Does beer contain lactose?

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

Lactose is a type of sugar that is naturally present in milk of all mammals. In recent years more and more people have been diagnosed as being intolerant to lactose, and therefore the requirement to identify food products that contain lactose in their ingredients is increasingly more common in order to avoid or limit consumption

Lactose is frequently used in confectionery, but it can also be found in other food products where we would not normally expect it, such as soups, sausages or snacks

Is it in beer though? Does beer contain lactose too?

In order to reply to that question, we are going to talk about the sugars that are used for brewing beer and which are usually contained naturally in the cereal used in the recipe. The most common sugars are glucose and maltose, since their molecular structure can be easily metabolised by the yeast during the fermentation process to produce the alcohol and carbonic gas that are so characteristic of all beers.

Some of the other more complex sugars in cereals can also be found in beer, and owing to their large molecular size they are not transformed by the yeast, and therefore remain in the end product. These are the so-called residual sugars that confer sweetness and body to some beers, mainly those with a higher alcohol content.

Nevertheless, occasionally and particularly in the case of some styles such as hazy IPA or milk stoutsome master brewers look for similar effects by adding lactose to the beer. This practice dates back to early 20th century England, although the aim then was not so much for added flavour, but rather to make a restorative drink for convalescents, and even for children!

Even though a low-alcohol content beer was used as the basis for this, it is hard to imagine it now, and as mentioned earlier, the reasons today for adding lactose to beer are different. Occasionally adding lactose to some recipes now seeks to confer a bit of extra sweetness and a special creamy texture to beer, which generally aims to set off the bitterness and astringency of the hops and dark malt, which are the main ingredients of these beers.

This practice is normally limited to the aforementioned brewing styles or to make singular beers, almost always craft beers or home-brew, but most commercially available beers do not contain lactose, and we can therefore enjoy it safely if we are intolerant to lactose.

In any event, as is the case with all food products it is always best to read the product label of the beer we are going to drink as manufacturers must clearly state if the product contains any allergens.

Cheers!