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alcohol and carbs

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  • alcohol and carbs

    Does anyone know if there has been any studies done on how higher carbs/residual sugars effect how the body processes alcohol. My boss is convinced that our 3.9% "light" beer gets him drunker faster than a Coors or Miller Light that is 4.3% abv. I tend not to drink the macro light beers so I couldn't tell him it was all in his head, but it did start me thinking about the fact that our beer is not brewed to be low carb and that there may be some sort of metabolic reason for this effect. Just curious and appreciate any feed back.

    Thanks,
    Bill

  • #2
    I truly doubt that residual sugar has influence on the uptake or degradation of alcohol in our body. But I got a question for you, when was the last time you checked and varified the alcohol content of your beer? Are you assuming it has 3,9 according to you calculations or do you have a lab where you check this values regularly, or maybe send it in to be checked? Because Miller and Coors certainly do!!

    No offence
    Christoph

    "How much beer is in German intelligence !" - Friedrich Nietzsche

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    • #3
      No offense taken. I actually am in the process of packaging a sample to send to Seibel for analysis.

      Thanks for the response,

      Bill

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      • #4
        Sugars, alcohol and beer

        I agree that sugar content per se should not affect the perceived effect of alcohol nor uptake rates. Though beer nutrients as well as the alcohol can give a fullness from a dietary intake. Maybe sugars and or other ingredients are not being well tolerated by your consumer? Also, depending upon beer production - higher fusel oils might give a hangover and it might be this aspect casuing the feeling of more "drunkeness" or lightheaded feelings?

        Have the beer checked for calories, carbs and alcohol and compare to other light beers for a start.

        Gary.

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        • #5
          "Light" beer and getting drunk

          Very interesting subject. Made me thinking of some comments I get about vacationers in Germany; telling me that the beers are stronger than in the US; i.e., getting them faster drunk. Reality is that most beers are lighter than what we get here in the US; i.e., ...less alcohol!
          Now, some posted are good ideas; having you beer(s) analysed (which you do); but - I also recommend to have your yeast checked. Send some of your wort for FAN analysis. It is recommended to have at least 20 mg FAN/100 ml for the yeast in order to produce as little of higher alcohols as possible.
          In order to get more in details, you may post if you produced the "light" as Ale or Lager; fermentation temperature; yeast generation; yeast washing procedure (if at all...); wort aeration (target 8 ppm); do you brew the (Light) wort as HIGH Gravity and dilute later; yeast pitching and so on.............
          As you see, lot's of factors are to be taken in account.
          I agree with Garry in his posting.
          Question for Gary: Do you analyse for all the forgoing?

          Fred Scheer

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          • #6
            Yes we do test for Fred's suggested items.

            We can test for the alcohol (and fusels if you wish to get so deep), extracts, carbohydrates, calories and protein. We also run FAN tests routinely on malt extracts (for distillers), wort and beer. We can also do (via HPLC or enzymatic assay) individual sugars and a whole lot more.

            Thanks for the question Fred.

            Contact me for a catalof if interested in knowing more about what we do.

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            • #7
              In order to get more in details, you may post if you produced the "light" as Ale or Lager; fermentation temperature; yeast generation; yeast washing procedure (if at all...); wort aeration (target 8 ppm); do you brew the (Light) wort as HIGH Gravity and dilute later; yeast pitching and so on.............

              Fred Scheer[/QUOTE]

              Our beer is a lager brewed with the White Labs 920 yeast. As for the generation it doesn't seem to matter, I use this yeast for two different beers(I've never had this complaint with the other beer) and take it to 8-10 generations each time, but we do not do any washing. We pitch the yeast at 60 degrees and once fermentation is active drop it to 50 over about 48 hours. We aerate the same with all our beers I never actually tried to measure the ppms to be honest. I usually need to top off the kettle after the boil <1 bbl but I wouldn't consider that diluting.

              When I drink this beer I've never noticed any out of line effects so I do think that some of it is mental, but it's hard to tell your boss that sometimes

              I read this after I sent my sample in for the alcohol analysis but the next time I send something in I will have the FAN checked.

              Thanks again I appreciate the help

              Bill

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              • #8
                Is your boss flying in from somewhere else?
                Altitude and oxygen levels in atmosphere of the drinker have a measurable effect on intoxication rate. Being a fan of high altitude training here in Colorado-- I can testify that the same beer's effects are not the same in Key West, FL as in Telluride CO. Same if you go from Tennesse to Bavaria!

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                • #9
                  No, he's been here.

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