I still don't see how they are going to negate the simple fact that alcohol = calories but I'll certainly be happy if they can make me a double IPA with 50 calories.It seems like a sad fact of life that anything with fewer calories and grams of fat just doesn't taste as good. And nowhere is that more apparent than in light beer. Luckily for beer drinkers everywhere, the European Union has invested 3.4 million Euros in a yeast research program meant to develop new products for the food industry. According to a report from Gizmag, this could lead to better tasting light beer.Beer gets much of its taste from yeast, as do many other foods like cheese and sausage. You can find yeasts everywhere in nature: on humans, fruit and anywhere else they have access to sugar. About 1,000 species of yeasts have been identified, but at least 10,000 new species are expected to be identified in the near future, thanks in part to the EU's study. The purpose of the EU's program is to produce healthier yeasts that also taste better. That means light beers could have as much flavor as their full-caloried brethren.Even though beer has been linked to healthy bones, the 150 calories on average in each non-light beer isn't helping your waste line. I dream of a day when I can still enjoy my beloved Blue Moon and consume only the calories of a Coors Light. For now, there is an art in finding how to drink to your heart's (but not liver's) content without gaining weight. The only bad news is the time line. The yeast project will begin next January, and go on for another four years. If that doesn't seem like a long time away, consider that by then my Chicago Cubbies will probably be World Series Champs and the BP oil spill will be down to just 3,000 barrels a day.
