Beers hit a new low with carbs

October 29, 2003

DON CAZENTRE, STAFF WRITER

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This, apparently, is what the world has been waiting for: Beer you can drink on the Atkins diet.

Low-carbohydrate beer is brewing's latest trend. (Remember Lite, Dry, Ice, etc?)

This one's hot. Anheuser-Busch led the way with low-carb Michelob Ultra, introduced last fall. It's already listed among the nation's top 15 best-selling beers.

In the last few weeks, Rolling Rock joined in with Rock Green Light and Utica's F.X. Matt Brewing Co. launched Accel. All display the words "low carbohydrate" prominently on the label.

Michelob Ultra and Rock Green Light each have 2.6 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce bottle; Accel has 2.4 grams. By contrast, a 12-ounce Budweiser has 10.6 grams.

Miller Lite has 3.2 grams of carbs. This, by the way, seems to be the reason Miller hasn't joined the new low-carb beer parade. Miller instead has started advertising that Lite, on the market since the 1970s, has always had few carbohydrates.

The new low-carb beers, predictably, have little flavor and almost no body. It's easy to see why they would be popular, say, in a hot dance club. It's almost like drinking water, except for the alcohol content.

Low-carbohydrate beers seem to hover in the range of 4 to 4.2 percent alcohol by volume. That's about on par with Miller Lite or Bud Light but about a percentage point lower than domestic premium brands, such as Budweiser or Miller High Life.

So what's driving the trend to low-carb beers? Clearly it's the same market factors that are producing everything from low-carb chocolate to "zero carb" vodka (see the recent ads for UV Vodka).

"We see a lifestyle change happening out there," said Matt Brewing vice president Fred Matt, whose company decided to enter the low-carb market this summer and produced its first batch last month. "People are looking to do things that are more positive for themselves."

Matt said he crunched some numbers and found a few that caught his attention: There are between 15 million and 30 million Americans on low-carb diets, and light beer is the only beer category that's still growing.

When sales of Michelob Ultra took off, Matt got the message.

Accel (short for "accelerate") is aimed at young, active drinkers who aren't looking for bold flavor in their beers.

That's why Matt chose not to market Accel under the brewery's Saranac label. Saranac is a line of flavorful and full-bodied beers.

In a side-by-side tasting with Rock Green Light and Michelob Ultra, Accel seems to be the "cleanest"-tasting. In other words, it has less identifiable flavor. Green Light and Ultra seem to have mild hints of the flavor of the beers they're derived from: Rolling Rock and Michelob.

Still, the most noticeable thing about these beers is there's not much to notice.

Getting a brewer to explain how low-carb beers are made is a daunting task.

In relatively simple terms, brewers use a longer "mash," which is the step in brewing in which fermentable sugars are extracted from the grain. That's followed by longer fermentation, in which more of those sugars are fermented out.

"When you get the sugars out, you get the carbs out," is the explanation from Fred Matt.

And if getting the carbs out is more important to you than full flavor, these are the beers for you.

Don Cazentre is an assistant city editor for The Post-Standard. He is a homebrewer and a member of the Salt City Brew Club. He can be reached at 470-2297 or send e-mail to citynews~syracuse.com

I'm fond of Michelob Ultra. It's our families' low carb beer of choice. I don't think it lacks a decent beer flavor. It's a nice complement to hot wings and fajita salads. I suppose it depends on how much of a beer connoisseur you want to be.

I think my hubby is waiting for an LC version of Guinness, however.

Surprisingly, Guinness has only 5 gm carbs - that's part of why it floats on top of Bass in a "Black and Tan".

Marston Low C isn't bad. Our local pub has started stocking it. Not sure if this is a good thing........

Thanks for the tip on Guinness! My husband will be a VERY happy guy.

Where does one get good nutrition workups on specific brands of liquor?

Related article:

The Small Matter of 17 Peanuts

Business Day (Johannesburg)

October 29, 2003

Tim Cohen, Chief Reporter, Johannesburg

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Now beer is being caught up in the worldwide weight obsession

ASK SABMiller CE Graham Mackay whether the company plans to launch a new brand to take advantage of the new American fetish with low-carbohydrate beers and he does not say yes.

But then he doesn't say no either.

The choice is a tricky one for SABMiller, which is just beginning a long slog to turn around its huge US acquisition's fortunes.

It is also symbolic, since Miller really made its mark in the US when it launched its Miller Lite brand, opening up a new market segment and cementing its position as the secondlargest brewer in the world's largest beer market.

The question now before the company is whether the "low-carb" beverage is a new market segment, or whether it is simply a sub-section of "lite" beers in general.

The problem too is that arch-rival Anheuser-Busch launched Michelob Ultra last October as the lowest carbohydrate major brand in the US. It has proved to be one of the company's most successful launches.

According to an industry journal, The Tap, the company plans to sell 2million barrels of Michelob Ultra over the next year.

This is not insignificant for a company that ships 27,5-million barrels a quarter. It was also one of the reasons the company was able to grow revenue per barrel by 3,5% from the third quarter last year.

SABMiller should be so lucky.

Since SAB formally acquired Miller in July last year, the company's volumes have been falling, and the company has warned that profits will "trend lower" for some time.

So a successful launch of a new brand would be just the ticket, and to focus on "low carb" must be a tempting prospect because of the huge carbohydrate fad that is currently taking grip in the US.

International food group Unilever has put out a profit warning because of the effect of diets that focus on lowcarbohydrate intake. The Tap notes that "the low-carbohydrate lifestyle has gone mainstream".

"Food industry observers have estimated that 25-million to 30-million people are now on some form of a carbohydrate-controlled diet," the journal has reported.

"Food giant HJ Heinz just announced that it is expanding its Smart Ones frozen meals to include a number of low-carb entrées."

SABMiller is also very focused on the issue.

Obesity is now the No1 health issue in the US, says Mackay.

SABMiller has been fighting Michelob Ultra by emphasising the lowcarb nature of Miller Lite compared not to the new entrant, but against the Bud Light. Advertising proclaims that Miller Lite has half the carbohydrates of Bud Light.

Miller Lite has 3,2g of carbohydrates per 100ml compared to the 6,6g found in Bud Light, and the 2,9g of Michelob Ultra.

The extraordinary aspect of the whole debate is the tiny quantities involved. The difference in carbohydrate level between Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra is the equivalent of just one-and-a-half peanuts. That makes the difference between Miller Lite and Bud Light about 17 peanuts.

However, the huge focus on the issue in the US has provided SAB Miller with a poser.

Mackay notes, with apparent approval, that outside research indicates that the company's strategy of focusing on the "low-carb" nature of its products is the least-risk approach. Launching a new beer is of course an expensive issue, and to do so in the middle of turning around what Mackay calls a "supertanker" makes things even more tricky.

Low-carbohydrate diets have after all been around before, and they have proved successful. But occasionally there were also harmful side-effects.

It is not impossible that this fad will fade as the side-effects become more obvious.

I know of no comprehensive sources of such - I just glean bits and pieces from various news articles.

link to source

"One notable exception to this rule is with draught stouts. As odd as this seems, draught stouts’ carbohydrate amounts don’t measure up to their mouthfeel. Take Guinness Stout, for example. Guinness draught stout has an original gravity of about 9.5° Plato, contains about 4% alcohol by volume, contains about 120 calories per 12-ounce serving and has roughly 5.2 grams of carbohydrate (data taken from “Stout” by Michael J. Lewis; Brewers Publications, 1995). "

Hi,

Gotbeer caught my attention, anybody says that around here and I am quick to reply with a "cold one"

I have been drinking Keystone Light, it only has 5 gms of carbs, and for me there is a big difference in price between Keystone light and some of the other lo carb beers. (I figure if my choice of beer only has about 1 1/2 gms of carbs more, than no big deal to me. I saw the ultra in the store for 4.99 for a six-pack on sale, and right next to it was a 12-pack of keystone light for 5.99! It's not a bad beer either, but then most lite beers are going to be lighter in flavor. Take care

OH yes...!
Best news I've heard all day. The next time I go out I'll choose a Guinness and not feel too guilty about it.

that's exactly why I drink Guinness when I find myself in beer drinking mode. Be careful tho, cuz it's normally served in 20 oz. pints (at least here in NYC), sometimes 16 oz pints, but NEVER in 12 oz.... that 5.w gm count is for 12 oz, so do the math, the carbs will add up if you're inclined to drink more than one or two...

Good point - here in Dallas we see both pint cans and 12 oz bottles.

gotbeer, I could hug you! Guinness Stout is my fave and SO much better than Michelob Ultra - definitely worth 3 g carbs. I'll be enjoying a can of that as soon as I pop out my little "alien".

Don't they give Guiness to pregnant and nursing mothers ?

Nowadays, at least in the US, conventional wisdom holds that alcohol should be forbidden to the pregnant, and sometimes the nursing as well.

It was not always so.

It used to be common for women to sip a cup of beer while breastfeeding. Also, women who were prone to "false labor" were told to take a drink when the pains started - alcohol made false labor subside, but true labor would continue.

I imagine any doctor giving that advice these days would be shot.