# Easy Low Carb Beer



## rt1 (11/4/10)

I am a beginner who wants to brew a low carb beer. I don't want it to be complicated and be up all night mixing ingredients so some sort of partial would be good. I also don't want it to cost much at all otherwise I would just rather go out and buy a case of pure blonde instead. Finally, I want it to taste reasonable after no more than a month in the bottle. 

Asking too much or is there a recipe out there??

Thanks.


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## uncleBez (11/4/10)

I was a little interested in this myself as when I asked my wife what beer she likes she said pure blonde.
so I did some googling. Now it seems to be a contentious issue in the forums but this article has
excellent info:
http://www.breworganic.com/tips/carbs-calories.htm

Both external forum threads mention the use of dry enzyme to help ferment more of the malt, and it
seems others dont like it, it weekens the beers flavour.

http://pint.com.au/brewforum/viewtopic.php?t=654
http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic...858&p=30661

Hope that info helps, that first article i linked to seems to be the most helpfull.


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## Nick JD (11/4/10)

Alcohol isn't a carbohydrate. You can make a low carb beer that's oozing with calories.

It's a brewery scam to sucker in vain people  and pains me like watching someone pour diet coke onto 50ml of burbon - equivalent to pouring 25g of fat on your Special K in the morning.


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## daemon (11/4/10)

rt1 said:


> Asking too much or is there a recipe out there??


The simple answer is yes. Do a search for "low carb" on the forums here, unfortunately it's all a marketing scam. You're better off brewing a lower alcohol beer if you're worried about carbs / calories and/or simply cutdown on the intake.


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## rt1 (11/4/10)

I was under the impression that although alcohol is a carb itself, because it also a toxin to the body, the liver attacks it first... and in a low carb diet where the objective is for the body to go into ketosis, a low carb beer or spirits + diet coke is a better option...






Daemon said:


> The simple answer is yes. Do a search for "low carb" on the forums here, unfortunately it's all a marketing scam. You're better off brewing a lower alcohol beer if you're worried about carbs / calories and/or simply cutdown on the intake.


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## uncleBez (11/4/10)

come on guys, the question asked wasn't 'Should' i make a low carb beer, but rather, how?

The idea of weight loss being as simple as (calories in < calories out) is way over simplyfied there are so many
other factors to consider.

Since carbohydrates break down into digestible sugars and therefore calories they factor in, and then you also
need to account for stored fats, metabolism, psychology, lifestyle etc.

To understand why carbs play an important role you need to understand the process of ketosis as rt1 mentioned.

Basicly, Ketosis is a state where instead of our body burning carbohydrates it burns stored fat for energy. 

You can artificially create ketosis by restricting the intake of carbohydrates focing our body to utilize other energy sources.

Some say Ketogenic diets can: 
Drastically reduce cravings for high carbohydrate foods 
Encourage dieters to consume fewer calories 
Stabilize blood sugar levels 
Discourage emotional eating 
Increase dieters mental clarity throughout the day 
Help maintain consistent energy levels 
Help stay satisfied longer after eating, using protein, to curb hunger.


Its not just calories in calories out.

I say if you want to try and make a low carb beer, then go for it.

It would be nice if people just answered his question.

Having said that, low carb beers don't seem to be so much low carb but rather lower carb, but if your going to drink
beer anyway then its a better option.


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## manticle (11/4/10)

You already answered it - use a dry enzyme.

However the enzyme will ferment anything and everything so you need to make well and truly sure it's finished before you bottle. It will be thin and lack body but so do most commercial examples (I think the cascade green seems a bit less so).

To compensate you might want to throw in something to give it some maltiness. Presuming when you said partial you meant partial mash, you could use some munich malt and maybe some melanoiden unless you really do want the tasteless, thin dry stuff that's easy to confuse with water. 

If that's the case try pale malt, some PoR or Cluster hops to 20 -25 IBU (or use the bitterness of a pale kit instead ), some dry enzyme and a touch of sugar, ferment low with us05 or even lower with a lager yeast, cold condition for a week.


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## AussieJosh (11/4/10)

Nick JD has hit the nail on the head!
"low carb beer" can have a shit load of calories! And all the ones on the market taste like water! If you want to "drink healthy" your best off drinking a beer low in alc, but even they taste like crap unless you make it your self!


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## manticle (11/4/10)

Uncle Bez is right. The question was not 'should I'?

This discussion comes up time and time again. While I know how I feel about the marketting gimmick that is low carb, it's not what was asked and I'm not making this beer.

If someone asks 'how do I make a choc stout?', do you tell them to make an APA instead because you don't like stout?

Bad analogy but hey - it's early.


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## rt1 (11/4/10)

Thanks for the suggestions... could I please press you for quantities, ratios etc.? Being a total beginner, I don't really have a feel for this stuff at this stage.

Should I start with a certain kit? and what is the name of the dry enzyme? and when should it go in?? and how much??

Thanks!



manticle said:


> You already answered it - use a dry enzyme.
> 
> However the enzyme will ferment anything and everything so you need to make well and truly sure it's finished before you bottle. It will be thin and lack body but so do most commercial examples (I think the cascade green seems a bit less so).
> 
> ...


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## manticle (11/4/10)

If you're a complete beginner then I'd just start with a basic pale kit. Maybe coopers canadian blonde.

Buy some Safale US05 yeast from a homebrew shop
Ask them for dry enzyme. They should be able to tell you how much to use. If they look at you funny, explain what you want it for. If they still look at you funny, go to another homebrew shop.
Buy 1 kg each light dry malt and dextrose.
Maybe add 250g maltodextrin as the brew will be very thin and head might struggle to form. The dextrins will help a bit with this.

Mix the kit according to the instructions but instead of 1 kg sugar you will be adding 750g dex and 500g light dry malt. The rest of the malt you can use for the next brew, the dex can be used for priming. Instead of the kit yeast you'll be using the US05. You can throw the kit yeast in with the boiling water as a nutrient or keep it as a spare in your fridge.

Add the enzyme as per instructions from HB shop (not something I use - I just know it's the ingredient that will give you what you want).
Keep your temperatures below 22. If you can hit 17-18 even better.

Prime, bottle and wait 2 weeks then chill right down and see how it goes.

Ferment out and make sure it's well and truly stable before you bottle. That enzyme will eat everything so instead of 1006 - 1008 your gravity might hit 1000 or even lower


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## rt1 (11/4/10)

That's great, thank you very much! Will try it and post results...




manticle said:


> If you're a complete beginner then I'd just start with a basic pale kit. Maybe coopers canadian blonde.
> 
> Buy some Safale US05 yeast from a homebrew shop
> Ask them for dry enzyme. They should be able to tell you how much to use. If they look at you funny, explain what you want it for. If they still look at you funny, go to another homebrew shop.
> ...


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## rt1 (11/4/10)

oh and one more question... if I add in the 250g of maltodextrin, is this ON TOP of the 750g dex and 500g light dry malt??




manticle said:


> If you're a complete beginner then I'd just start with a basic pale kit. Maybe coopers canadian blonde.
> 
> Buy some Safale US05 yeast from a homebrew shop
> Ask them for dry enzyme. They should be able to tell you how much to use. If they look at you funny, explain what you want it for. If they still look at you funny, go to another homebrew shop.
> ...


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## manticle (11/4/10)

Yes.

It just adds a little body and helps head retention. It's not very fermentable (although the dry enzyme will have a crack) so it doesn't do much for alcohol level and has no real flavour. It might help hold a head and stop it being too watery.

Your brew might be as you like without it too. The only way is to brew and see (or taste rather).


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## rt1 (11/4/10)

Great, thanks again.



manticle said:


> Yes.
> 
> It just adds a little body and helps head retention. It's not very fermentable (although the dry enzyme will have a crack) so it doesn't do much for alcohol level and has no real flavour. It might help hold a head and stop it being too watery.
> 
> Your brew might be as you like without it too. The only way is to brew and see (or taste rather).


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## zoidbergmerc (16/4/10)

I just put down a Canadian blonde with 750g dex, 350g LDME and 150g crystal with 24g sazz hops @ 20 mins

I just pitched the dry enzyme at the same time as the yeast.

I just had everything lying around so I thought I'd give it a bash.

I'll report back here later if it's any good.


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## uncleBez (16/4/10)

As I mentioned in an earlier post my wife likes pure blonde so i was interested in this thread.
I mentioned it to my LHS today and he sold me a DeCarb Blond, Low Carb Brew Kit.
It comes as a partial kit have a Can of malt (which he said has the dry enzyme already included)
A packet of malted barley and a a bag of sugar (looks like a combo of dry malt and something else)
He wrote out slightly modified instruction than what is one the pack (instead of steeping the grain
in boiled water, he puts it on the stove at 66* for 10mins.

Will see how this turns out.
I saw some other low carb kits somewhere on the net yesterday, so it looks like if this is what you want
to do, there are a number of kits available.


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## zoidbergmerc (16/4/10)

uncleBez said:


> in boiled water, he puts it on the stove at 66* for 10mins.




I did mine like that too. I think that's how it's supposed to be done because I did one in boiling water and it was just super bitter. Apparently you're not allowed to let it touch the bottom of the pot either?


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## boingk (16/4/10)

If we're worried about the carbohydrates (bottom line... kilojoules!!!) in what we're consuming, have a shot at a simple mid-strength I made up early this eyar for the hot weather. Didn't last long and was loved by mates so here goes:

1.7kg 'Draught' kit (Coopers or Homebrand)
250g LDME
250g Maltodextrin

Use either a Coopers kit yeast or US-05, and 4 days after fermentation starts add in 10~15g of Cluster hops dry to the fermenter. Bottle 5 days later.

Cheers - boingk

EDIT: Boiling grain will extract tannins - dark, bitter agents - from the grain. Grain needs to be raised in water temperature at a ratio of around 1L per 200~250g until it hits somewhere between 60 and 70'C. 66'C will be fine. I'd hold it there for at least 15~20 minutes, or 10 minutes and then turn off the stove and walk away. For some more in-depth info, check out the 'All Grain' sections of the board.


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## bum (16/4/10)

uncleBez said:


> in boiled water, he puts it on the stove at 66* for 10mins.


 
This method works fine but you need to watch it like a hawk. Turn the TV off. Don't answer the phone. Do NOT look at ABH (which is how I learned this the hard way). Let the kids bleed. Like a bloody hawk or it will boil over. 

Although it smells amazing when this happens so it's not all bad. 

When steeping spec grains keeping temp constant isn't as critical as it is with mashing base malts you can let the temp move around a bit - just keep it above low 60s and I think the danger period starts at 78 (guys?). Keeping it dead on your target temp is good practice for AG so don't be deterred if you want to.


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## boingk (16/4/10)

Yeah, I like 65'C as its dead center inbetween 60 and 70'C. Can't go wrong! I stir with a fork every few minutes and then after 10 or 15 I ramp it very slowly up to 72'C and then mash out, sparge and put the liquor on the boil with my flavouring addition if any.

Cheers - boingk


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## uncleBez (16/4/10)

What a shame, I just realised my termometer only goes up to 40 degrees C . ... now I have to wait until I get a new one


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## Barley Belly (16/4/10)

bum said:


> Do NOT look at ABH


 :huh:


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## Siborg (16/4/10)

its a good thing your LHBS shop assistant modified the instructions for you. Mine didn't (this was a while ago) and I steeped in boiling water... tannins anyone?


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## bum (16/4/10)

Barley Belly, I will be watching your posts avidly for typos.

And once I'm pissed I'll possibly go back through all your past posts as well.

I meant AHB for anyone who didn't understand my obvious intent.


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## SirDrinkalot (17/4/10)

Coopers Canadian Blonde... Amazing stuff!!


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## Cheap Drunk (4/3/21)

uncleBez said:


> come on guys, the question asked wasn't 'Should' i make a low carb beer, but rather, how?
> 
> The idea of weight loss being as simple as (calories in < calories out) is way over simplyfied there are so many
> other factors to consider.
> ...


Well done for answering the question instead of giving him a lecture on how it's shit or a scam and going on to give him dietary advice. And you were well ahead of the times with your knowledge of keto. I know this is over a decade old but I was going through some of the low carb threads and getting pretty annoyed with the usual responses.


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