Carbohydrate Calculator

[AdamLucko]

Any out there? I need to know cuz I got the diabetes type 1.

(that's my merican talk)

So I really wanna find out how to figure how many "carbohydrates" are in my brew. I wouldn't also mind the calories but mostly the carbs. I on a pump so it is really important to know these things.

Also any "better" recipes for diabetics? low-cal/low carb/ 5-7% abv?

Muchos gracias mi amigos!

BTW I'm canuckian

 

[Ski12568]

I know BeerSmith gives you calories but I don't think carbs are on there. Have to double check.

 

[Natdavis777]

Kaboom!

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

As for making low carb beer, just strive to make drier beers. Obviously calories in the beer are dependent on alcohol content (7 cal per gram etoh) and residual sugar (4 calories per gram sugar). Lower FG means less residual sugar in the beer.

 

[AdamLucko]

Awesome! Now can you tellme what everything means? I know the OG and the FG. Here is a pic of the calculator

What does Gravity deg Plato mean?
Why is the OG and the FG different?
Real extract?
Alcohol by weight? why is this different than by volume?

Thanks all!

 

[Natdavis777]

1) Plato is just another unit of measurement. 1 degree Plato is .004 SG points. So a beer with an OG of 10 degree Plato converts to 1.040 SG.

2) Its just giving you your OG and FG in degrees Plato opposed to SG

3) Real extract... Couldnt tell ya. Disregard....

4) ABW is just another way to express the alcohol content in a beer. Its the weight of alcohol in a drink in respect to the total weight of the drink itself. For the most part, everyone uses ABV opposed to ABW to express alcohol content, so I wouldnt focus on ABW

 

[AdamLucko]

Great. I think I have what I need! thanks very mooch!

 

[fimpster]

So, yer welcome, eh. But it'll cost ya a loonie!

(thats my canuck talk)

 

[chezhed]

Glad to find that calculator. I was just diagnosed as Type 2 or 1.5...not sure until another test is done but I got it. Sure was bummed to find out and to read all the crap about drinking. No pump or insulin but the pills they want me to take conflict with alcohol in the liver. I think I have an alternative to the pills though and am going to try a natural route, nopales....prickly pear cactus to us 'mericans. one cite and there are others. http://www.livestrong.com/article/115063-nopal-cactus-health-benefits/
And it is pretty good to eat but even better is you can get it in pill form!

 

[johngg123]

Okay, I tried http://www.mrgoodbeer.com/carb-cal.shtml

Does anyone have a carb calculator that actually works? To test, I plugged in the OG and FG for dry red wine (1.090 SG, 0.998 FG) and it says that there are 12 grams per 12 oz glass. We know that a 6 oz glass of dry red wine has something closer to 0.5 - 1.0g of carbs.

Calories from alcohol should not be counted as carbs.

I've got my IPA's finishing down near 1.003 and I'm curious how they stack up next to the commercial low carb beers which are around 2.5g per 12 oz serving.

 

[Doebz]

Thanks for asking the question, and everyone's answer. I'm Fellow Type 1 that will benefit from this information.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Resurrecting this thread, as I went and found a bunch of formulas and put them into a spreadsheet.
Please comment if there appear to be any calculation errors. You can make your own copy if you want to play use it or tweak it.

Carb(g) and Calorie Calculator for homebrewing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mmVNfIizb3-jfSEj36prpTVnt_CCTxPd88OWVfDuEUE/



(Unsure if these numbers are guaranteed to work for wine. There are multiple derived constants in the equations which I did not work out myself.)

 

[JonClayton]

Andrew, I am resurrecting this post again just to say thank you! I have been on a quest to develop a low carb recipe that is repeatable and delicious. With the help of your spreadsheet I have perfected the recipe and once again enjoying homebrewing.

 

[johngg123]

Jon, what style of beer did you go with? Care to post the recipe?

I’ve been looking at using techniques used in Brut IPAs for other styles. You’re pretty much guaranteed to get FG < 1.000 with amylase in the mash and Ultra Ferm in the fermenter IMO.

 

[JonClayton]

Hi John, sure thing - happy to share the recipe. I went with a light brut IPA which is drinking really well right now. I would not call this a clone, but it is very reminiscent of the reformulated Lagunitas DayTime can.

Batch Size: 5.25g
OG: 1.035
FG: 1.000
Note: No 60 min hop addition

5lb Viking Pilsner Malt
2lb Flaked Corn
4oz acid malt
3oz c40

.25 oz El Dorado @ 20 mins
1.50 oz El Dorado for 20 mins steep/whirlpool at flameout

4 oz El Dorado for 5 day dry hop
1 oz Mosaic for 5 day dry hop

Mash @ 145 for 60mins.

I added 1 vial of White Labs Ultraferm to the carboy while pitching US-05 yeast. Yeast nutrient added on first and second day. Fermentation was held at a steady 68 degrees until complete.

Using the calculator linked above I am seeing ~104 calories and ~ 3.5 carbs per 12oz.

 

[johngg123]

Thanks! Reminds me of the "Puttin on the Spritz" clone but a lower OG for a more session IPA.

These recipes really lend themselves to split brew days. You can knock out 45 min of the boil the day before since no hops are added until the last 15 min. Just bring wort to a boil again right before bed and should be all good for a 15 min boil the next morning.

Cheers!

 

[eric19312]

I've been pursuing low carb beers since starting keto diet mainly for weight loss. I've been happy with brut IPAs which the mrgoodbeer calculator puts at about 5 grams of carbs for a 7% ABV 12 ounce IPA pour. Thats OG 1.050, FG 0.997. I'm mashing for a dry beer and adding diazyme 4 enzyme in the bk after chiling below 130F.

 

[JonClayton]

Thanks! Reminds me of the "Puttin on the Spritz" clone but a lower OG for a more session IPA.

These recipes really lend themselves to split brew days. You can knock out 45 min of the boil the day before since no hops are added until the last 15 min. Just bring wort to a boil again right before bed and should be all good for a 15 min boil the next morning.

Cheers!

Now that you mention it, I think that recipe from Zymurgy? might have been the base of this recipe before i started tweaking batch to batch. I'd love to try the actual putting on the spritz next time I am out west.

 

[johngg123]

Morebeer has a Puttin on the Spritz clone which is really good. Loads of El dorado and a touch of Mosaic.

 

[Jokester]

I have T2D which I managed to essentially kill over the last few yrs and I was never on insulin or any medication. But I wanted to ask if you can tell the difference between say a full carb heavy beer and something like Michelob Ultra which is what 2.9gm carb per can.

Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[macoombi]

For what it's worth, that Mr Good Beer calculator is somewhat accurate. I've been doing Keto and experimenting with Brut'ing all my beers and had one tested by Oregon Brew Labs (I was in Portland on a trip) and it tested at 3g carbs exactly as the calculator predicted.

 

[Jokester]

Oh Brut IPA's are awesome, and my biggest pet peeve about those is cost. Let me check what I can find round here that's not too $$$.
Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

I wonder what the whole science behind freeze concentrating is for the gravity situation. For example, say I pull a lot more alcohol and a lot fewer carbs - which is pretty much the idea, we leave an amber ice with bits that are easily visible and alcohol to water freezing point difference is something like 205 degrees - so lots of alcohol and some carbs end up in the concentrate. So if I check the gravity of the original beer, and the gravity of the concentrate, we would get a drop due to the higher alcohol, but the carbs - lets say you have 30% of the original amount in the 20% you have melted out - it would show as more gravity - I better do this - just melting out some red hare, and have new cans of red hare ready to go in - all of it at about 35F. Excellent.

Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

Vinometer measures surface tension. Hydrometer measures density. Alcohol is less dense and lower surface tension than water. Sugar increases density and surface tension of water. So my concentrate has more alcohol and more sugar than the beer I started out with. The part I am throwing away - the first 5 oz seems to be near identical to the base beer. But if it had a lot less alcohol and a lot less digestible carbs it would get the same gravity. Vinometer is a lot more weird, if it has a distribution of things that lower surface tension like salts etc, it can easily read lower. That's all my thoughts, I'm confused.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

Vinometer measures surface tension. Hydrometer measures density. Alcohol is less dense and lower surface tension than water. Sugar increases density and surface tension of water. So my concentrate has more alcohol and more sugar than the beer I started out with. The part I am throwing away - the first 5 oz seems to be near identical to the base beer. But if it had a lot less alcohol and a lot less digestible carbs it would get the same gravity. Vinometer is a lot more weird, if it has a distribution of things that lower surface tension like salts etc, it can easily read lower. That's all my thoughts, I'm confused.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

For what it's worth, that Mr Good Beer calculator is somewhat accurate. I've been doing Keto and experimenting with Brut'ing all my beers and had one tested by Oregon Brew Labs (I was in Portland on a trip) and it tested at 3g carbs exactly as the calculator predicted.

What would happen if I put that AMG enzyme in a beer - pretty much from a can and let it ferment again, like a second or third fermentation ? I don't make beer, I modify them for lower carbs.
It basically turns longer carb chains into glucose ,yeast eats glucose very very fast, and hence it goes super dry rather fast too.
I have a few 5gal jugs I can use and experiment. But has anyone tried anything like this ?
Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

Atleast with a fermentation those OG and FG calculations will work. Not flying blind like I am now.
Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[andrewmaixner]

What would happen if I put that AMG enzyme in a beer - pretty much from a can and let it ferment again, like a second or third fermentation ? I don't make beer, I modify them for lower carbs.
It basically turns longer carb chains into glucose ,yeast eats glucose very very fast, and hence it goes super dry rather fast too.
I have a few 5gal jugs I can use and experiment. But has anyone tried anything like this ?
Thanks.
Srinath.

Yes, as long as there is live yeast, you'll get a lower carb result. You might have to add yeast to commercial beers as most are filtered/centrifuged.

It would be simple to start by just doing that to a commercial bottle, with a stopper/airlock, and then when finished fermenting add a carb drop and re-cap it. Super simple.

also see reddit keto_brewing

 

[Jokester]

I'm not super concerned about carbonation. The stronger flavor and higher abv seems to help it pass off as a whiskey-Rum type. I also am calculating I would barely get an extra .5% abv starting with OG of 1.005 and finishing with 1. Maybe the FG can be under 1 - I am not sure, but now does adding AMG to a beer with gravity of 1.005 increase its gravity ? It shouldn't IMHO, because digestible vs non digestible sugar can not be measured by specific gravity alone obviously. 10 gm of ground up flour will raise the gravity like crazy, but yeast cant eat it in years. Yeast eats glucose fast, fructose very slow and everything else maybe a 100X slower.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

6.5% alcohol and water would be a SG of .990 (if that's all there was in it obviously). I have 1.005 due to other dissolved solids in it. Would it be accurate to put in 1.005 OG and .990 FG to get at 7gm carbs per 12oz per MrGoodbeer calculator ?

Thanks.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

Using a lot of fuzzy math here. Lets say I start with 1.005 and 6.5 beer, and end up concentrating it.
The theoretical max abv is 30%.
There is 7gm carbs per 12 oz, and I had 24 oz in it, so in 5oz the max carbs I could have is 14.

I ended up at 1.024 after concentrating it.

Assuming 30% - That is a fg of .963 - and mrgoodbeer says I have 24 gm carb in 12 oz. Or 10gm in 5oz - definitely possible. AKA all the carbs and all alcohol ended up in the 5oz I melted off.

Other possibilities are -
20% abv is .973 and little over 6gm carbs in 5oz. Possible. Yes. So 60% alcohol and 60% carbs melted off

Or somewhere in the middle.

In any case as abv drops the carb count drops in lock step.
I guess I am doing nothing here except drinking a little less water - Like I even care.

Quit doing this and start fermenting the IPA to "brut" status ? Yes Next step.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[bracconiere]

But I wanted to ask if you can tell the difference between say a full carb heavy beer and something like Michelob Ultra which is what 2.9gm carb per can.

i brew with gluco in all my beers, and no i can't tell much difference...i use enough crystal malt, and stuff like black patent...and my beers go from 1.060->1.000 (8%)


something else to consider would be cider it ferments dry without gluco.....

(and the most recent post made my brain hurt, curse you! )

 

[Jokester]

(and the most recent post made my brain hurt, curse you! )

That may also be cos its wrong.
I am just saying, if more alcohol melted out, so did more carbs - defeating the whole purpose of me doing that.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[bracconiere]

That may also be cos its wrong.

no, pretty sure it was the arithmetic.....

 

[Jokester]

The fuzzy math here is this.
For a beer to be 6.5 abv and 1.005 gravity, it had to have started out at 1.0535 per mrgoodbeer.
If my adding amg and yeast I fermented that to .993, I'll get 8.1 abv and 2.8 carbs per 12oz.
I ferment it to .9893 and its 0 carbs and 8.6% abv Not (gm carb - duh) in 12oz.

I will start fermenting tomorrow, lets see where it leaves me in a month. Else I just lose 12 cans LOL.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[eric19312]

i brew with gluco in all my beers, and no i can't tell much difference...i use enough crystal malt, and stuff like black patent...and my beers go from 1.060->1.000 (8%)


something else to consider would be cider it ferments dry without gluco.....

(and the most recent post made my brain hurt, curse you! )

What does the crystal add in gluco beers? I’ve not tried it yet...just all base and flaked corn. But I’ve got some C15 I’ve been thinking to try in there.

 

[bracconiere]

What does the crystal add in gluco beers?

i'm not entirely sure....i'd guess maiard'd proteins for body....kinda like the brown stuff on a steak.....?? what i can say is my Brüts have body, but finish at 1.000, as long as i use a fair amount of crystal, or black patent.....

 

[Jokester]

The fuzzy math here is this.
For a beer to be 6.5 abv and 1.005 gravity, it had to have started out at 1.0535 per mrgoodbeer.
If my adding amg and yeast I fermented that to .993, I'll get 8.1 abv and 2.8 carbs per 12oz.
I ferment it to .9893 and its 0 carbs and 8.6% abv Not (gm carb - duh) in 12oz.

I will start fermenting tomorrow, lets see where it leaves me in a month. Else I just lose 12 cans LOL.
Cool.
Srinath.

Oh updating this thread, I had put all the remaining redhare in the fridge. I wasn't about to warm a dozen 35 degree cans to 80 in the microwave, so I put the maibock I had outside into the gallon bottle, put amg and put yeast and airlocked it. Lets see where that is in a few weeks. Devils backbone Maibock is 7.4% abv and significantly less cloudy, less sediment and less body etc etc than Red hare's Rewired. I have a few of the bottles sitting outside, so I can test it for SG etc when its done fermenting I guess.

Thanks.
Srinath.