A can of regular beer (12 oz, 356 g) has 153 calories, and almost two thirds of them, 63%, come from alcohol rather than carbs. It holds 13.9 g of alcohol, which is about one US standard drink (14 g), plus 12.6 g of carbs, 1.6 g of protein and no fat or fiber. The other 327 g is water. The numbers on this page are for regular beer; light and non-alcoholic beers differ.
Lager yeast has a surprising family tree. It is a hybrid of ordinary ale yeast and a cold-tolerant wild yeast that was unknown until 2011, when researchers isolated it from beech forests in Patagonia. Its genome is 99.5% identical to the non-ale half of the lager yeast genome, and lager itself was first brewed in the 15th century.
Beer is not a vitamin drink. A can gives 12% of the daily value for biotin, 11% for niacin and 10% for vitamin B6, and nothing else reaches that level. Its nutrient density score is 42, which our scale rates as low. That is why this page is mostly about what the alcohol does.
Health benefits of beer
Beer is an alcoholic drink, and the best-supported findings are about its risks, not its benefits. Analyses that correct for “sick quitter” bias, the mix-up that makes light drinkers look healthier than they are, found no lower risk of dying at low intake, and genetic studies agree. In a large cohort, beer was the drink most strongly tied to gout, and the classic beer belly turns out to be about total weight. The upbeat results are small trials, several of them on non-alcoholic beer. None of the studies below reaches strong evidence, and nothing here is a reason to start drinking. Here is what 33 studies found, strongest evidence first, from the beer belly and gout to cancer, sports recovery, B vitamins and silicon.
A review of 35 observational and 12 experimental studies found too little evidence to say whether under 500 mL of beer a day is linked to a beer belly
Systematic review with meta-analysis. In six experimental studies in men, alcoholic beer for 21 to 126 days led to a gain of 0.73 kg compared with low-alcohol beer, but four studies comparing it with no alcohol did not support that. Intakes above 500 mL a day may go with a bigger waist, and the authors rate most experimental data as low quality.
Non-alcoholic beer, 1 to 1.5 L a day around a marathon, cut upper respiratory illness 3.25-fold in runners
Double-blind trial in 277 male runners given non-alcoholic beer or a placebo drink for 3 weeks before and 2 weeks after the Munich Marathon. Interleukin-6, a marker of inflammation, rose less right after the race (23.9 against 31.6 ng/L) and white blood cell counts were about 20% lower. This was non-alcoholic beer, not regular beer, and illness was reported on a symptom survey.
A month of 830 mL of beer a day raised uric acid and lowered vitamin B12 in men
116 men abstained from alcohol for a month, then drank 830 mL of alcoholic beer a day for a month, then abstained again, and 93 finished. Homocysteine, vitamin B6 and folic acid did not change significantly, while total cholesterol, HDL and LDL all rose. Uric acid is the chemical behind gout.
Drinking 1125 mL of beer a day for 4 weeks raised daytime systolic blood pressure by 1.9 mm Hg in healthy men
Four-period crossover trial in healthy men with normal blood pressure: 4 weeks each of no alcohol, red wine (39 g of alcohol a day), de-alcoholized red wine and beer (41 g of alcohol a day). Beer also raised heart rate during sleep by 4.4 beats a minute, and red wine raised systolic pressure by 2.9 mm Hg. De-alcoholized wine did not lower blood pressure, and no drink changed blood vessel function.
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In regular drinkers with atrial fibrillation, abstaining from alcohol cut recurrences from 73% to 53% over 6 months
Open-label randomized trial in 140 adults who drank 10 or more standard drinks a week: 70 abstained and 70 carried on. Time spent in atrial fibrillation was 0.5% against 1.2%. This was alcohol of all kinds, not beer alone.
After exercise, rehydrating with 4.6% beer made more urine and slowed reaction time compared with water or low-alcohol beer
11 young men were dehydrated to about 2.12% of body mass in a 31.7 °C chamber, then drank water, 4.6% beer or low-alcohol beer equal to their sweat loss. After about 1.6 L in 1 hour, urine output was 1218 mL with beer against 774 mL with water, and blood alcohol reached 0.857 g/L. Balance also got worse with beer.
Up to 660 mL of regular beer followed by water after exercise in the heat did not harm markers of hydration in 16 active men
Crossover study: after a dehydrating run of up to 1 hour, men drank either mineral water or up to 660 mL of beer followed by water for 2 hours. Body mass fell about 2.4% in both trials, and fluid balance and urine excretion did not differ. It was small, short and only in active men.
After mild dehydration, non-alcoholic beer kept 36% of the fluid drunk, about the same as water (34%), and no drink fully rehydrated 11 men
Crossover trial: men cycled until they lost 1% of body mass, then drank non-alcoholic beer, low-alcohol beer (2.0%), full-strength beer (5.0%), a sports drink or water equal to their sweat loss. Full-strength beer held back 21% and the sports drink 42%, but net fluid balance did not differ significantly. In the first hour, 5% beer produced more urine than the sports drink (299 against 105 mL).
In men at high heart risk, the alcohol in beer raised HDL cholesterol by about 5%, while its non-alcoholic part lowered some inflammation markers
Randomized crossover trial in 33 men: 4 weeks each of beer (660 mL, 30 g of alcohol a day), non-alcoholic beer with the same polyphenols (990 mL) and gin (30 g of alcohol, 100 mL). Alcohol also lowered fibrinogen by about 8%. Glucose, body weight and body fat did not change, and the study measured blood markers, not heart attacks.
Four weeks of 660 mL a day of non-alcoholic mixed or wheat beer raised triglycerides in young men, while a pilsener type did not
Randomized, investigator-blinded study in 44 healthy young men drinking one of three non-alcoholic beers or water. Mixed beer also raised fasting glucose, and wheat beer raised insulin and C-peptide. The authors think the calories and sugar in these beers, rather than polyphenols, explain the changes.
A 333 mL non-alcoholic beer with supper for 14 days cut the time to fall asleep from about 20.5 to 12 minutes in 17 shift-working nurses
Each of 17 female nurses on rotating or night shifts was compared with her own nights without beer, using a wrist activity monitor. Anxiety scores also fell slightly (state anxiety 18.09 against 20.69). It was small, had no placebo drink, and the authors credit hops.
Three weeks of one 330 mL regular beer a day lowered homocysteine and raised folic acid, while a 9% craft beer lowered vitamin B6
Randomized crossover study in 12 men and 12 women who drank industrial beer (4.5% alcohol) or craft beer (9% alcohol) daily for 3 weeks. Homocysteine fell from 7.35 to 6.50 µmol/L with the industrial beer. Craft beer raised gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, a liver enzyme, from 16.6 to 18.6 U/L and cut vitamin B6 from 20.9 to 16.9 ng/mL.
Two years of daily beer, with or without alcohol, did not change bone density in early postmenopausal women
Pilot controlled trial in 31 women: 15 drank 330 mL of beer a day, 6 drank 660 mL of non-alcoholic beer, and 10 had neither. Bone formation markers rose in both beer groups, but bone density and trabecular bone score did not differ. Some authors report funding from an alcohol research foundation and fees from brewing groups.
Beer holds about 19 mg of silicon per liter, and about 55% of it was absorbed by volunteers
Researchers measured 76 beers (mean 19.2 mg/L, no difference by origin or type), then gave 9 healthy volunteers 0.6 L of beer (22.5 mg of silicon). Absorption was similar to dissolved silicic acid. The study measured silicon in blood and urine, not bone health.
Once bias from former drinkers was corrected, low and occasional drinking was not linked to a lower risk of dying in 107 cohort studies
Meta-analysis of 107 cohort studies (4.8 million people, 425,564 deaths). Compared with lifetime nondrinkers, occasional drinkers had a relative risk of 0.96 and low-volume drinkers (1.3 to 24.0 g of alcohol a day) 0.93, neither significant. Risk was 1.19 at 45 to 64 g a day and 1.35 at 65 g or more, and higher in women.
The classic J-curve of drinking and death appeared in raw data, but after adjusting for abstainer bias low-volume drinkers had no lower risk (relative risk 0.97)
Meta-analysis of 87 studies. Without adjustment, low-volume drinkers (1.3 to 24.9 g of alcohol a day) had a relative risk of 0.86, while former drinkers had 1.22, one source of the abstainer bias the authors adjusted for. Higher-quality studies free of that bias also found no reduced risk.
Genetic evidence found that the apparent protection of moderate drinking against stroke is largely not causal: each 280 g a week raised intracerebral hemorrhage risk (relative risk 1.58)
Prospective study of 512,715 adults in China followed for about 10 years, using two gene variants that change how much men drink. Genotype-predicted intake raised ischemic stroke risk too (1.27 per 280 g a week) and was not clearly linked to heart attack (0.96). Men mostly drank spirits, not beer, and few women drank.
People with a gene variant linked to drinking less had lower odds of coronary heart disease (0.90), even among light to moderate drinkers
Mendelian randomization of 56 studies and 261,991 people. Carriers drank 17.2% fewer units a week and had lower systolic blood pressure (0.88 mm Hg) and body mass index. Their odds of ischemic stroke were lower too (0.83). The authors conclude that cutting down, even for light to moderate drinkers, is good for cardiovascular health.
In 340,924 UK adults, low to moderate alcohol from beer and cider went with higher death risk, while low wine intake went the other way
UK Biobank cohort followed for 13.4 years on average, with 22,381 deaths. Hazard ratios for spirits and beer or cider ranged from 1.07 to 1.83 across causes of death. High intake of any type went with more cancer deaths. This is a link in observational data, and wine and beer drinkers may differ in other ways.
In 187,294 Norwegians, low beer or spirits intake without wine was not linked to lower mortality (hazard ratios 1.00 to 1.06)
Cohort followed for 21 years on average, with 15,642 deaths, using drinks reported over the past 14 days. Low wine intake, alone or with beer or spirits, went with 0.84 to 0.90. Overall, 20 or more glasses in 14 days went with a hazard ratio of 1.44. The study focused on wine, and wine drinkers may differ in other ways.
Heavy drinkers had five times the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer (relative risk 5.13) and 1.61 times the risk of breast cancer
Dose-response meta-analysis of 572 studies with 486,538 cancer cases across 23 cancer types. Heavy drinking also went with esophageal squamous cell cancer (4.95), laryngeal (2.65), liver (2.07) and colorectal cancer (1.44), while Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were inversely associated. It covers alcohol in general, not beer alone.
Even light drinking, up to 1 drink a day, went with higher risks of mouth and throat, esophageal and breast cancer (relative risks 1.17, 1.30 and 1.05)
Meta-analysis of 222 articles, with about 92,000 light drinkers and 60,000 nondrinkers who had cancer. No association was found for colorectal, liver or laryngeal cancer. The authors estimated that light drinking accounted for about 5000 deaths from oropharyngeal cancer, 24,000 from esophageal cancer and 5000 from breast cancer worldwide in 2004.
An estimated 4.1% of new cancers worldwide in 2020, about 741,300 cases, were attributable to alcohol
Modeling study using GLOBOCAN 2020 cancer data and alcohol consumption estimates, assuming a 10-year delay. Heavy drinking accounted for 346,400 cases, but moderate drinking (under 20 g a day) still accounted for 103,100. Esophageal (189,700), liver (154,700) and breast cancer (98,300) contributed the most.
Each 12 oz serving of beer a day raised the risk of gout 1.49-fold in men, more than spirits or wine
Cohort of 47,150 men followed for 12 years, with 730 confirmed cases of gout. Spirits raised the risk by 1.15 per drink, while wine, at 1.04 per 4 oz, was not significantly linked. Total alcohol of 50 g a day or more carried a relative risk of 2.53 against nondrinkers.
In people with gout, 1 to 2 drinks in the previous 24 hours raised the risk of an attack 1.36 times, and beer, wine and liquor each counted
Internet-based case-crossover study of 724 people with gout, each compared with their own times without alcohol. The risk was 1.51 times higher after more than 2 to 4 drinks. The authors advise people with gout to limit alcohol of all types.
Beer went with waist gain in men, but mostly through overall weight gain, not a belly-specific effect
EPIC-Potsdam cohort of 7876 men and 12,749 women followed for 8.5 years. Men drinking 1000 mL of beer a day had a 17% higher risk of waist gain than very light drinkers, and adjusting for weight and hip change explained most of it. Women who drank no beer had lower odds of waist gain (0.88).
In Czech men, beer intake was not linked to a larger waist-hip ratio after controlling for other risk factors
Cross-sectional study of 891 men and 1098 women who were nondrinkers or drank only beer, with a mean beer intake of 3.1 L a week in men and 0.3 L in women. The age-adjusted link in men faded after adjustment and appeared only in nonsmokers. Beer was not related to body mass index in men.
Among low-risk drinkers in Spain, those who mostly drank beer had a higher risk of dying (hazard ratio 1.35), though beverage types did not differ consistently
Cohort of 16,130 weekly drinkers followed for a median of 8.4 years. For all drinkers, a beer preference gave 1.22, which was not significant. At more than 20 g of alcohol a day, no beverage type differed. The authors conclude there is no consistently different effect by type.
An older meta-analysis found up to 17% lower mortality in men and 18% in women at light to moderate intake, the classic J-curve
Meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies with 1,015,835 people and 94,533 deaths, searched to 2005. Higher doses went with more deaths, and the benefit vanished at lower doses in women. It came before the later work above that corrected for former drinkers.
In older men, 1 to 2 beers a day went with 3.4 to 4.5% higher hip bone density, and silicon intake explained the link
Framingham Offspring cohort of 1182 men, 1289 postmenopausal women and 248 premenopausal women. After adjusting for silicon intake, the differences for beer were no longer significant, while those for other alcohol stayed. Men drinking more than 2 liquor drinks a day had 3.0 to 5.2% lower bone density.
Lager and dark beer inhibited atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed hamsters, at a dose the authors compare to human intake
Lab study: ales had the most phenols, then lagers, then low-calorie and non-alcoholic beers. Average US beer intake of 225 mL a day equals 42 mg a day of catechin equivalents. At the high dose both beers beat a 2% alcohol control, and at the low dose only lager did. It was hamsters, not people.
In nude mice, xanthohumol-enriched beer did not slow tumor growth or raise antioxidant capacity
Four groups of 10 mice were injected with HeLa tumor cells and given xanthohumol, a hop flavonoid, for 100 days, either in beer or in an alcohol solution of the same strength. Tumor size did not differ between groups. Liver weights were higher in the mice given the plain alcohol solution.
Xanthohumol, a hop compound, improved insulin resistance in obese mice only when gut bacteria were present
Conventional and germ-free mice ate a high-fat diet with or without xanthohumol (60 mg/kg of body weight a day) for 10 weeks. It lowered insulin in conventional mice but not in germ-free ones. This was a purified compound in mice, not beer in people.
Who should be careful with beer
Beer is an alcoholic drink, so the usual “eat it freely” does not apply. The WHO says no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health, and alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen. Skip beer, or ask a clinician first, if one of these applies:
- Pregnancy, young age and medicines. The NIAAA says there is no known safe amount of alcohol in pregnancy, and the NHS says not to drink if you are pregnant or planning to be. People under the legal drinking age should not drink. Alcohol can also interact badly with some medicines, so check the leaflet or ask a pharmacist.
- Liver disease or trouble cutting down. For alcohol-related liver disease, the NHS says treatment usually aims at stopping drinking completely, at any stage. If alcohol is hard to control, a GP or the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator can point you to help.
- Gout and celiac disease. Beer was the drink most strongly linked to gout in the large cohort above, and in people who already have gout any type of drink raised the risk of an attack. Most beers are made with barley, so they contain gluten, and several beers sold as gluten-free had as much barley gluten protein as some regular beers in one lab survey.
How to choose, store and eat beer
- Regular beer: a 12 oz can at about 5% alcohol is one US standard drink, 14 g of alcohol, and the can on this page holds 13.9 g.
- Strong beers: read the label for alcohol by volume, because a 9% craft beer has twice the alcohol of a 4.5% beer in the same glass. In a 3-week trial the craft beer raised a liver enzyme, GGT, from 16.6 to 18.6 U/L.
- Non-alcoholic beer: the brands differ. In a 4-week trial of 44 men, mixed and wheat non-alcoholic beers raised triglycerides while a pilsener type did not, so compare the calories and sugar on the label.
Keep beer cool and out of strong light. Brown bottles have been used since 1912 because they block the light rays that degrade beer. No study here shows that someone who does not drink should start.
Sources
- No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. WHO Regional Office for Europe. 2023.
- What is a standard drink? National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
- Fetal alcohol exposure. NIAAA.
- Drinking alcohol while pregnant. NHS.
- Harmful interactions: mixing alcohol with medicines. NIAAA.
- Alcohol-related liver disease. NHS.
- Find your way to alcohol treatment: Alcohol Treatment Navigator. NIAAA.
- Alcohol support. NHS.
- Coeliac disease. NHS.
- Nye-Wood MG, Byrne K, Stockwell S, et al. Low gluten beers contain variable gluten and immunogenic epitope content. Foods. 2023.
- Rossi F, Spigno G, Luzzani G, et al. Effects of the intake of craft or industrial beer on serum homocysteine. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2021.
- Kreimeyer H, Sydor S, Buchholz L, et al. Non-alcoholic beer influences glucose and lipid metabolism and changes body composition in healthy, young, male adults. Nutrients. 2025.
- Beer. Wikipedia.
History of beer
Beer is one of the oldest prepared drinks. Residues of a gruel-like beer about 13,000 years old turned up at Raqefet Cave in northern Israel, where hunter-gatherers called Natufians used it for ritual feasts. The earliest clear chemical evidence of beer made from barley, about 3500 to 3100 BC, comes from Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. In China, pottery from the village of Jiahu holds traces of a drink of rice, honey and fruit from as early as the seventh millennium BC.
The Sumerians took beer seriously. “The Hymn to Ninkasi,” a prayer to their goddess of beer, doubled as a recipe in a culture with few readers. The Code of Hammurabi, about 1750 BC, included laws regulating beer. About 5000 years ago, workers in the city of Uruk were paid in volumes of beer, and the builders of the Egyptian pyramids are said to have received a daily ration of four to five liters.
Hops came late. They were first mentioned in Europe around the year 822 by a Carolingian abbot and again in the twelfth century by the abbess Hildegard of Bingen, and early European beers may have used fruit, honey, herbs and spices instead. By the 7th century, European monasteries were brewing and selling beer. In 1516, Duke William IV of Bavaria adopted the Reinheitsgebot, or purity law, which allowed only water, hops and barley malt, and is perhaps the oldest food-quality rule still in use.
Lager has a famous missing parent. Lager beer was first brewed in the 15th century with a hybrid yeast, a cross between an ale yeast and an unknown cold-tolerant species. In 2011, scientists named that missing parent Saccharomyces eubayanus after finding it in Southern beech forests in Patagonia.
Beer then went industrial. During the Industrial Revolution, brewing moved from home and craft scale to factories, and home brewing had mostly faded by the end of the 19th century. In 1912, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee began using brown bottles, which keep light from degrading the beer. As of 2006, more than 133 billion liters of beer were sold each year.
Sources
- Libkind D, Hittinger CT, Valério E, et al. Microbe domestication and the identification of the wild genetic stock of lager-brewing yeast. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011.
- McGovern PE, Zhang J, Tang J, et al. Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004.
- Beer. Wikipedia.
Frequently asked questions about beer
Is beer good for you?
Not in a way studies can show. Analyses that correct for sick-quitter bias found no lower risk of dying at low alcohol intake (relative risk 0.97 and 0.93, neither significant), and genetic data found the apparent stroke protection of moderate drinking is largely not causal. A can of regular beer has 153 calories and 13.9 g of alcohol, and no nutrient above 12% of the daily value. The WHO says no level of alcohol is safe for health.
Does beer cause a beer belly?
Mostly through extra weight, not a special effect on the belly. In a German cohort, men drinking 1000 mL of beer a day had a 17% higher risk of waist gain, but overall weight change explained most of it, and a Czech study found no link between beer and waist-hip ratio after adjustment. A review found too little evidence for under 500 mL a day. Each can has 153 calories, which add up.
How many calories are in a can of beer?
A 12 oz can of regular beer has 153 calories, or 43 per 100 g. Alcohol supplies 63% of them (13.9 g), carbs 33% (12.6 g) and protein 4% (1.6 g). Light and non-alcoholic beers differ, so check the label.
Does beer cause gout?
It raises the risk, more than other drinks. In 47,150 men followed for 12 years, each 12 oz of beer a day raised gout risk 1.49-fold, spirits 1.15-fold, and wine 1.04-fold, which was not significant. In people who already have gout, 1 to 2 drinks of any type raised the risk of an attack 1.36 times, and a month of beer raised uric acid in 93 men.
Is non-alcoholic beer good for recovery after exercise?
One trial says it may help against infections, but it is a single study. In 277 marathon runners, 1 to 1.5 L a day of non-alcoholic beer lowered upper respiratory illness 3.25-fold and blunted a rise in interleukin-6. As a rehydration drink it was no better than water, keeping 36% of the fluid against 34%. In another trial, 4.6% beer produced more urine and slowed reaction time after exercise.
Does beer hydrate you?
Full-strength beer does it less well than water. After exercise, 4.6% beer produced 1218 mL of urine against 774 mL for water in 11 men, while low-alcohol beer matched water. Another trial found up to 660 mL of regular beer followed by water did not harm hydration markers in 16 men. No drink fully rehydrated people on its own.
Does beer have gluten?
Yes, most beer does. The NHS notes that most beers are made with barley, and in one lab survey several beers sold as gluten-free had as much barley gluten protein as some regular beers. People with celiac disease should check with their care team.
How much beer is safe to drink?
No amount is proven safe. In a meta-analysis of 107 cohorts, risk of dying rose at 45 to 64 g of alcohol a day (relative risk 1.19), and light drinking of up to 1 drink a day already went with more mouth and throat, esophageal and breast cancer (1.17, 1.30 and 1.05). One can holds 13.9 g. No study here suggests that people who do not drink should start.