WHY am I so in love with dark beer? This is killing my desire to be "grain-free"

[StaceyinLA]

Or at least wheat-free.

 

I am obsessed with dark beers; stouts, porters, and especially the ones made with coffee. A lot of them are seasonal here, so this is a wonderful time to be alive if you love dark beer! ;-p

 

Anyway, it's about to do me in. I rarely drink alcohol, but I want to drink these beers every day. My current favorite is a macchiato espresso stout that's locally done by Abita brewery. I know it's gonna be gone soon, so I am drinking it often. That, along with some recent travels has caused me to put on 5-7 pounds, and I am NOT happy!

 

How in the world do I give this up? I just don't have that many vices and I really like this one!

[Selkie]

Blech.  :ack2:  I can't stand beer, and especially not dark beer!

 

But I'm glad you're enjoying it!  :cheers2:

[Critterfixer]

Sorghum beer wasn't that bad to cook with. I don't drink beer, but there are some stews and meat dishes that call for a good dark beer, and I've made do with the sorghum kind.

[Spryte]

Your current obsession sounds delicious!

 

I like dark beer, and I have to be wheat free - so I just do ciders and wheat free drinks. I smell everyone else's. :)

 

I mostly drink wine, as that has less carbs and I'm on a low carb diet.

[SparklyUnicorn]

my favorite

 

I quit for the time being.  Cuz I can't even have just one. 

 

 

[MercyA]

Beer is good for you. Drink up.  :cheers2:

 

(If you are concerned about the calories, cut something out that you enjoy less.)

Edited March 15, 2017 by MercyA

[sassenach]

Or at least wheat-free.

 

I am obsessed with dark beers; stouts, porters, and especially the ones made with coffee. A lot of them are seasonal here, so this is a wonderful time to be alive if you love dark beer! ;-p

 

Anyway, it's about to do me in. I rarely drink alcohol, but I want to drink these beers every day. My current favorite is a macchiato espresso stout that's locally done by Abita brewery. I know it's gonna be gone soon, so I am drinking it often. That, along with some recent travels has caused me to put on 5-7 pounds, and I am NOT happy!

 

How in the world do I give this up? I just don't have that many vices and I really like this one!

I have never liked beer, but I started drinking kombucha and that was like a gateway drug or something. Now I LOVE dark beers. It's weirding my husband out because I'm buying them for myself and drinking them when he's not around (as in previously I would sip on a beer if he was drinking one, but never just for my own pleasure).

 

You know what is so much fun? Going to a brewery and getting a flight of beers. We went to one recently and I was able to sample like 5 different stouts- cappuccino, chocolate... so yummy.

[wintermom]

I don't actually know how much gluten or grain content there is in various beers. Certainly there are calories. Go for it and enjoy your dark beer in this season of need. Maybe cut back slowly to 1/2 a bottle/glass a day, or a glass every second day.

 

I'm in a season of needing maple syrup. It pops up this time of year when the sap is running and the body is feeling weak and weary from winter. 

[Word Nerd]

Wheat is hardly a vice.

[readinmom]

There is a chocolate porter stout that I drool over every time we go out.  Then reality sets in and I order water or one of those watered down light things they call beer.

[rebcoola]

Your obsession sounds amazing.  I love dark beer Yeti stout is my current fave.  I am pretty wheat in beer can't possibly count ;)

 

[StaceyinLA]

I have never liked beer, but I started drinking kombucha and that was like a gateway drug or something. Now I LOVE dark beers. It's weirding my husband out because I'm buying them for myself and drinking them when he's not around (as in previously I would sip on a beer if he was drinking one, but never just for my own pleasure).

 

You know what is so much fun? Going to a brewery and getting a flight of beers. We went to one recently and I was able to sample like 5 different stouts- cappuccino, chocolate... so yummy.

Oh my gosh that's funny because I don't like any regular beer, and I never liked Kombucha, but I LOVE all the dark, chocolately, coffee-ish flavorful beers, and now I LOVE Kombucha too!

[StaceyinLA]

Wheat is hardly a vice.

Okay, but wheat in beer might be. ;-p

[StaceyinLA]

There is a chocolate porter stout that I drool over every time we go out. Then reality sets in and I order water or one of those watered down light things they call beer.

The only thing better than a chocolate porter or stout is a chocolate porter or stout poured over vanilla ice cream!

 

Seriously, for those of you who love the dark beers, try a chocolate-y one or a coffee one over vanilla ice cream. Best float ever!!

 

No, I don't keep ice cream on hand because, even though I wouldn't likely eat it by itself, I'd drink beer floats regularly and that could get bad!

[Katy]

http://www.hellawella.com/surprising-health-benefits-dark-beers

 

Find other sources of these nutrients?  Or just accept the love and cut calories from somewhere else?  Find a different source of high histamines?

 

The just found some Spanish Neanderthals that were basically vegan and ate cooked grains, so while I understand the need to be wheat free (I have an allergy), you don't need to be religious about it.  Eating tons of plant foods (even alcohol) is good for you.

[rainbowmama]

Become obsessed with mead or hard cider like me instead? I don't like beer. 

[solascriptura]

I hear ya. For me it was Malbec. I decided that I need to stop until I meet my goals then stick to just one or two glasses on the weekend. I just cannot eat or drink certain things in moderation.

[Bluegoat]

I would just go with drinking them if you like them.  Nothing wrong with a few beers a day for most people, just remember they do have calories.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Wheat is hardly a vice.

 

no but beer is

 

:laugh:

[Lizzie in Ma]

Oh do I feel you!  I adore beer and I gave it up over 18 months ago for the same reason.  Once in awhile coffee with Bailey's does the trick but my new very favorite thing is a cider made in Vermont.  NO added sugar, no sulfites, it is Citizen Cider's Wits Up. It really does the trick for me.  It is NOT sweet, just crisp and refreshing.  I know, it's no oatmeal stout or a good porter, but it is pretty dang good.

 

From their website:

here are ciders for the people, and there are ciders for the people who make the cider for the people. Wit’s Up is a classic cider maker’s cider. Drawing on the old and new traditions of cider making, it starts like an ale and finishes like the dry, sessionable craft cider that it is. It’s cider for today, it’s cider for what we believe the future of cider to be. Come, enjoy the future with us and drink Wit’s Up.

• No added sugar, never from concentrate.

• Apples pressed at Happy Valley Orchard in Middlebury, VT.

• No Sulfites, No Potassium Sorbate.

• Manufactured in Burlington and Middlebury, VT.

 

[kroe1]

Are you implying that the gluten is making you gain weight, or are you saying that you need to be wheat free for other reasons?

 

There are websites which list the gluten content for each type of beer. Can you just pick a lower one? I am not a beer drinker so I do not understand the attraction. However, if you want to debate which fast food company has the better Diet Coke, then I am with you.

[marbel]

Do you have a desire or a need to be grain/wheat free?  

 

It's funny how tastes change.  I used to love beer.  When I quit drinking it during pregnancy, I lost my taste for it.  20 years on, I taste every different beer my husband tried, and I can't stand any of them.

 

Anyway, if you don't have a need to stop, then don't stop.  Or cut down, or as others have said, cut something else.  And enjoy it.

 

And speaking of Malbec... I am about to go search for a bottle in our wine cellar*, or run out and buy one. We just spent a few days in a cabin in a state park - alcohol not allowed. So I'm ready.  

 

*basement crawl space, aka the dungeon, where we keep the wine.  

[Callie]

Try Knob Creek instead!

[StaceyinLA]

I don't like ciders at all. I don't really have a weakness for all beer either; can't stand most of it.

 

I WANT to be mostly wheat/grain-free as I do have less joint pain when I don't eat gluten. I could certainly tolerate a little pain on the weekends if I really wanted a dark beer I guess, but it's just that all my favorites are in stores right now, and it's hard not to grab them up knowing they won't be there again until next year.

 

It's weird about tastes too because mine have changed SO much over the last couple years. Right now I'm to the point where I almost can't make any coffee that I enjoy, but I could likely have a dark beer for breakfast! ;-p