Beer O’Clock
A Little of What You Fancy Does
You Good (Beer O’Clock excerpt)
By Jane Peyton
Beer, if drank with moderation,
softens the temper, cheers the spirit
and promotes health.
American Founding Father,
Thomas Jefferson
O
f all alcoholic drinks, beer
has more health, nutritional
and social benefits than
any other.
Consumed moderately, beer has
ro n h a th n t
o rat
consumption of low to medium-alcohol
beer (4% ABV) is ten pints a week for
men, eight pints a week for women,
to be consumed throughout the week
ith ay off or th i r to ha a
rest but not, alas, to be saved up for
a weekend binge). Dozens of
independent medical experiments
have concluded that the beer drinkers
in their studies were happier and
healthier than those who did not
drink beer or drank too much. These
positive facts about beer are not
widely reported because problems
caused by alcohol abuse take
precedence in the media and there
is a reluctance to be seen to be
celebrating the drinking of alcohol.
In some British hospitals until at least
the mid 1970s, trolleys containing
bottles of beer were trundled around
the wards, and patients, regardless of
whether they were in for an ingrown
to nai or an r
r off r a rin
It was good for morale, but more than
anything it was a motivation to get
better, leave hospital and go to the
pub – after all, it was only a small
bottle of beer.
The Ancient Egyptians did not just
drink beer for pleasure but also used
it as medicine too, for ailments
including gum disease, as dressing
for wounds, and externally as a
poultice to treat piles.
Today, one of the world’s leading
authorities on beer, Professor Charles
146
Bamforth, is the author of the
niti
or on th o iti
ff t
of drinking it. The science behind the
health claims for beer is to be found
in his book Beer: Health and Nutrition.
beer or ideally real ale.
But before telling you the good news
about beer to print on a T-shirt, or on
a placard to carry round at all times
so that naysayers can be enlightened,
t
r t i
on arti ar an
persistent myth about beer.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are substances that
help to protect the body against
th ff t o r ra i a
molecules that can damage cells,
and may trigger heart, cancer and
other diseases. Both barley and
hops contain antioxidants and
consequently beer is rich in them.
The Belly
In every language a big stomach is
known as a ‘beer belly’ or ‘beer gut’.
Some people who do not drink beer
have a belly, yet it is still known as