There is a reason they call it a beer gut. Beer is loaded not only with calories, but with sugars that transfer into empty calories and carbs that hang onto a spare tire like rubber cement. Beer drinkers, as in chronic beer drinkers, are liable to notice a difference within the first few months of drinking, and of course more so with age. Calories in beer are the hard to burn kind, the ones that like to stick with you for the ride, if possible.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that “Lite” beer is all that much better. While it is true that the “Lite” version has scaled down a calorie or two and that they might shed off a couple grams of carbs during the processing, but few beers put the time and effort and expense learning how to make a beer lighter in caloric content and carbohydrates and all the nasty sugars and whatnot that pack on the pounds adding to the beer gut without making the whole thing taste like watery pee.
The lowest beer on the calorie counter (the calorie counted beers include those that are readily available in North America and Canada and most European countries. There are a vast number of beers that did not make the counter at all simply for their near inexistence. You really can’t put a beer on the list if it only has a dozen or so local fans who stop in every evening to the local watering hole that crafts its own brew) would go to Pabst Extra Light Low Alcohol. The name alone will turn off more beer drinkers than A round of AA held at the bar. It is one of the lowest selling beers on the regular market.
Sierra Nevada Stout holds the honorable place of first (meaning the most caloric content) with a whopping 210 calories. These figures are taken at a twelve ounce scale. It is not a very popular beer. Of course, the most popular beer runs along the midline somewhere between 140 and 180 calories for every 12 ounce serving. In some cases, this is more than a Hershey Bar. On average, most men consume between 4 and 8 beers every time they partake. Very few men choose to have just one with dinner or after work. This means that an evening of beer drinking often costs men between 560 calories (that’s a Big Mac and a soda) and 960 calories (that’s an entire pizza plus a Big Mac, with a little room left over for that Hershey Bar.) This is a significant amount of calories for anyone, but especially for men who do not have the time to work out. Daily.
Women average between 2 and 12 beers when they drink. Women who drink daily tend to drink two or three beers while women who drink weekly or randomly tend to drink rather heavily, topping off at half a case. The drinking patterns of women are such a mystery, but women who top half a case per week are in significant danger of developing a drinking problem.
The Calories in Beer Range Depending on the Brand of Beer
Obviously, the calories in beer have a huge impact the beer drinker’s waistline. So, what about the top selling Beer in the United States? Well Busch Beer, Busch Lite, and Busch Ice all come in at 133, 110, and 169, respectively. Coors is pretty costly at 142 while the lighter version spares you 40 calories, coming in at 102 per 12 ounce serving. Keystone Premium and Keystone Light are only separated by 4 little calories, the Premium version measuring 108 while Light takes you down to 104. However, Keystone Ice brings it back up to about 143. It would be reasonable to feel a tad bit cheated after digesting this sort of information.
Michelob brings a wide variety of beer to the table, but not a terribly wide variety of calories. Michelob manufactures Michelob, Light, Amber, Golden Draft and Golden Draft Light, Honey Lager, and of course Ultra. In that order, the calorie counter reports that these beers offer 155, 113,166,152,110, 175, and 95. This is nearly false labeling if you really look at the caloric differences.
Pete’s Wicked Ale, which is called so for a very poignant reason, comes in on the higher end of the scale at 174 calories per 12 ounce serving. The calories in beer can sneak up on a person. Based on a 2,000 calorie diet (which few people adhere to) one 12 ounce serving of beer daily wouldn’t seem so harmful. Few people can limit themselves as such, and thus the calories begin to accumulate.
The Miller Line runs almost parallel to the Michelob line, starting with the Genuine Draft and going straight to the Genuine Draft Light, High Life, High Life Light, and of course, Miller Lite. The final word on the calories involved runs 143, 110, 143, 110, and the little guy with only 96.
The entire Sam Adams line runs right around 160—166, except of course for the Cream Stout which winds up, and I mean up at 195.
In most cases, having just one or two beers throughout the evening can add up to the same caloric content as chowing down an additional half of a meal. Most people wouldn’t sit down to a second meal every night. Yet even with this information and a rapidly growing waist line, many people consistently toss back three or four beers every night just to “unwind.” While unwinding may be a necessary part of the day and a fabulous routine that helps an individual reconnect with life and family. This routine can be accomplished without the assistance of alcohol. In fact, those who reconnect through some form of physical activity feel more connected and drawn into their family life than those who drink beer after work. The calories in beer are happier when they are worked off rather than clung to around the mid section, creating of course, the ever faithful beer gut.
