Description

Beer is an alcoholic beverage that is prepared using barley, hops, water, and yeast. Wheat beer is any beer that is made up of at least 50 percent wheat, which is a much higher proportion than other beers. Wheat beers come in many styles and are light, summery, and refreshing. Wheat beers use ale yeast, which ferments on the top. The yeast and wheat proteins aren’t filtered out of the finished beer which gives it a hazy, sometimes opaque appearance. Wheat beer comes in many varieties like German wheat beer, Belgian wheat beer and other varieties of wheat beer. Some of the commonly consumed varieties include; Weizen or Weissbier wheat Beer– It is the flavored wheat beer of southern Germany, golden yellow in color and much lighter than the typically dark German ales, Dunkelweizen wheat Beer– is a darker version of weizen. It has a richer, maltier aroma and flavor, Weizenbock wheat Beer –It is a style of German lager that is traditionally malty, somewhat sweet, strongly alcoholic, with little or no hop flavor or aroma. Berliner Weisse wheat Beer is yet another variety of wheat beer that is very light in body and pale in color. It contains alcohol as low as 3% by volume, with almost no hop bitterness.

Health benefits

• Beer derived from hops might have active compounds like prenylflavonoids such as xanthohumol and isoxanthohumol that have the ability to reduce the susceptibility to cancer by inhibiting metastasis and carcinogenesis. This makes it a potential anti-cancer agent. ⁽¹⁾
• Beer contains vitamin B6, which prevents the build-up of a compound called homocysteine. It has a thinning effect on the blood and prevents the formation of clots. This reduces the chances of blockage in the coronary arteries and reduces the risk of cardiac problems. ⁽¹⁾
• Being a good source of iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid, it prevents anemia. Low-level alcohol consumption can increase levels of ferritin in the body, which in turn could lead to increased iron stores. ⁽¹⁾
• It is a good source of soluble fibers that promotes regular bowel movements and helps in cleaning of the gastrointestinal tract. This prevents the onset of digestive problems like constipation. ⁽²⁾
• The silicon content in beer is thought to protect the brain from the harmful effects of high amounts of aluminum in the body, which is one of the possible causes of Alzheimer’s. ⁽²⁾