms, i.e. soaked in Roundup) ingredients like GMO rice or corn.

what exactly have you looked up that shows GMOs are harmful?

[mhalley]

I hear they put GMOs in vaccines.
I say if you are looking for healthy beer, drink O'douls. They took out the one thing that is proven to cause cancer, liver disease, car accidents and divorce.

[gwrvmd]

I don't know but I have been told: Beer is good for you, it is 95% water and keeps your kidneys flushed so you don't get renal disease

Some guy also told me I am a GMO. He told me if I had all my genes analyzed, I would find out my genes aren't all like either my mammy or my pappy. Do you think they done the same thing to the corn in your beer that Mother Nature done to me?...........Gordon

[topper1296]

I put an orange slice in my Blue Moon. Does that make it healthy?

[iamlucky13]

If you want a relatively lightly flavored, lower alcohol craft beer, then consider pale ales, hefeweizens, pilsners, or those advertised as "session" beers (below 5% ABV). If you don't like strong hop flavors, which are usually somewhat bitter, look to see if an IBU rating is listed. IBU's in the 20's tend to be very easy drinking. You'll just have to try a range to find out what you like best.

Pilsners are generally going to be the most similar craft product to Coors light, etc. As such, the craft industry ignored Pilsners for a long time, seeking mainly to focus on styles clearly different from the American mass-market lagers. That's changed in the last few years as the craft industry has matured, so there's a growing number of choices.

I'm going to join with Beerbanquet and Millenial in arguing there is little reason to be concerned about added sugars or roundup contamination. The controversy about Roundup in particular fascinates me given just how little residual remains on harvested products and more especially, just how large of a dose it takes in comparison before any documented ill-effect, either short term or long term, occurs.

[JonnyDVM]

Even vodka is pretty calorie dense, think I've seen that listed at about 100 cals per shot.

Exactly. You order several of those mixed with soda water. It's only a few hundred calories and then if you're like my friend you'll abruptly walk several miles home without a shirt on and burn those calories right off.

[dm200]

Question for those of you that look at the ingredients in your beer: What do you settle on for the cheapest beer with the least harmful ingredients?
For those that haven't looked it up, I'm thinking mainly about dextrose and/or maltose being used, or other GMO (genetically modified organisms, i.e. soaked in Roundup) ingredients like GMO rice or corn.
So far, the most accessible beers I've found that qualify are Heineken and Amstel Light due to the German purity law (Reinheitsgebot).
It seems that most anything Miller/Coors has the dextrose and/or maltose ingredients. Bud/Bud light looks to have the GMO rice, and anything cheaper than those in their line, think Natural or Busch, also have the dextrose and/or maltose additives.
Seems one has to go with an expensive imported beer, or expensive local craft beer that may be heavier that one might wish to drink, just to avoid these harmful additives?

After many, many decades believing otherwise, I have now concluded that the objective "science" concludes that any alcohol conumption increases health risks. Too bad

Started drinking beer at about 16 (drinking age was then 18) and my college sponsored all you can drink "beer blasts" for 50 cents on campus. My how things change.

[johnubc]

Beer - Healthy

Oxymoron.

[BanquetBeer]

159 cal/oz ethanol.

159 * (% abv/100) * 12oz = min calories for a beer

If the beer has more calories than this, it is through complex molecules that yeast cannot break down and digest or because the yeast were stopped early and some sweetness (simple sugar) was added back.

[gwrvmd]

BanguetBeer
I think your calculations are low. By your calculations a 12 oz can/bottle of beer is 96 calories. That's Lite: Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Coors Lite etc. A regular beer is about 150 calories and they don't taste sweet.

But your post does recall the old PBR commercial "Less NFS...Non Fermented Sugar"........Gordon

[sco]

You should get your health info from someone other than FoodBabe.. that's where I would start

"Soaked in roundup" really?

[sco]

You should get your health info from someone other than FoodBabe.. that's where I would start

"Soaked in roundup" really?