Homebrew calories

[Amalheiros]

Is there a way or a formula to calculate the amount of calories in a homebrew
using gravity readings or any other methods??
Not that I care but am gonna make some labels and wanted to print it on them.

 

[Smokeater233]

Some of the recipe maker software packages offer a simple calculator. I'm on a Mac and use: http://www.kentplacesoftware.com/products/BeerAlchemy.shtml

You can also find more info on the correct formula here: http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?threadid=12436

A word to the wise however - I do not encourage calorie calculation on homebrew. I stupidly did the calculation on my Christmas Double Chocolate Stout which I had purposely kicked the ABV up on and decided to add a little extra cocoa for good measure. Three pints equaled roughly the daily recommended caloric intake for an adult male.

 

[dcott]

A word to the wise however - I do not encourage calorie calculation on homebrew. I stupidly did the calculation on my Christmas Double Chocolate Stout which I had purposely kicked the ABV up on and decided to add a little extra cocoa for good measure. Three pints equaled roughly the daily recommended caloric intake for an adult male.

In other words, it was delicious!

 

[Smokeater233]

Oh, you bet! I'm doing a far bigger one in February - complete with more cocoa, coffee, a pound of lactose, maple syrup, and two pounds of toasted coconut. You know how a Deep Dish Pizza suddenly tastes a whole lot less enjoyable when you find out what it's actually doing to your insides? Same point here...

 

[dcott]

But on the bright side, if you're ever stuck on an Island with nothing but a batch of that, you're set for months!

 

[Smokeater233]

You mean days - the last batch lasted just 7 days...

 

[lmnop]

NB: though ethanol contains many, many kilocalories (ie it burns very well) none of those are bio-available to humans (ie they won't make you fat)

There is a calculation to figure out the residual sugar in grams from the OG and FG, use that times 7 = the amount of cals your body is actually getting.

 

[Brasco20]

When i started brewing i started to drink a lot of REAL beers from the store, instead of the old budlite, to see what was good and what wasnt. Im 26 and at that point i weighed 150. 6 months later im 160 and growing, i know i still dont weigh ****, but the SWMBO likes to make fun of me. Tells me im getting love handles, ha. And this is after she went on a diet and got back to 125.

p.s. Im still farting like crazy

 

[dcott]

Imnop: I'm curious where you get the 7 from? I know that a gram of carbs is 4 calories, proteins 4, lipids 7, so does the 7 comes from some calculation that includes all three? Just carbs? Alcohol as well?

I've never really thought about how many calories I was consuming, but this thread has peaked my interest. Thanks for the insight!

 

[sudsmcgee]

NB: though ethanol contains many, many kilocalories (ie it burns very well) none of those are bio-available to humans (ie they won't make you fat)

There is a calculation to figure out the residual sugar in grams from the OG and FG, use that times 7 = the amount of cals your body is actually getting.

What!?!?! Although technically correct, I think you're missing most of the metabolic pieces. Alcohol is one actually of the most fattening substances a person can consume. It is oxidized and turned into acetate, which your body then preferentially uses as a source of energy over fat.

What does this actually mean? It means that your body metabolizes alcohol completely before it begins to metabolize fat, proteins and other carbs. If you drink with a meal, a much larger portion of your food will be immediately shuttled away by the body for adipose tissue storage. In a nutshell, alcohol tells your body that all other calories you've consumed are "excess" and it treats them as such. So all of those dextrins and lactose in a milk stout are going to be turned into fat while your body metabolizes the alcohol.

The only way alcohol could be considered non-fattening is if you're drinking vodka or everclear on an empty stomach and you don't consume any other calories until the alcohol is completely metabolized into acetate, and this acetate has been completely used by the body. Typically the only people who fall into this category are raging alcoholics, so in the real world, your statement is completely opposite of the truth.

 

[dcott]

The only way alcohol could be considered non-fattening is if you're drinking vodka or everclear on an empty stomach and you don't consume any other calories until the alcohol is completely metabolized into acetate, and this acetate has been completely used by the body. Typically the only people who fall into this category are raging alcoholics, so in the real world, your statement is completely opposite of the truth.

I think I tried this diet when I was in college. Didn't really work, but it was fun as hell!

 

[autobaun70]

as a guy who grew up stealing Miller Lite from pops fridge, I cann tell you, basically anything worth drinking (other than Miller Lite of course) should be treated kinda like the reciept from the home brew supply shop. Keep quite about it around your wife, and you can blame your being fat & broke to some other reason.

Edit: If you ever need to go on a diet, you can always buy a few cases of Bud/Miller/Coors and be good to go.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Is there a way or a formula to calculate the amount of calories in a homebrew
using gravity readings or any other methods??
Not that I care but am gonna make some labels and wanted to print it on them.

Not sure, but I'm sure that it's more than a Miller Lite.



edit --- lolz, I missed the above post

 

[maxamuus]

I read somewhere that home brew has no calories. If someone took the time to write it, it must be true.

 

[BigB]

Although Suds is correct, he forgot one other very important aspect... There are certain biological processes that differ from person to person. This process involves the interplay of the brain's visual cortex and the body's metabolic rate... For example, I get fat just looking at a homebrew! So, although I completely agree with Suds, I think it is important to point out the other ways homebrews are fattening.

 

[kpr121]

I read somewhere that home brew has no calories. If someone took the time to write it, it must be true.

I like this theory. Although my waistline would beg to differ. When I was counting calories I would just assume that an average gravity homebrew was around 200 calories (a sierra nevada is 175 calories for comparison sake).