'LITE' Beer?

[albeaudoin]

OK, newbie question #1 of a 1000 or so (LOL)

What makes it a LITE BEER?

Is it the carbs and if so, how do I measure or control this? How does this affect the outcome of other factors?

 

[jeffpn]

I found this link for you.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/03/2 ... beer-made/

 

[albeaudoin]

That answers the base question - all about carbs.

What enzymes? Do I need to adjust fermenting sugar, and do I need recipe adjustments to compensate. Also, how do I calculate carb output? What carb level is considered 'lite'?

 

[jeffpn]

Amylase is one enzyme that can be used to allow beer to ferment beyond what it normally would. I've never used it.

Heres a page I found on determining carbs.
http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php?topic=4389.0

Carb calculator
http://www.mrgoodbeer.com/carb-cal.shtml

 

[J A]

Everything I've read indicates that the process for making a beer low-carb is complicated and doesn't lend itself to small-scale homebrewing. If you're going to bother making and drinking homebrew, don't bother with low-carb beer. You can brew a wonderful "small beer" - American lagers or English bitters, for instance - at less than 3.5% ABV and less than 100 calories per 12 oz. Obsessing about the carb content seems counterproductive.
Not to mention that brewing naturally leads to curiosity about lots of different styles and ingredients. Big, hoppy pale ale, rich Octoberfest Marzen and imperial stout recipes will be on your must-brew list in no time if they aren't already.
I think if you insist on low-carb beer, you've gotten into the wrong hobby. :lol:

 

[jeffpn]

Well J A, you're one for three on the styles you predict for a must brew list, for me. I don't like hoppy beers, and I have no interest in an imperial stout. I do want to get around to doing an Oktoberfest though.

 

[J A]

...I do want to get around to doing an Oktoberfest though.

I'm with you! Here in Texas, we're very fond of cold, cold beer and German/Czech styles so there's plenty of Pils, Helles, Hefes and light lagers of all stripes to go with the crafty Pales and IPAs. The "bock" styles that are popular are more like not-too-roasty Munich Dunkels. When the weather starts to cool, though, it's all about Oktoberfest!

I'm brewing a Maibock/Hellesbock right now that will be my strong Oktoberfest beer. It's clocking in at almost 7.5% ABV, so I'll need to come up with a nice amber, malty Marzen style that's a little lower octane for more civilized session drinking.
Best of luck with it!

 

[jmcnamara]

I'm not sure if carbs can be "filtered out" like other material in the beer, but you have to figure that some taste and color would most definitely be stripped away. as everyone else said, this is one thing that doesn't really make sense on a homebrew scale. just like you can't brew a BMC clone for cheaper than you can buy the real thing

on a similar note, the same thing goes for "non-alcoholic" beers in my opinion. yeah you can do it, but what's the point?

 

[jeffpn]

To his defense, the point is to do it because you want to do it. A while ago, I made a post asking questions about something I wanted to brew. Pretty much every reply was telling me it didn't make sense to do it, and to just buy the commercial product, or to make something entirely differently than my plan. Ultimately, the thread turned into insults and name calling. I had to have Josh delete the thread because repeated requests to mods were ignored. I did brew that beverage and while it didn't turn out as planned, it does taste good. My wife and I have some tweaks planned for the next attempt.

I think the information that I found about lite beer might be enough to have some fun with in a brew attempt. I don't think he'd turn out a bad batch. Might not be quite what he was hoping for, but it's probably worth a shot, given that that is what interests him. If it doesn't work out for him or isn't practical as others are suggesting, I doubt it'd be a total loss.

 

[J A]

... Might not be quite what he was hoping for, but it's probably worth a shot, given that that is what interests him. If it doesn't work out for him or isn't practical as others are suggesting, I doubt it'd be a total loss.

Some of my beers that everyone seems to like have been on the light side of the spectrum. Not intentionally light in calories and no effort made to control carbs, but light bodied, low alcohol crisp flavor. I think it's definitely worth pursuing that style and in fact can help fine tune brewing skills since anything during the process that can produce off flavors will show up in the finished product more so that in a dark or heavy or hoppy beer. I've been moving more and more to the lighter side of brewing in order to refine my mashing skills and emulate good German lagers and ales.