Why is so difficult to find out the carbs in beer?

[Greymouser]

Or wine for that matter? I am not saying I am an alcoholic, indeed I have only had a few since diagnosis, but no wine or beer and I like the odd glass. Is there no other option other than trying some and testing? Is it asking too much of manufacturers to include this information on the bottle?

I have e mailed Marstons about it and still do not have an answer, which seems like very bad customer service, considering there are allegedly nearly four million diabetics in the UK, never mind poor business sense...

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi Greymouser ~ do you have the book called CARB & CALORIE COUNTER? It gives the carb content in beer and wines. It can be obtained from Amazon for £10.49.
I'll try to download some pics for you so please bear with me.

 

[Mark Parrott]

With alcohol, you also have to take into account the alcohol volume too, as this stops your liver producing glucose. I have a pint of strong beer once a week & wine a bit more often. Wine doesn't raise my BG at all. Beer sends it up a bit but it soon drops back down.

 

[Greymouser]

Hi Greymouser ~ do you have the book called CARB & CALORIE COUNTER? It gives the carb content in beer and wines. It can be obtained from Amazon for £10.49.
I'll try to download some pics for you so please bear with me.

No I do not, I will have to have a look at that, though from the the pictures you have posted, ( thank you, 🙂 ) it does not seem to specify the brand mostly and I have been told that the different brands, have very different carb content, so not sure of the value of it to me. This particularly so when I consider that I in particularly like Real Ale, which is going to vary even more, especially considering the different alcohol content and the fact that there are many small brewery's that produce it. I have to admit that I am disappointed at the lack of response from Marstons.

@ Mark, Yes I had read that, but are you referring to the volume as in strength, or the physical amount of alcohol? I have seen on the Tesco website, it gives the the alcohol content as a weight in grammes. I do like the stronger ales though, especially above 7 %. Does that mean they will have higher carbs though? I was also told to have a carb snack before bed if I was having spirits, but not if wine or beer. I am a little confused, not helped by the " medical professional " advice, which told me to just avoid beer and most wine completely!

 

[Northerner]

I think that, where alcoholic drinks are concerned, it can be a very individual thing. I used to be able to drink strong, sweet cider and it had no effect on my blood sugar levels, same with lager like Stella or Kronenburg, but real ale would spike me. Spirits and wine, no effect, although I never drank white wine. As Mark suggests, the liver can't multitask, so it spends about an hour processing a unit of alcohol and forgets to trickle out the glucose it would normally release as your 'basal' energy supply (which keeps your heart, lungs and digestive system working when you are not processing food). How this affects you is going to be a very personal thing.

I'm afraid the only real way to find out is to experiment! 😱 😉

 

[Greymouser]

II'm afraid the only real way to find out is to experiment! 😱 😉

So, let me get this right... you are instructing me to experiment with alcohol? 😉😱

 

[Wirrallass]

So, let me get this right... you are instructing me to experiment with alcohol? 😉😱

I'm sorry but that did make me laugh Greymouser! No offence meant!

 

[Northerner]

So, let me get this right... you are instructing me to experiment with alcohol? 😉😱

In moderation, of course! 🙂

 

[Wirrallass]

No I do not, I will have to have a look at that, though from the the pictures you have posted, ( thank you, 🙂 ) it does not seem to specify the brand mostly and I have been told that the different brands, have very different carb content, so not sure of the value of it to me. This particularly so when I consider that I in particularly like Real Ale, which is going to vary even more, especially considering the different alcohol content and the fact that there are many small brewery's that produce it. I have to admit that I am disappointed at the lack of response from Marstons.

@ Mark, Yes I had read that, but are you referring to the volume as in strength, or the physical amount of alcohol? I have seen on the Tesco website, it gives the the alcohol content as a weight in grammes. I do like the stronger ales though, especially above 7 %. Does that mean they will have higher carbs though? I was also told to have a carb snack before bed if I was having spirits, but not if wine or beer. I am a little confused, not helped by the " medical professional " advice, which told me to just avoid beer and most wine completely!

Apologies Greymouser but it was necessary for me to delete the photos.
WL

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Unless you are on insulin I'm not sure there's all that much you can do - and the BG lowering effect of alcohol means that people are generally advised not to dose insulin for the carbs in alcoholic drinks.

Some well-earned experimentation certainly seems the best option!

Personally I have a vague ready-reckoner approach for micro-doses of insulin for a pint or two of real ale, and less for lagers and ciders. Anything else I like to drink doesn't cause a BG spike.

 

[Greymouser]

I am suitably shocked, both the site Admin and a Moderator ordering me to have a drink or two! 😱 That makes it virtually the law, doesn't it? I have been having the odd glass of spirit, once a week since the beginning of September, so can say with certainty, that Vodka, Whiskey and Rum, do not spike me. Indeed they seem to have the opposite effect, particularly the morning after... Perhaps I should experiment with a midnight snack too. 😎

I have bought a bottle of Riesling for tomorrow evening, which is apparently a dry wine which goes well with fish. I know very little about wine, other than when, on the rare occasion that I have it, I like it very, very sweet. Proper Mead is very hard to beat. 🙂

 

[Copepod]

All I can say is, it's worth experimenting with real ale. Generally similar styles of beer with similar % alcohol content have similar carbohydrate content.
In fact, it's sad that I haven't been to a real ale festival since moving cities 4 years ago, because I haven't made any friends interested in ale. I've been to a few pubs nights when visiting old home city or meeting up with friends in other places, so not all bad news.

 

[Greymouser]

Just thought I would update on my first experiment with wine, a little Riesling and a little Vodka night cap whilst watching Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, for the first time in many years. Great film and a decent wine, which did not seem to effect my BS at all. Result. 🙂

 

[Mark Parrott]

No I do not, I will have to have a look at that, though from the the pictures you have posted, ( thank you, 🙂 ) it does not seem to specify the brand mostly and I have been told that the different brands, have very different carb content, so not sure of the value of it to me. This particularly so when I consider that I in particularly like Real Ale, which is going to vary even more, especially considering the different alcohol content and the fact that there are many small brewery's that produce it. I have to admit that I am disappointed at the lack of response from Marstons.

@ Mark, Yes I had read that, but are you referring to the volume as in strength, or the physical amount of alcohol? I have seen on the Tesco website, it gives the the alcohol content as a weight in grammes. I do like the stronger ales though, especially above 7 %. Does that mean they will have higher carbs though? I was also told to have a carb snack before bed if I was having spirits, but not if wine or beer. I am a little confused, not helped by the " medical professional " advice, which told me to just avoid beer and most wine completely!

Sorry for the late reply. I was referring to ABV %.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I can't stomach Reisling. Way too sweet for me. I'm more of a dry person.

 

[Greymouser]

I can't stomach Reisling. Way too sweet for me. I'm more of a dry person.

😳 I thought it was a dry wine!? You really wouldn't like what I used to drink then Mark...
It is described on the bottle as an off dry wine I think. I know very little about wine.😳

 

[Mark Parrott]

I always thought it was sweet. Maybe I had a very cheap one. I've always put it in the same camp as Hock & Liebfraumilch.

 

[Greymouser]

Never had Hock or Liebfraumilch, I don't think, so cannot compare it. A proper wine for me is a desert wine I guess, something like a Spanish Moscatel. To be honest even they are not sweet enough for me, Mead is king for me and now forever out of reach, not that I have been able to find a decent one for years. The Scottish winery I used to buy it from was bought out and the new owners ruined the product.
I was going to brew my own, this last summer gone for Christmas, but that has gone on permanent hold now. Honey is not low carb.

 

[mikeyB]

I don’t drink at all, like Northie, but I never found that wine spiked me, nor, thank goodness, a single malt. I’ve not been a beer person since uni, from what I can remember...

Many bottled beers now seem to be carrying calorie content from what I’ve seen of alcohol free beers.

 

[Greymouser]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I though an update could be useful. I have indeed experimented and found that even Real Ales do not spike me much at all! Result! Wine and spirits not at all.
Of course, further experiments will be required, just to be sure of course...