Brewing light beer?

Does anyone know if there is a way to brew a light calorie beer? I have basic equipment and knowledge of how to brew, but I'm starting to get fat!!!

Reduce your grains/malts, to be around a 4% alc content. I do extract only and have done a couple English Milds. I steep around a 1/2 to 3/4 lbs of grains and use a 3.3 can of LME and 1lb of DME with some hops. According to Beer Calculas I'm around the 110 calorie mark. Want it lower? Eliminate the steeping grains or a pound of malt. But would you want to drink it then?

Drink good beer.Fat and happy is better then thin and mich ultra.

Unfermented sugar is a serious calorie contributor. The best way to make a lite beer, IMO, is to brew something very basic and crush up beano tablets into the fermenter.

Miller Lite clone

Found this recipe in one of the books that I have.
SWMBO asked me to brew it once.
But personaly I would never brew it, as I think it would be a lot cheeper to buy at the Store.

Ingredients

2.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 36.4 %
1.75 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
1.75 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
0.50 oz Cluster [7.00%] (60 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Amylase Enzyme (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs Pilsen Lager (Wyeast Labs #2007) Yeast-Lager

Notes

65 degrees add yeast
ferment 4-6 days in primary at 50 degrees
transfer to secondary and add disolved amylase enzyme
maintain 50 degrees for 2 weeks
then larger one more week at 40 degrees

Coastarine said:

Unfermented sugar is a serious calorie contributor. The best way to make a lite beer, IMO, is to brew something very basic and crush up beano tablets into the fermenter.

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+1.

But seriously, look at the other sources of carbohydrates in your diet. A bottle of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine might set you back 330 calories, but less than half of a McD's Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (740 calories!!) We won't even mention the 2700 calorie Chili's Awesome Blossom that nobody minds devouring...

Beer Calories, Beer Alcohol, Beer Carbohydrates.

I say cut out the other factors, then go after beer.

thewurzel said:

Miller Lite clone

Found this recipe in one of the books that I have.
SWMBO asked me to brew it once.
But personaly I would never brew it, as I think it would be a lot cheeper to buy at the Store.

Ingredients

2.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 36.4 %
1.75 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
1.75 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
0.50 oz Cluster [7.00%] (60 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Amylase Enzyme (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs Pilsen Lager (Wyeast Labs #2007) Yeast-Lager

Notes

65 degrees add yeast
ferment 4-6 days in primary at 50 degrees
transfer to secondary and add disolved amylase enzyme
maintain 50 degrees for 2 weeks
then larger one more week at 40 degrees

Click to expand...

Obviously that recipe is wrong. You have to put the hops in three times.

Mutilated1 said:

Obviously that recipe is wrong. You have to put the hops in three times.

Click to expand...

Why three times? Late addition hops might not be appropriate for a BMC clone.

Jumbo82 said:

Why three times? Late addition hops might not be appropriate for a BMC clone.

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Miller's new ad campaign describes how it's "triple hopped," and they add the hops three times, not just once, so you can really taste it! :rockin:

Triple Hops Brewed is the way they word it.

Coastarine said:

Triple Hops Brewed is the way they word it.

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That means they throw in 3 Pellets into their 15bbl batches.

ahhh, thanks. I guess I've just been fortunate enough to have avoided this new ad campaign for this long. Its probably only a matter of time before before my senses are assaulted by them...

thewurzel said:

2.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 36.4 %
1.75 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
1.75 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 31.8 %
0.50 oz Cluster [7.00%] (60 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Amylase Enzyme (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs Pilsen Lager (Wyeast Labs #2007) Yeast-Lager

Click to expand...

I did a similar recipe a year ago. Came out extremely dry. I tried another version, but added in 2 lbs of bakers Splenda. Turns out that bakers Splenda is 99.9% Maltodextrin, which is fermentable when using the Amylase Enzyme. Boosting the ABV, and ended up being too cloying, and still otherwise flavorless.

I'm sure there is a good balance in there, but I never found it. I think the problem is much of the malt flavor comes from the unfermentable sugars that are broken up by the Amylase, taking them away. I was curious that if you started with a very malty base, like munich malt, and added some strong grains, like Special-B, and much of the flavor would remain after the Amylase treatment?

Not that it really matters. I'd rather drink 1 good beer, then 4 watery beers. Though it is something I wonder about.

I just took the recipe from Home brewer’s gold by Charlie Papazian
Who is a reputable beer author.
Target original gravity is 1.030
Final gravity: 1.000
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 16
Amylase Enzyme: Enhances fermentation and lowers final gravity by breaking down complex starches. Produces light bodied, high alcohol beers. Add when pitching yeast.

Personaly I do not drink light Beers, nor would I brew this recipe.