nutrients in beer vs wine

[Guest guest]

Just for grins, I pulled out some nutrient data to compare beer and

wine on a per calorie basis.

From USDA nutrient data base for:

16 oz Alcoholic beverage, beer, regular, all

8 oz Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, red

beer/wine

204/200 Calories

2.2/0.2 Protein (g)

19/25 Alcohol (g)

16.9/6.1 Carbohydrate (g)

0.0/1.5 Sugars (g)

210/246 Fluoride (mcg)

38.5/0.7 Betaine (mg)

%RDA (adult male)

beer/wine

2.0/1.0 Vitamin B1 thiamin

9.1/5.6 Vitamin B2 riboflavin

15.2/3.3 Vitamin B3 niacin

3.9/1.4 Vitamin B5 pantothenic acid

16.8/10.3 Vitamin B6 pyridoxine

7.1/0.6 Vitamin B9 folate

4.0/0.0 Vitamin B12 cobalamin

8.6/2.4 Choline

1.9/1.9 Calcium

1.2/13.5 Iron

6.8/6.7 Magnesium

9.5/7.7 Phosphorus

2.7/6.4 Potassium

1.3/0.6 Sodium

0.4/3.0 Zinc

2.6/2.9 Copper

1.7/13.5 Manganese

5.2/0.9 Selenium

Looks like beer has more vitamins, but about the same or less minerals

on an equal calorie basis. Also, you get more protein and carbs with

beer to trade against less alcohol. I was surprised to see no sugar

in beer but a little in wine. I suspect that some beers do have

substantial sugar added after brewing to appeal to the massive

American sweet tooth.

I also compared these results to 200 calories of whole milk, but it

would be too messy to show here. Suffice it to say that beer and wine

are not near as nutrient dense as milk, as we might expect. However,

it is interesting that beer does provide extra niacin, B6, folate, and

choline that are not that high in milk. I was also surprised that

beer had a little B12, I guess from the fermentation.

I need to check and see if USDA has data specifically for ale to compare.