consumerist.com— Our alcoholic uncle always swore that booze was healthy, and if the Treasury Department has its way, nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages may soon have people thinking he was right.
Aug 6, 2007View in Crawl 4
Another great example is the buffalo effect. You see as a herd of buffalo go roaming about, the weaker ones are picked off by predators, thus making the stronger ones survive. Lastly, making the entire heard stronger. This also applies to brain cells and the effects of alcohol, which is why you always feel a little smarter after a few beers.
I can't tell if you're joking about the Mr. Beer kit, but in the event that you're not, if you've been making your own beer for awhile and find that you enjoy it, I think you'd really find it worthwhile to invest in some proper gear. I've got about $300 invested in enough good equipment to have 3 five-gallon batches going simultaneously (plus the above mentioned "special" batches that I'm aging for over a year). On a staggered rotation, this means I'm generally bottling up around two and a half cases of beer every other week. And if you like hoppy beers, you can definitely go further than an American lager. Whip up a batch of India Pale Ale first, then if you want to go even further, try the Double IPA. The double is too bitter for a lot of people, that degree of hoppiness is definitely an acquired taste, but it leaves no doubt whatsoever that you're drinking beer!
i severely changed my drinking habits after i found out the hard way just how many calories i was consuming through alcoholic beverages... by packing on about 50 pounds in around 3 years... i've lost it all now, but i drink much less so that doesn't happen again...
I would like to see ingredients and alcohol content at least. Being a sufferer of allergies and respectful to my body always makes me want to know what i am putting in there. I also believe you are right on with the ingredients list being fairly simple. The hope would be that the non-standard ingredients would be there, letting us separate the beer from the beer-like. An exert from the German Beer Purity Laws: "use only barley, hops and water for the beer, knowledgeably simmer it and add nothing else nor allow anyone else to add anything."In regards to the secrecy of a formula: Brewing is a very old tradition and the ingredients, at its purest state, are simple. Brew masters are aptly named as the process is difficult and requires the experiences of years of trial and error. These traditions and experience are usually passed down throughout generations. Put my home brewed beer next to any brew master's using the exact same ingredients and I'm sure my bottles will still be full at the end of the day. In regards to the 'only thing unhealthy about it is the alcohol": The process of fermentation can produce a number of interesting chemicals, especially when non-standard ingredients are used in brewing. Alcohol is a waste product of the fermentation process. When done improperly, all sorts of horrible, headache causing chemicals can come out. An experienced, well informed beer drinker can usually sit down at a brew pub and smell a bad brew. It'd be nice to quantify this information on a label so that the folks that haven't spent years tasting and reading about beer the same options.That being said, perhaps an ingredient list is only part of the solution. Beer is chemically different than its ingredients and does not represent the contents of a bottle the same way that the Wheat Thins ingredients relate the the product in the box.Lastly, maybe that would force some of the American large scale brewers to admit they use corn! They finally admitted to using rice...
matskyAug 7, 2007
But, they ARE good for you! I refute any other claims as heresy. All hail Gambrinus!
jonestownteaAug 7, 2007
Another great example is the buffalo effect. You see as a herd of buffalo go roaming about, the weaker ones are picked off by predators, thus making the stronger ones survive. Lastly, making the entire heard stronger. This also applies to brain cells and the effects of alcohol, which is why you always feel a little smarter after a few beers.
theamazingkortAug 7, 2007
If you look on the side of any Budweiser product there's nutrition facts. Look hard, they're there.
subliminalurgeAug 7, 2007
I can't tell if you're joking about the Mr. Beer kit, but in the event that you're not, if you've been making your own beer for awhile and find that you enjoy it, I think you'd really find it worthwhile to invest in some proper gear. I've got about $300 invested in enough good equipment to have 3 five-gallon batches going simultaneously (plus the above mentioned "special" batches that I'm aging for over a year). On a staggered rotation, this means I'm generally bottling up around two and a half cases of beer every other week. And if you like hoppy beers, you can definitely go further than an American lager. Whip up a batch of India Pale Ale first, then if you want to go even further, try the Double IPA. The double is too bitter for a lot of people, that degree of hoppiness is definitely an acquired taste, but it leaves no doubt whatsoever that you're drinking beer!
victoryginAug 7, 2007
i severely changed my drinking habits after i found out the hard way just how many calories i was consuming through alcoholic beverages... by packing on about 50 pounds in around 3 years... i've lost it all now, but i drink much less so that doesn't happen again...
Closed AccountAug 7, 2007
Sure why not? It wouldn't hurt to know what you're putting in your body.
g30ffAug 7, 2007
wierd... worked right before I made my post. I could get as far as 102, now it only goes to 45. technology, ain't it grand...
asoggywaffleAug 7, 2007
i think it would actually discourage some to see how many calories of their recommended daily value they are getting by knocking back a few beers
lk167Aug 8, 2007
I would like to see ingredients and alcohol content at least. Being a sufferer of allergies and respectful to my body always makes me want to know what i am putting in there. I also believe you are right on with the ingredients list being fairly simple. The hope would be that the non-standard ingredients would be there, letting us separate the beer from the beer-like. An exert from the German Beer Purity Laws: "use only barley, hops and water for the beer, knowledgeably simmer it and add nothing else nor allow anyone else to add anything."In regards to the secrecy of a formula: Brewing is a very old tradition and the ingredients, at its purest state, are simple. Brew masters are aptly named as the process is difficult and requires the experiences of years of trial and error. These traditions and experience are usually passed down throughout generations. Put my home brewed beer next to any brew master's using the exact same ingredients and I'm sure my bottles will still be full at the end of the day. In regards to the 'only thing unhealthy about it is the alcohol": The process of fermentation can produce a number of interesting chemicals, especially when non-standard ingredients are used in brewing. Alcohol is a waste product of the fermentation process. When done improperly, all sorts of horrible, headache causing chemicals can come out. An experienced, well informed beer drinker can usually sit down at a brew pub and smell a bad brew. It'd be nice to quantify this information on a label so that the folks that haven't spent years tasting and reading about beer the same options.That being said, perhaps an ingredient list is only part of the solution. Beer is chemically different than its ingredients and does not represent the contents of a bottle the same way that the Wheat Thins ingredients relate the the product in the box.Lastly, maybe that would force some of the American large scale brewers to admit they use corn! They finally admitted to using rice...