London Ninja

Certain topics are worth continuously blogging about. Guinness is one of them. As alluded to from my first excursion, Guinness now has a special place in my heart. This last weekend in Bath, I ordered a Guinness at the Pig and Thistle and have to say that the stuff truly is better in Dublin than anywhere else I’ve ever had it. That includes that little hole in the wall Irish pub in San Diego, the Blarney Stone. Yeah, the same Blarney Stone in every town. Something about the water in Dublin I guess.

The biggest question, of course, is:

Question: Isn’t Guinness high in calories?
Answer:

Not especially. “Guinness is not notably high in calories…” (MJBC, p 177) This refers to the draught, bottle-conditioned and draught flow ™ product, which are fairly low in alcohol. Calories in beers come from the alcohol and the residual sugars. The higher the alcohol, the higher the caloric content.

Guinness is no more fattening or calorific than any other beer of similar alcoholic strength. The beer has no fat, however it does contain protein, sugar, carbohydrates and alcohol. The alcohol accounts for 65-75% of the calorific content irrespective of the beer in question. Per pint, Draught Guinness has 210 calories; as a reference, one pint of semi-skimmed milk has 260 calories and one pint of orange juice has 220 calories. Draught Guinness actually has fewer calories than most other premium beers and lagers.

For comparison, take a look at the chart of nutritional content for most beers.

Brand, Brewer (Country), % Alcohol, Calories/12 oz., Carbohydrates(grams)

Guinness info:
Guiness Draught – Bottle Guinness (Ireland) * 126 9.9
Guinness Extra Stout Guinness (Ireland) 4.27 153 17.4

Other beers:
Michelob Ultra Anheuser Busch 4.1 95 2.6
Miller Genuine Draft Miller 5.0 143 13.1
Sam Adams Boston Lager Boston Beer 4.75 160 18.0
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Sierra Nevada 5.6 200 12.3
Heineken Lager Beer Heineken (Holland) 5.0 150 11.5
Coors Light Adolph Coors 4.2 102 5.0
Budweiser Anheuser Busch 5.0 145 10.6

Yeah yeah, so you got your Coors Light numbers, but what kind of numbers do the real beers have? Here you go:

High Class Beers:
Colt 45 Malt Liquor G. Heileman 6.1 174 11.1
Keystone Ice Adolph Coors 5.9 143 6.6
Milwaukee’s Best Miller 4.5 128 11.4

Bottom Line
And there you have it. Guinness has less calories than MGD, Budweiser, even Keystone Ice(whowuddathawt). Bottom Line: Don’t shy away from Guinness…it’s good for you!