Carbs in my beer

Is there a calculator or chart that show the carbs per alcohol percentage in my homebrew?

I don’t know if you’re bottle conditioning or kegging but either way - go to this link and click on the “Choose a style” drop down menu. It lists tons of styles and their recommended carbonation volumes.

Sorry, I guess I should have spelled it out. The question is regarding carbohydrates. How many grams as it relates to ABV, if any.

I think Brewers Friend has a calculator. If your counting carbs I think you picked the wrong hobby. I try to limit my carbs by giving up bread and pasta and white potatos

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I’m with you brew_cat. Two beers a day are a constant in my diet. Everything else is negotiable.

I’m trying get my weight down doing a low carb diet. I am not giving up beer…just a temporary decision, then enjoy the hobby more moderately.

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Me just cut down on food. So can drink beer

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Exactly!

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Starting running again since apparently “brewing” beer has caused a new normal weight. :wink: Actually,seems like most breweries are associated with encouraging some form of fitness activities.

Long time low carber here. The carbohydrates in a beer are a product of the residual sugars left in the beer, not necessarily the alcohol. Here’s what I think I know about carbs and beer :slight_smile:

  1. The lower the final gravity, the lower the carbs.
  2. Alcohol is not a carb, but does temporarily stop the production of ketones in the liver(I’ll come back to this)
  3. If you mash at 149 or a little lower and mash out quickly over 175, then your mash will produce more simple sugars and therefore produce a drier, lighter (thinner) beer.
  4. Lager yeast tend to consume a little bit more sugars than ale yeast (I’ve read 5%more)
  5. Forget sweet, dark, or malt forward beers. Dry stouts, like Guinness, are not bad. About 10 net carbs in a Guiness.

When you’re starting low carb eating, it’s important to jump start the process with about a two week “induction”. Under 20 net carbs per day. Almost impossible to drink home-brew during this time and be successful. What you’re looking for is that your liver starts producing ketones which puts your body in a state called ketosis, where you burn fat for fuel since you’ve starved your body of sugars. Eating carbs, especially simple carbs, during this time can jeopardize your success. Once you’ve gotten through this stage, though, you can usually add a few extra carbs here and there and still have good success. The research I’ve found says that alcohol will stop the production of ketones, but will not reverse your ketosis, so when you consume alcohol you delay results but at least you don’t go backwards. If you consume too many carbs, then you fall out of ketosis and you have to start the process all over again.

There are lots of opinions/info out there on carbs and beer. I’ve looked at long lists of commercial beers and their (supposed) carb content and figure that if I’m brewing a similar beer, mine’s probably close to that. I think your best bet is to teetotal during the early phase, then moderation after that. You’ll eventually find a level of drinking that you are comfortable with in regards to your weight. My best guess is that most light colored, dry (.005 final gravity or less) home-brew is somewhere between 10 and 20 carbs per 12 ounces, but that’s only a guess. One good way to have that extra home-brew is to up your exercise regimen. But in the end, beer ain’t diet food, never has been. But lowering your carb intake is usually always a good thing. So force down a few Mich ultras for a few weeks, see how it goes, and go from there. I just wonder if you could make a decent beer using the above mashing schedule and also a champagne or wine yeast to get the final gravity even lower? Never tried it, but I’m sure somebody has.

Once you get through a couple weeks of the diet, Stoney’s 2 beers a day thing could work as long as you really watch what you eat. My brother does the Atkins thing about once a year and he’ll drink ultra for two weeks then go back to real beer after that. His only problem is once he loses the weight he’s back to bout 4 or 5 sixers per week haha.

Anyway, good luck. I’ve fought my weight all my life and I know it’s the carbs. But beer is just too good!

Cheers,

Ron

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I’ve been running recreationally now for about 15 years, did 10 marathons during that time(including Traverse City twice), and found it was an excellent way to “defend” myself from the beer calories, especially after I took up homebrewing in 2013.

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The calculator at Dave’s Dreaded Homebrew includes calories, but not carbs specifically.

I’ll bet Brett beers have even lower carbs. I’m pretty lean even though I drink my share of beer so you may be right there. I also am a low carb guy. I’m active and got to the gym couple times a week. Gotta keep after it

That’s funny Cat. I thought of brett as I was driving in to work this morning-about 30 minutes after my post. I’ll bet you’re right.

Cheers,

Ron

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Just thinking out loud, but brett can metabolize complex carbs and convert them to ethanol. Some that the human body can’t actually use, like xylitol. So if it can convert sugars and starches that might pass right through your system, and turn them to alcohol, it might actually be slightly worse for you as the calories will be higher.

Your really a bummer man

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Hey I do what I can! Any more bowls of cornflakes around? :laughing:

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The only time i do run fast. Will be to the. Kegurator. To fill a new pint. But indeed gaint about 10 lbs. Drinking my home brew

Except when you’re doing low carb, no calorie counting is required-I know, it sounds crazy, but it works. When I did the Atkins diet for the first time my weight was at 210 (I’m 5’9"). Three months later I weighed 180 and I was consuming about 4000 calories per day, just very few of those calories from carbs. We’ve been programmed for so long to believe that all calories are the same but they’re not. So even if a beer had double the calories, if the carbs are low that would be all that mattered for someone on the diet.

Cheers,

Ron

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I dropped 15lbs in a couple weeks on South Beach. It does work. I don’t care about calories either just limit carbs. Except beer which I’ll have 1 or 2 a day. Sometime I’ll take a break. If I go on phase one and no beer I’ll drop 5 in a week. Don’t think it works for everyone though. I’m not hung up on weight it’s more about how I feel.