Newswise — Beer is one of the oldest and most consumed beverages on Earth, typically associated with social and celebratory settings. But researchers are curious about what vitamins and minerals are present in the beverage. A study of 65 brews published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that many conventional and alcohol-free options, including lagers and bocks, provide substantial levels of vitamin B6.
Beer is brewed in many ways, and each method creates distinct flavors in styles ranging from porters to pilsners to pale ales. And recently, nonalcoholic (NA) beer has become a popular way to imbibe without the effects of booze (ethanol). Many beer ingredients, including barley, wheat and brewer’s yeast, are considered good sources of vitamin B6, so it follows that the final brewed beverage provides this vitamin as well. However, it’s not known whether the process of removing ethanol from NA beer affects its vitamin content. So, Michael Rychlik and colleagues wanted to see how alcohol-free beer’s vitamin B6 content stacked up against a variety of alcohol-containing German beers.
The team purchased 65 different beers from local supermarkets in Germany and analyses revealed that:
Bock beer, brewed from barley, had the highest B6 content, followed by lagers, dark lagers, and wheat beers, with the lowest content in rice beers. Alcohol-free lager and regular lager showed no significant difference in their vitamin B6 content. NA beers with their ethanol removed after full fermentation had higher vitamin B6 levels compared to those made using yeasts that produce less ethanol. An average lager in the study provided 20% of the U.S. recommended dietary allowance for vitamin B6, whereas one NA lager provided nearly 59%.
These findings suggest that, although the method of producing NA beer may affect the amount of vitamin B6 in the final product, NA beers overall provide levels of the vitamin that are comparable to those of their alcoholic counterparts. The researchers say that this study provides important insights into the vitamin content of these beers and demonstrates how NA beer may be a healthier choice for consumers.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Scientific Association for Brewing in Munich (Wissenschaftliche Station für Brauerei in München e.V.).
The paper’s abstract will be available on April 22 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c14229
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