Beer Carbs

Does beer have carbohydrates which is helpful for the body?
(November 16, 2010)

Beer Carbs

Nowadays many people have been bitten by the low carb craze and are hence overly concerned by their calorie intake. This low carb phenomenon has even impacted the alcoholic beverage market and the consequent preferences of the individual.  Low carb beers as compared to other low carb alcohol options seem to be fairing fairly well amongst avid beer drinkers. This is mainly because the carbs per beer are known to be lesser in low carb beers and supposedly better for one’s waistline as well. Typically beer carbs in the regular beer range from 11 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving and around 145 calories. On the other hand, low carb beers tend to have just 5 grams of carbs per 12-ounce of serving and around 110 calories.


However in order to know how many carbs in a beer are present, one should simply not go by the “Light” label on the beer as sometimes a light beer may have just have many calories as a regular beer. Although one may switch to low carb beers to cut calories and lose weight, one needs to remember that any form of alcohol, including low carb beers, tends to stimulate cortisol in the body which in turn results in the individual gaining weight.

Hence, those who are planning on going on a diet to lose weight should ideally completely eliminate alcohol from their diet plan. One needs to understand that carbohydrates are basically the chemical compounds that are required by the body as an important source of energy. Although dieticians may advise some individuals to minimize their intake of carbs, as in most cases carbs that are unused tend to get stored in the body as fat cells, they will however not usually recommend the individual to completely eliminate carbs from their diet. Beer is known to be high in carbs as the primary ingredient in most beers is grain which is one of the highest sources of carbohydrates. In fact many a time, barley hops are introduced at different stages in the beer making process. Research has shown that some individuals may add low carb beer to their low carb diet however only in moderation. The reason beer is considered to be highly fattening is because of the calorie rich maltose that is present in beer as well as the high carbohydrate content. In most cases, for a beer to be classified as low carb it should have less than 7 grams of carbs per serving.