Beer: Who packs the most punch for your battle against the paunch in American Beer?

Posted: February 26th, 2010 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Beer | 1 Comment »

When it comes to American brew with some flavor or character, a trio of favorites win the day on calories, alcohol content and taste.

• According to the do-gooders at Men’s Health and Eat this, not that, they’ve ranked the top 20-brews that won’t help add to your beer belly too much…
• Yet, they failed to measure taste and alcohol content as well as price as a factor in their formula.  Luckily, that’s where I come in…
• And, you’d be surprised who packs the most for the least and still remains satisfying when ice cold and you want a buzz…
• Your guide to American beers that do the trick on both ends.

by Mike Zimmer, Beer Drinker Extraordinaire

According to the do-gooders and calorie counters over at Men’s Health Magazine, Miller Genuine Draft 64 is the best beer you could drink and help keep away that beer gut.  Also, Beck’s expensive Premium Light and the absolutely tasteless Michelobe Ultra got top honors at #2 and #3.  There’s only one problem with this:  Those beers suck, have no freakin’ flavor and if you drink them you’re a girl.  Oh yeah, and with the MGD 64, you’re only getting 2.8% alcohol by volume which is LESS than old fashioned near-beer.

Nope, if you want a good tasting beer, something with character, something that won’t cost you too much AND you still want to be able to get your drink on and get buzzed, you don’t need to look very hard to find some choices that are still rather decent even if you are fighting that battle against the beer belly.

In the list, there were plenty of good choices for flavor.  But, the combination of flavor, plus calories and then alcohol content was often missed in the formula.  So, in an effort to help you fight your own “Operation Fat Ass” or if you want to defend you beer intake during the time of a weight loss plan, go with these following surprises on the list:

Yuengling Traditional Lager
calories: 142
carbs: 12
alcohol content: 4.6%

Ranking #13 on the list that ‘Eat this, not that’ provided for Men’s Health, Yuengling packs plenty of flavor and pop for your calories and carbs.  Sure, is it twice the amount of their #1 MGD 64???  Yes, but within one Yuengling you get the equivalent of two MGD 64′s.  No, really.

Yuengling has long been one of my absolute favorite beers ever since I had my first one at a Pittsburgh Pirates game at PNC Park.  It is one of those rare beers that has some color, some flavor and yet you can drink them until the cows come home even on the hottest day or when you are really slamming them back.  Yet, they have some character to them and there’s something to them that makes them oh, so good. 

Long only available in Pennsylvania and a handful of other places, America’s oldest brewery is trying to crank out their supply state by state as they can.  They’ve still not made it completely into Ohio unless people boot-leg it in, despite an agreement that would have had them distributed through Miller beer distributing houses that was supposed to happen last year.  Readily available in Florida and throughout the mid-Atlantic though, I am happy I’ll soon once again get to drink them all the time. (http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/yuengling-lager?slideshow=77385#title)

Rolling Rock Extra Pale Ale
calories: 132
carbs: 12
alcohol content: 4.5%

Rolling Rock was my official tail-gating beer starting back about 1996.  Why not?  It was one of those clean drinking beers that was so easy to drink, you could drink it first thing in the morning with kegs and eggs.  Down in Cincinnati when ‘Flannigans’ was still standing on Pete Rose Way near Riverfront Stadium, they used to sell Rolling Rock Double Duces for $2-bucks and have $1 hot-dogs.  When I was up in Columbus for Ohio State games tailgating, Rolling Rock cans were easy drinking in the crisp autumn weather, especially at 9am for a Noon kick-off.  I remember it was one of my first beers of choice considering once upon a time, I didn’t always “LOVE” beer as a youngster.  It was easy to love Rolling Rock.

Listed as #12 on the list from Men’s Health, Rock packs the punch and doesn’t kill you on calories or carbs either.

However, I will say this, since they were purchased by Anheuser Busch and they stopped making Rolling Rock at Old Latrobe in Western Pennsylvania, I haven’t had but one or two Rolling Rocks.  They make it in St. Louis now days and I’ll tell ya, it doesn’t taste like it used to.  Something about the waters of the Latrobe River made it special.  Something about the water rolling downstream into the muddy Mississippi took some of the charm and flavor out of it for me.  Perhaps it’s time to give it another shot. (http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/rolling-rock-premium?slideshow=77385#title)

THE BEST OPTION…No, Really…

Budweiser, The King of Beers
calories: 145
carbs: 11
alcohol content: 5%

Yep, Budweiser, The King of Beers, packs the biggest punch on alcohol and isn’t far removed from all those other beers when it comes to carbs and calories.  Oh yeah, Bud actually has some flavor and character to it too. 

Sure, Bud with it’s rice hops flavor can turn some people away and if you are not a guy who can pound beers, it can seem heavy.  Yet, Bud delivers and tastes better than it’s more populuar little brother ‘Bud Light’.  I find that Bud Light gets flat quicker, has started to taste more and more like water and has no character.  Meanwhile, Big Brother Bud has kept some key components of taste and out-paces lil’ bro Bud Light by 0.4% alcohol too.

Call me biased too, after all, I’m spoiled to the fact that you can get a 20oz. Budweiser on draft at Frickers sports bars for $2.22.  Also, Bud and Bud Jr., is readily available, easily identifyable as American and you can buy it in great quantities for chicken feed.

Also, considering that premium beers like Budweiser usually are associated with beers that fat, old guys who huge beer guts drink, the beer isn’t far removed from the so-called “better for you beers”.  So in conclusion, when it comes to American Beers, if you want a great beer, have a Yuengling.  If you want a very lighter beer that is easy to drink, have a Rolling Rock.  And, if you are manly enough, drink your Bud.
 

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/budweiser?slideshow=77385#title

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