# Ingredients in beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768 "2003-10-16T12:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/1 "2003-10-16T12:41:01Z")
I have an older relative who tells me she likes the taste of beer, but is concerned about things like sodium, carbohydrates, and other components which are suspect when it comes to the beer-drinker’s health–and I’m not talking about the alcohol content. Is there some current information on this? Thanks very much. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/2 "2003-10-16T13:07:55Z")
She could always play it safe by sticking to traditionally brewed German beers. Reinheitsgebot anyone? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/3 "2003-10-16T13:13:45Z")
Danke. 🙂 (Incidentally, this thread wound up on the General Questions board three times because my browser kept failing to acknowledge it–I had to keep pressing the F5 key.) :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/4 "2003-10-16T13:17:50Z")
Well most North American mega brewers beers are made up of malted barley, rice, water, hops and yeast. I would guess that corn sugar is sometimes used as well. Carbs are a given, just by the nature of the beast, while sodium is likely coming from the municipal water supply the brewery uses. That means she’s getting the same sodium dosage as she would if she drank tap water. Basically, if she only tends to drink occasionally it seems unlikely to me that beer consumption would be the deciding factor in her health. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/5 "2003-10-16T13:19:40Z")
German beer is made under the German beer purity law which only permits four ingredients: water, hops, barley, and yeast. Drinking German beer is one way to make sure there aren’t any additives in it. A typical beer would have about 3 grams carbohydrate per 100 ml, maybe 0.5% protein, and less than 0.1 g/100ml fat. Sodium content would average maybe 15-20 mg/12oz. Go to Google, enter “beer nutrition,” “beer sodium,” etc. to get more info. All in all, I seriously doubt that the “other components” in beer are at all significant. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/6 "2003-10-16T13:25:11Z")
In the U.k. there is an organisation named CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ales - I wonder f you can find something similar in your area, as they would, I am _sure_ be able to help. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/7 "2003-10-16T13:27:15Z")
It’s rumored (I don’t know if it’s true) that beers in Southeast Asia have formaldehyde (or something similar) added to keep it shelf stable in the heat. So if you’re at an Asian restaurant it might be best to eschew the Singha or what have you in favor of something German. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/8 "2003-10-16T14:05:15Z")
You know, I was about to call _urban legend_! on that but, eh. From Taiwan: [The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Monday that it will ban imports of mainland-brewed beer found to contain cancer-causing formaldehyde.](http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20030722/20030722b5.html) And [this site here](http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/can1su00.htm) blames the canning process for the presence of formaldehyde in some beer. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/9 "2003-10-16T14:16:10Z")
_However_… (Sorry for the double post.) I wasn’t all that far off with the urban legend. According to [this article](http://www.beveragebusiness.com/art98/bryson0603.html): > [@](#): > > there is a persistent, widespread belief that the Thai beer Singha, brewed in Bangkok by the Boon Rawd Brewery, has formaldehyde in it. (snip) It turns out that there is, after all, just a tiny bit of fact here. There are, my source told me, a few small (non-exporting) Chinese breweries which do indeed add a tiny amount of formaldehyde to the mash. It acts as a clarifying agent. However, he added, "I am 100% sure Singha never once used the Chinese practise. That was a Chinese ‘innovation’ and no one else’s. To recap: 1. Old canning methods used to leave some traces of formaldehyde in the beer. Not anymore. 2. Some smaller Chinese breweries add small amounts of formaldehyde to clarify the mash. Taiwan doesn’t like that. 3. There is no formaldehyde added to any beer outside China. Or so the Great Vat of Knowledge that is the Internet sez. ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Amethyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/10 "2003-10-16T17:55:47Z")
We have Camra in Canada as well … and I know that there is awareness of real beer in the US as well. Charlie Papazzian, the author of ‘The complete joy of homebrewing’ is American. ---
**Author:** ![TheInterruptingCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9c0ed/32.png) [@TheInterruptingCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInterruptingCow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/11 "2003-10-16T18:53:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > \*\*She could always play it safe by sticking to traditionally brewed German beers. > > Reinheitsgebot anyone? \*\* Slight hijack due to a pet peeve - the Reinheitsgebot is a tax document. It doesn’t say you can’t use other (presumably cheaper) ingredients; just that you’ll be taxed at a different rate (or fined). Most of the translations you’ll find on the Web are excerpts from the complete document…the full translation is pretty long. We now return you to you regularly-scheduled malt beverage. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/12 "2003-10-16T19:05:15Z")
Anecdotally, Singha gave me the worst bloody hangover I’ve ever had in my life - if it’s not formaldehyde, then it’s something else horrible. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/13 "2003-10-16T19:40:56Z")
**Jjimm** , the hangover was probably from the rice whiskey you drank after drinking enough Singh. Or from the fried tree frogs you ate while drinking the beer. Or any number of other things one might encounter in Thailand. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/14 "2003-10-16T19:48:17Z")
As to the formaldehyde thing, I found this on the Oxford Bottled Beer site, I’m still trying to chase down one of the original sources that talked about this (and allegedly has serious ties to some of the Thai beer/liquor cartels). > [@](#): > > Chang like all Thai domestically brewed beers contains Formaline, a mixture of Formaldehyde and Glycerine which actually makes buzzed rather than pissed. You can remove it by tipping the chang upside down into a glass of water, holding the neck below the rim. Then watch as the Formaline sinks out into the water, it looks awful and in fact is. What you are left with a cleaner tasting Chang, the one that won awards abroad because Formaline is not put into the stuff they export to Australia etc, it’s illegal. Those professing undying love for this beer, needed to know that. I like it, but in moderation, it makes a mighty hangover. It would certainly be easy enough to get a bottle of Singha, Chang, or Leo and see if they contain any “impurities”. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/15 "2003-10-16T19:59:53Z")
Well I’ve drunk Chang too and didn’t get the same effect. Maybe it wasn’t the formaline then - perhaps it was the deep-fried bees… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/16 "2003-10-17T03:47:10Z")
Um, doesn’t beer have a list of ingredients on the label? I thought that was required for all consumables. ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/17 "2003-10-17T04:17:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Um, doesn’t beer have a list of ingredients on the label? I thought that was required for all consumables. \*\* Nope. Go check your nearest beer bottle. I’ve checked a few, and there’s no ingredients. None on cigarettes, either. Weird, huh? ---
**Author:** ![\_possum\_stalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b77776/32.png) [@\_possum\_stalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_possum_stalker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/18 "2003-10-17T04:54:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freiheit \* > \*\*Nope. Go check your nearest beer bottle. I’ve checked a few, and there’s no ingredients. None on cigarettes, either. Weird, huh? \*\* Like sausage, it’s oft better not to know. I can tell you some funny things get added to stabilize/clarify/adjust beer. Some beers add lactose to increase “mouth feel.” I know Bell’s Oberon Ale always, always gives me a unique, shit-like-a-monkey hangover, and I’m convinced its due to added lactose. Too bad- its tasty. How come there is isn’t a shit-like-a-monkey emoticon? Some posts would benefit greatly from it. ---
**Author:** ![Bingo\_Plebney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bingo\_Plebney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bingo_Plebney)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/19 "2003-10-17T05:09:14Z")
Many of the less expensive beers not only include stabilizers and chemical foaming agents (I’ve read that Miller does), but are made with brewing processes that produce fusel oils and higher alcohols that will help you feel like poopoo. Drink good beer. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768/20 "2003-10-17T06:00:44Z")
Even if the beer is brewed according to the Bavarian Food Purity Law (worlds oldest food purity law) you are still going to get carbohydrates and sodium. These are not bad things. Just normal food ingredients. In the case of beer they come mainly from the malted barley, which provides the sugars (carbs) for fermentation. Beer can be brewed with low carbs by using a yeast that will eat up all the sugars before it ‘dies’ of alcohol poisoning or by putting a small amount of sugars in from the start. As far as ‘other components’, the reason I brew my own beer is because I know what goes in it. Your older friend should relax, there is nothing in beer\* that is more toxic than ethanol. \*save some Asian beers perhaps [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingredients-in-beer/207768.md?page=2)