Is all grain brewed beer 99% sugar free?

[Blind Dog]

"Ebola - zero calories and all natural!"

But is it Paleo compliant?

 

[TimT]

It's just advertising guff. Another one of those ads in the same campaign claims it's preservative free too. Well, depends how you define preservative, but certainly the hops and the alcohol have a strong preservative effect.

 

[crowmanz]

Big M's clearly taste like low fat milk, so while lacking in flavour they're still high in sugar making them high energy anyway.

You don't need to taste it, it is clearly marked on the label that has skim milk in it. I try to avoid skim milk BS, flavoured milks included, because full cream tastes better.

It's just advertising guff. Another one of those ads in the same campaign claims it's preservative free too. Well, depends how you define preservative, but certainly the hops and the alcohol have a strong preservative effect.

Their claim is that no ingredient is added specifically for the purpose of preservation. Hops are added for bitterness/flavor/aroma AND preservation, alcohol is created by the yeasties to get you drunk first and preservation second. They think they are preservative free because they didn't add any ingredients labeled "preservative xyz".

The old marketing/anti science/ anti vax argument: "if it is natural it can't be bad for you"

 

[BrewedCrudeandBitter]

It really comes down to the definition of "sugar." If a beer only has 0.3g of sugar but 10g of carbohydrates then you would have to assume that a lot of that 10g is made up by complex carbohydrates which could technically be called sugars but for the sake of the labelling requirements aren't classifed as "sugar" per se. They'll still give 16kj of energy per gram regardless.

 

[GalBrew]

To be fair, when you list the ingredients in a food you list what is in the finished product, NOT what was in the initial production process. So to everyone talking about the amount of cane sugar that goes into a wort, this means less than zero when it comes to ingredients labelling as 99.9% of this sugar is gone. Also as homebrewers you should be able to distinguish between a simple fermentable sugar and a longer chain carbohydrate. Labelling is about semantics, nothing misleading is going on here. Look at the nutritional information panel on any food, there is a line for 'carbohydrates' and a separate line for 'sugars', these words actually mean something in this context. As for the preservative situation, none of the traditional 'chemical' (for want of a better term, although I hate it) preservatives are in beer, we all know this so what's the problem? Yes, hops and alcohol have a preservative effect on a beer, but then so does dark malts. Again these are not classified as a preservative in terms of food labelling. I just don't understand how a nutritional breakdown panel on a beer bottle/can (or any food for that matter) is a bad thing? I would prefer to have the info there than not.

 

[whitegoose]

Spot on . What GalBrew said.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

All of this 99% this or that bollocks is just that. Bollocks. Those sweets you get from "The Natural Confectionary Company" proudly announce their sweets are 99.9% fat free! Whoop-dee-doo. So is ******* Ebola. But it's full to the brim with ******* sugar! (The Natural Confectionary Company sweets, not Ebola).

"Ebola - zero calories and all natural!"

Coca~bola. :chug:

 

[TimT]

Presumably the intent is to distinguish their product from the Johnny-come-latelies - energy drinks, for instance. And craft brewers, to a lesser extent, though if they succeed in persuading people that their beers (they're ads for James Squire, aren't they?) are healthier because they're preservative free/natural, then that persuasion tactic could work for craft breweries, too.

 

[TheWiggman]

As for the preservative situation, none of the traditional 'chemical' (for want of a better term, although I hate it) preservatives are in beer, we all know this so what's the problem?

I've spoken to many people through the years and I'd wager the majority of beer drinkers think that mass produced tap beers contain preservatives. Many, many blokes think that VB gives you a big hangover, and it's "most likely because of the preservatives". Even when I've spoken to some people about my hobby (AG) they've said "nice, so you don't add any of the preservatives and other shit that will give you a hangover?".
You also have companies like Coopers which on the front of the stubbie says 'No additives, no preservatives'. This implies that the other products in the market do. I've noticed a few craft breweries take this angle as well.

 

[crowmanz]

Presumably the intent is to distinguish their product from the Johnny-come-latelies - energy drinks, for instance. And craft brewers, to a lesser extent, though if they succeed in persuading people that their beers (they're ads for James Squire, aren't they?) are healthier because they're preservative free/natural, then that persuasion tactic could work for craft breweries, too.

I remember reading on AusBrewsNews that because beer consumption is down overall they are trying to lure in women and non-beer drinkers, those that dont drink beer because they think it will give them beer bellys or it is full of preservatives etc.

 

[Roosterboy]

"Sugar" (used loosely) can be significantly reduced by breaking starches into fermentable sugars by clever mashing and mixing yeast strains.
But not all AG beers are made like this.

 

[Johnintassie]

Hello, i posted an item yesterday about a beer that i brewed some months ago. I bought it from a business that was getting out of home brew stuff.I thought it might be worth a go considering it was half price..but still expensive. I am not able to remember the name of it but i think it was Bavarian. It was a golden coloured beer and the unique thing about it was the fact that the instructions said it did not need any added sugar. Also, it required two cans with advice on the label to put a third one in to enjoy the true (i think) Bavarian flavour. The instructions also said only add half the amount of water to it..so i ended up with a brew that was about 22 litres. i did not chuck in a third can because i didn't have one. i thought it would be just another crappy foreign beer but it was sensational...it was a golden coloured slightly slightly misty or foggy...i dunno...wasn't perfectly clear..i have been looking everywhere for it since and have not had any luck. Can you help please?