Saturday, May 07, 2005

The Guinness Controversy

After much spirited debate...

I think the problem here is that we may be talking about two different beers. This page lists Guinness Draft (what you get in the bar) as 125 calories per 12 oz, which makes it about 167 calories per pint--not as low as I said it was, but standard. And Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is 176 calories per 12 oz, which makes it 236 calories per 16 oz. Ouch? Maybe. But it's also 7.5% alcohol. :) This page, on the other hand, says Guinness Extra Stout is 43 calories per 100 mL, which means it's 152 calories per 12 oz--203 calories a pint, rounding up.

Confused yet? This guy is my hero! Quote, taken directly, but without permission: "Guinness is often thought of as a high calorie beer but the official word from Guinness is that it is less than 11 calories per ounce. A 12oz serving has 125 calories, 9.8 grams of carbs and it's alcoholic content is 4.2%. For comparison, 12 ounces of Budweiser is 150 calories and 11 grams carbs, 12 ounces of Heineken is 150 calories and 12.2 grams of carbs, 12 ounces of Corona Extra is 148 calories and 14.1 grams of carbs, and SURPRISE... a Sam Adams Light has 126 calories and 10.9 grams of carbs. Of course, I don't know anyone who only drinks 12 ounces of Guinness (or any beer for that matter) so your mileage will vary."

In conclusion? Guinness has a devoted cult following, a semi-devoted mainstream following, and is the center of countless folklore claims--don't you want to see what the hoopla's about? Drink Guinness!

3 comments:

Shananigans said...

Mmmmmmmm... Guinness. It's food and drink all in one. That's it... The Guinness Diet! Who needs food you can chew when you can consume all your calories with beery goodness? Not to mention all the B vitamins. It's healthy!

Aarwenn said...

EXACTLY MY POINT. Guinness is good for you, dammit!

Kat Reinhart said...

Mmmmm. Beer. though I'm not much of a stout girl, I prefer my beer like myself (blonde!) - but I stand by the age-old transparency rule: It's not beer if you can see through it.