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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2005 > November > 07 > Entry
BEER as the New Health Food??
Oh my, here we go. Beer has been found to contain a potentially powerful disease-fighting compound, according to researchers cited in an ABC News report on the topic.
The report states that beer “has has gotten a bad rap as a calorie-loaded beverage that only serves to create paunchy beer bellies and alcohol-fueled lapses in judgment.” (Well, yes, its has done both of those things too, now that you mention it…)
But now the fermented grain product has been found to contain …
…xanthohumol (hmm. Doesn’t sound healthy, does it?), which the report describes as “a unique micronutrient that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes.”
I wonder whether this news potentially could have the same impact on wine sales as the CBS 60 Minutes report entitled “French Paradox” had on red-wine sales many years ago?
And do you suppose beer marketers might be filling their drool cups every hour?
Maybe Homer Simpson was right after all.
But wine’s still better.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Comments
By Thomas Hardy
November 8, 2005 4:26 PM | Link to this
Lori, i thought you’d never ask. I’d be happy to assist you in beer and food pairings right now. If beer is too dense and filling, you’re not making the correct choice, or having too much too quickly. I know it’s easy to do because it’s very tasty stuff. Stuffed omlettes? Maybe with sauteed vegetables, perhaps? Delicious with a hefeweizen. Or a Belgian Farmhouse Saison Ale. They would work well with any salad as well. Just for starters. They’re light and spicy. Eggplant, asparagus and goat cheese would sing along with a brown ale, aged ESB or a barley wine. And for dessert there are chocolate stouts and fruit ales and lambics. I’ve enjoyed them with many a desssert. These are all ales you might have to seek out at a local store. They’re not always available at local restaurants. There is a huge mark-up in wine sales, so that’s what you’ll usually find. So, does this help answer your question?
By lori
November 8, 2005 2:32 PM | Link to this
Thomas, You and I need to do some drinking together. My experience is that even a good beer is too filling and dense to complement most food. Call me uninformed and TV commercial-influenced (have you see the one with the window cleaner and the birds? har!) but I can’t see pairing beer with an omelet. Or a salad. Or that stuffed eggplant and asparagus thing I ate the other day. And I can’t imagine having a beer with dessert. But I’m also willing to accept the remote possibility that I’m wrong. So my challenge to you is to come up with the most random and awful-sounding beer-food combination that’s actually pretty good. I’ll try it. And if I like it, I’ll eat every word I’ve written here. Washed down with a glass of wine, of course.
By Thomas Hardy
November 8, 2005 10:10 AM | Link to this
Lori, perhaps alcohol has steered you wrong after all. Just put down your snifter long enough to consider that the flavors inherent in beer are the same that are inherent in so many foods, hence the complimentary advantages: Roasted, toasted, pepper, oatmeal, citrus, fruity, buttery, chocolate, dairy, bitterness, sweetness (just to name a few), all without the acidity of wine, so it’s a perfect complement. Wine uses the contrast of flavors. It’s an age-old concept, but today cutting edge chefs who understand flavors are pairing beer with food with great success in fine restaurants. But then I suppose you’d think that would be crazy. It’s not uncommon for the uninformed and TV commercial-influenced to think of beer as a pizza, burgers and nacho accompaniment, (which it does the job there as well, of course, thank you) but if you step out of the confinements of your wine cellar long enough, there is a vast world of beer and food pairings out there for you to discover and enjoy. Cheers!
By cathy
November 7, 2005 5:30 PM | Link to this
Welcome, Lori! No more lurking, eh? Glad to have you. And if you find someone who will pay you to do such a study, count me in as one of your ‘test subjects.’
By Lori
November 7, 2005 5:06 PM | Link to this
I should be paid to do these studies. I can come up with a million benefits to drinking: It leads to honesty, cures insecurity, and in its own special way, ensures the perpetuation of the species (I believe the kids refer to this as “hooking up”). Alcohol has never steered me wrong. Although it has steered me under a few tables. Anyway, this will serve as my first post and my “howdy” to all the wine blogees(?) To the fella who thinks beer is a better complement to food than wine: You’re crazy. Unless you’re talking greasy burgers and nachos and french fries. But you’re still crazy.
By cathy
November 7, 2005 4:35 PM | Link to this
Red wine provides many health benefits through its anti-oxidants, polyphenols, anthrocyanidins, flavonoids, and resveratrol. But real wine drinkers don’t need such excuses… it just tastes so darn good, and converts regular food into a sumptuous feast.
By keith lawson
November 7, 2005 4:25 PM | Link to this
mmmmm beer…
By Randolph
November 7, 2005 3:53 PM | Link to this
Just remember … “Beer has food value … Food has no beer value”.
By susan
November 7, 2005 3:32 PM | Link to this
i think of both as my ‘medicine,’ prescribed by dr. feelgood, naturally.
By Thomas Hardy
November 7, 2005 2:06 PM | Link to this
What, wine is (still) better? When did it ever gain superiority in the first place? This latest finding is sure to bolster the fact that beer is a better all-around beverage. Sure, wine is great, but it just doesn’t have the range that beer does, nor does it compliment food as well. I’m looking forward to my next flavorful glass of xanthohumol pale ale. I’ll now drink to my health with renewed appreciation and admiration for fermented grain.