# What food group is beer/wine in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286 "2010-02-24T18:36:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alfabex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@alfabex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfabex)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/1 "2010-02-24T18:36:08Z")
I would think that beer is grains and wine is fruit, but is it that simple? How much counts as a serving? What about hard alcohol? Thanks for your replies. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/2 "2010-02-24T18:54:47Z")
[Discretionary calories.](http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/discretionary_calories.html) > [@](#): > > You can use your discretionary calorie allowance to: > > ``` > * Eat more foods from any food group than the food guide recommends. > * Eat higher calorie forms of foods—those that contain solid fats or added sugars. Examples are whole milk, cheese, sausage, biscuits, sweetened cereal, and sweetened yogurt. > * Add fats or sweeteners to foods. Examples are sauces, salad dressings, sugar, syrup, and butter. > * **Eat or drink items that are mostly fats, caloric sweeteners, and/or alcohol, such as candy, soda, wine, and beer**. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/3 "2010-02-24T19:00:48Z")
According to the current USDA Food Pyramid, alcohol falls under what they call [“discretionary calories”](http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/discretionary_calories.html) — in other words, stuff with little to no nutritional value that you probably shouldn’t be consuming anyway. Sorry. ETA: Beaten to the punch! I shouldn’t have wasted time looking up the [Health Canada Food Guide](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php) for comparison… For what it’s worth, it doesn’t categorize alcohol at all, though it does encourage you to “[l]imit your intake of soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punches, sweetened hot and cold beverages and **alcohol.** ” (Bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/4 "2010-02-24T19:49:13Z")
beer in the past has been called ‘liquid bread’ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/5 "2010-02-24T19:54:28Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > beer in the past has been called ‘liquid bread’ Makes a lousy sandwich. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/6 "2010-02-24T20:37:31Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Makes a lousy sandwich. 😃 You just need liquid fillings. Roast beef au merlot smoothie, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/7 "2010-02-24T20:59:10Z")
Wine is in the food group called: Absolutely, positively must have several servings every day to maintain sanity. 🙂 Seen at a winery recently: _Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy._ ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/8 "2010-02-24T23:30:52Z")
Alcohol has seven calories per gram. Compare that with carbs with 9 calories and amino acids with four. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/9 "2010-02-25T01:35:27Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > beer in the past has been called ‘liquid bread’ Probably truer when applied to ancient beers, which were basically diluted fermented grain mush, than to their more refined modern counterparts with higher alcohol content and more “empty calories”. Ancient beers not only provided a fair amount of nutrition as food but also, thanks to fermentation and alcohol, kept the drinker’s liquid intake safer from water-borne pathogens. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/10 "2010-02-25T01:41:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Wine is in the food group called: Absolutely, positively must have several servings every day to maintain sanity. 🙂 > > Seen at a winery recently: _Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy._ Agree, and I would put good Scots whiskey in there too. IN MODERATION, they do no harm. They can help a person to relax (relieve stress), augment the taste of a meal, facilitate social interactions, etc. If you can’t get to sleep, a little nip once in a while can help. The thing is to do it in moderation, just like anything else. Like the commercial says, “drink responsibly”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/11 "2010-02-25T02:52:47Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Alcohol has seven calories per gram. Compare that with carbs with 9 calories and amino acids with four. Fat has 9 calories, carbs and protein have 4. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/12 "2010-02-25T04:55:01Z")
Beer is in the nectar category. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/13 "2010-02-25T10:40:03Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Fat has 9 calories, carbs and protein have 4. :smack: I knew something was wrong with my statement. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/14 "2010-02-25T15:00:34Z")
Liquid sugars. Both alcohol and fructose are processed in the liver. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/15 "2010-02-25T15:36:47Z")
Depends on which “food group” system you are using. The USDA Pyramid is only one such scheme. According to my personal scheme, each meal should include at least one selection from the following food groups: 1. Starch 2. Salt 3. Sugar 4. Grease 5. Alcohol ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/16 "2010-02-26T00:38:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > According to my personal scheme, each meal should include at least one selection from the following food groups: > > 1. Starch > 2. Salt > 3. Sugar > 4. Grease > 5. Alcohol I may be disremembering, but on one episode of Night Court, I think Harry was talking to a vagrant-looking guy that ate light bulbs or nails or something. He informed Harry that the four basic groups were wood, metal, plastic and the white stuff inside Twinkies. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-group-is-beer-wine-in/530286/17 "2010-02-26T03:27:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Depends on which “food group” system you are using. The USDA Pyramid is only one such scheme. > > According to my personal scheme, each meal should include at least one selection from the following food groups: > > 1. Starch > 2. Salt > 3. Sugar > 4. Grease > 5. Alcohol I assume that the numbers down the left are the quantities of each that are recommended. In a few sips time I will have achieved my alcohol ration.