Replicating skinnys 89 calorie beer

[andypatt]

Has Anyone attempted to create a low alcohol beer?

I tried to understand how the skinny beer can be 89 calories at 4%, and it looks like the FG would have to be lower than 1. I did a bit of back calculations and for a 4% beer at ~89 calories you would need a grain bill for an OG of 1.029 and get the FG to 0.9985. Is it possible to get that FG from basic homebrew equipment?

I'm treating this question as a thought experiment obviously - Skinny lager tastes like **** so have no inclination to actually brew a clone - I started home brewing to get away from that kind of beer.

 

[MyQul]

Done this. It was about 85kcal per 330ml bottle

MyQul's Brewday post 234

 

[Brew_DD2]

You can get enzymes that break down the more complex sugars to allow the yeasties to chew through more, leaving fewer residual sugars. Pair with a highly attenuative yeast and you can get very low FG.

 

[andypatt]

Nice! I was wondering how its possible - I don't think I've ever had a brew go lower than 1.010 - Although haven't done anything special to try and get it any lower.

Thanks both of you- food for thought. MyQul I like the look of your recipe for the Blond Brut so may add something similar to the list to try. I see the conversation spilled over to how you got to the low FG so will carry on reading that thread.

 

[MyQul]

As Brew_DD2 it was a combination of highly attenutive yeast and enzymes. Plus a good chunk of rice crispies which makes for a highly attenutive wort

 

[andypatt]

Yes I saw the rice crispies - That was the first i'd heard of using them in a brew so will have to look that up a little more. I'm still just getting some of the basics down in AG brewing but all these extra additions are something to aspire to be doing soon!

 

[MyQul]

The rice crispies were in place of flaked or torrified rice as I didnt have any

 

[Andrew Elliott]

I'm not sure the attenuation makes a difference because the alcohol is nearly as calorific as the sugar. I think the only answer is to produce a beer with a much lower alcohol content.

 

[Edison]

Due to a recent malt shortage I decided to make two brews out of 6kg base malt. I enjoyed the low ABV mild served at low carbonation more than I expected (it was hot and sunny back then though)!

I would think that a good low alcohol beer and a good low calorie beer are two different beasts though.

Brewdog Nanny State is 0.5% ABV because it uses lots of less fermentable speciality malts to retain malty body and flavours.

Using a high attenuating yeast and additional enzymes I think will put you in the direction of a Brut IPA, but I imagine with a small malt bill you could run the risk of thin, watery beer.

Its an interesting discussion though!

 

[MickDundee]

I'm not sure the attenuation makes a difference because the alcohol is nearly as calorific as the sugar. I think the only answer is to produce a beer with a much lower alcohol content.

Yes but surely if you have a low SG and higher attenuation you get a lower calorie beer than one of the same ABV with smaller SG/FGs?

 

[Edison]

Apparently Nanny State is 8 calories per 100ml!

https://brewdog.freshdesk.com/suppo...00036015-how-can-nanny-state-be-alcohol-free-

 

[Andrew Elliott]

Yes but surely if you have a low SG and higher attenuation you get a lower calorie beer than one of the same ABV with smaller SG/FGs?

Agreed but I think the gains are tiny one gram of sugar contains 4 calories whereas one gram of alcohol contains 7 calories. 250grams of sucrose theoretically yields 130g alcohol.

You wont want to hear this but you're just swapping something that makes you fat with something that makes you happy and fat! The outcome is the same:

As someone struggling with the same problem I'm about to brew the following named Snowflake Generation:

5kg Rye Malt
1 Kg Golden Naked Oats
500 G Vienna Malt

50g Hallertau Blanc Hopstand
50g Mosaic Hopstand
50g Hallertau Blanc Dry Hop
50g Mosaic Dry Hop

Total Batch Volume 43 litres

Predicted ABV 2.0%
Cals per 100ml 27 According to Brewfather

 

[andypatt]

What a name for that beer! Well done that man.