What has more calories and is considered more fattening, beer or hard liquor?

I have heard arguments for both. Some say beer has yeast and is considered high in carbohydrates, while others say hard liquor is more concentrated and has more sugar than beer. Which is more fattening?|||A general rule for beer and liquor, if you can see through it, then it is lower in calories, if you cannot see through it then it is high in calories.





Example:


Coors Light and Vodka - Light in Calories


Amber/Porter/Stouts and Bourbon, Whiskey and Cordials - High in Calories





Anything fruity, beer or liquor is high in calories|||There is a simple answer: the lower the alcohol content, the lower the calories.





If measured in equal quantities, without mixers added, then beer has about a quarter or less the amount of calories as hard liquor, like gin, rum and whisky. (Incidentally, gin is not a low cal option). Wine has less than half the amount of calories.





Where people get mixed up, I think, is that beer has a carbohydrate component whereas 'hard liquor' generally doesn't. Where there is no carbohydrate content then the calories come from left over sucrose or fructose. (ie: sugars that weren't consumed during the process of making alcohol) The carbs in beer are largely from the malt used to produce it. Note that alcohol itself does not have any flavour, or at least no sweet flavour, it is simply the preservative in the alcohol or the waste product produced by the yeast consuming the sugars. The longer you ferment the product, the more alcohol is produced and the less sweet the product, unless extra sugar is added. But eventually the alcohol will poison the yeast and fermentation will stop, leaving behind sugars anyway. (Note: as sugars are themselves simple carbohydrate, this subject is far more complex than can be explained here.)





The exception is something like Baileys Irish Cream, which also has cream (or fat content). Baileys is in effect a pre-mixed drink.





So why does whiskey have less carbs than beer even though both are made from cereals and why does gin or vodka have the same amount of calories as a spirit like rum which is made from sugar cane? Well, if you have ever distilled your own gin, you'll know that a lot of added sugar is needed to get the finished product, whereas Rum has primarily 'natural' sugars.





Does that answer your question as to which is more fattening?


I know a lot of weight conscious girls who only drink gin and diet tonic or diet coke. They know to stay away from beer. Large quantities of beer will undoubtedly give you a beer pot or beer belly. Large quanties of any alcohol will give you puffy skin all over. It is recognised that alcohol in the diet is simply empty calories with no nutritional value. But it is unknown exactly whether the body stores these calories or simply flushes them through, and perhaps this is because it depends on each individual's rate of metabolism and other factories.





If you are trying to lose weight, don't drink anything other than water and occasional plain small (whole) milk drinks.|||Beer, typically.





Vodka for instance is not much more than water and alcohol. I suppose whiskey and bourbon to have more calories but not much more.





Stick with beer. It may be more fattening but due to lack of alcohol concentration not as damaging to the liver.|||beer is more fattening


however, a lot of those fruity mixed drinks have more sugar and hidden calories so you would consume more calories because they also have less calories


if you drink often and don't want to gain weight, try walking for at least 30 mins a day





happy sunday :]