Beer is hydrating: myth or truth?

Do you think beer is hydrating? This drink has positive aspects, however, today we will tell you if it can be an ally in hydration.

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

We all know that beer has a significant water content in its recipe, which can range from 85% to 92% of the total depending on the kind. This means that by drinking a beer, we are providing water to the body, which could suggest that we are hydrating it.

Is it really so?

To answer this question rigorously, we need to delve into the various components dissolved in the substantial amount of water in beer. This includes the contributions from its ingredients – such as barley malt and other cereals, hops, yeast, and occasionally fruits and spices – as well as the compounds produced during its brewing process, especially during fermentation. Let’s talk about the alcohol content.

The alcohol in beer, like that in any other beverage, significantly affects our body’s hydration levels due to its strong diuretic effect.

You’ve probably noticed from personal experience that when you drink beer, you need to visit the bathroom more frequently compared to when you only drink water. This happens because alcohol inhibits the secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which acts on the kidney to reabsorb water, which is not reabsorbed and is excreted in the urine.

This diuretic effect results in a loss of hydration that the intake of water contained in the beer itself doesn’t compensate for, especially when we are talking about beers with a certain alcoholic content. As a result, the only possible way to hydrate ourselves with beer would be to drink only 0.0-labelled beers, which do not contain alcohol and therefore don’t have this diuretic effect.

Therefore, in situations where beer consumption is higher than usual – such as during hot summer days or after physical exercise – it’s important to monitor this aspect to take care of our body. In addition to the aforementioned option of 0.0 beers, we can also alternate the intake of beer with water to keep the body hydrated.

In short, let’s enjoy the taste of beer but always in moderation to take care of our health and to be able to do so for many years to come.

Cheers!