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Calories, beer and bananas??
Did you know that a banana has more calories than a 375ml stubbie of most lager beers? It also has more than 4 times the carbs.
Does this help put the perspective on calorie intake versus a beer belly?
Hydrate with beer
This research was first reported in 2007, but worth summarising again.
Prof Manuel Garzon, of Granada University in Spain, claims the bubbles in beer help to quench the thirst and that its carbohydrate content can help to replace lost calories. Prof Garzon asked a group of 25 students over several months, to do strenuous exercise in temperatures of around 40°C. Half were given a pint of beer, while the others received the same volume of water. Both groups were then allowed to drink as much water as they wanted.
The hydration effect in those who drank beer was "slightly better".
Juan Antonio Corbalan, a cardiologist who worked formerly with Real Madrid football players and Spain's national basketball team, said beer had the perfect profile for re-hydration after sport. He added that he had long recommended barley drinks to professional sportsmen after exercise.
Dr James Betts, an expert on nutrition and metabolism at Bath University, said a moderate amount of beer might be just as good as water at helping the body retain liquid, but that he doubted it could be any better. Dr Betts said: "People think of alcohol as being a diuretic, but if you are already hydrated, a small amount of beer could be a way of getting the fluid in."
"If you are dehydrated to start with following exercise, a beer, as opposed to a spirit, probably does not have a high enough concentration of alcohol to induce a diuretic effect."
He also added “The best way of rehydrating after exercise was with a sports drink containing sugars, water and salt.”
How does Darryl make his yeast starters?
What seems to be working for me at present is making large yeast starters up to 12L, fermenting them out and then refrigerating.
The liquid can then be poured off after it has settled out and the sediment used for starting a beer or bottling for later use as a second generation yeast. Each time this process is used, I taste the beer off the yeast to make sure the yeast is viable. Sometimes the yeast sediment is washed with cooled boiled water, as is the practice for making very large starters by using the yeast sediment from a previous beer. In this case the yeast sediment from the bottom of the fermenter is washed, refrigerated and the liquid poured off. None of the yeast from a previous beer is kept as a 2nd generation yeast. ie they are used straight way as a massive starter.
I never go beyond a 3rd generation yeast, but you can get 18 to 20 yeast starters out of one liquid yeast packet. Either Liquid malt kits or DME can be used in the yeast starters.
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