The problem of subgraph optimization for multicast connections with network coding can be solved using the sub-gradient method. In this paper, we focus on the problem of min-energy multicast in both static and dynamic multi-hop wireless networks. We take this optimization problem and construct different candidate algorithms for solving it in a distributed manner. Our simulations show that the subgradient method is robust to network changes, and yields significant energy savings in multicasts as compared to cases where only routing is allowed. Moreover, the distributed method can be easily extended to lossy networks.