HAVE
A BREW OR TWO
HAVE
A BREW OR TWOThe doctor says to drink eight glasses of water a day, or so advice goes in the newspaper medical columns. Well, if that's advice for generally sedentary people, the needs of a distance runner or other endurance athlete increase substantially merely to offset increased losses through perspiration and respiration. Several non-running friends have noticed and remarked about my high intake of fluids, so out of curiosity I monitored them over a rather average 36-mile week in mid June. My fluid consumption averaged 4.3 quarts per day, or about twice what the doctor advises, and 40 percent of those fluids were lost through perspiration and respiration. If you wonder how that percentage was determined, feel free to ask.
The thought of drinking over a gallon of San Diego tap water per day is nauseating in itself. No, water has to come in more palatable ways. Furthermore, in being reasonably careful of consumed ingredients, it is necessary to restrict or limit caffeine, alcohol, sugar and artificial sweetener thus avoiding being wired, inebriated or overwhelmed with empty calories. Artificial sweeteners are supposedly safe, but consumption of more than two diet drinks per day seems excessive.
My monitored fluid intake consisted of a mix of coffee, tea, sodas, diet sodas, bottled water, sparkling water (including flavored varieties), fruit juices, fruit juice-water combinations, Gatorade and other sport drinks and non-alcoholic beer. The last item offers considerable merit and is highly recommended. If you haven't tried it, you may be in for a treat.
Non-alcoholic beer (more properly referred to as non-alcoholic brew or non-alcoholic malt beverage) has been around since prohibition, but in the last two years has undergone a major resurgence in popularity. Over a dozen brands are available in San Diego supermarkets, convenience stores and liquor stores and many restaurants now list it on the menu. The national market has grown enough that even brewing giants Anheuser-Busch and Miller have gotten into the act.
If you don't care for beer you probably won't like non-alcoholic beer, although you might try a few brands just to see. If you do like beer, you still may not care for non-alcoholic beer. After all, the alcohol in beer adds a certain taste, body and zest, not to mention the after-effect, and with it removed the brew is similar, but not the same. However, if non-alcoholic beer is evaluated on it's own merits, it comes out as quite an excellent beverage (some may like it better than beer) and one well suited to the runner or other endurance athlete.
A 12 ounce bottle contains about 50-110 calories (depending on brand) derived from 8-18 grams of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein. The alcohol content is listed as below 0.5 percent by volume and analysis indicate that many brands contain substantially less. In short, these brews pack all the nutrition of beer, but lack the alcohol.
One can argue the merits of different beer brands endlessly and never solve anything. The same can be said for non-alcoholic beer. The only way to determine what you prefer is to taste and compare.Ý My personal favorites among domestic brands include Sharp's and Firestone, with O'Doul's and Texas Select following fairly closely. Kingsbury Brew and Goetz Near Beer are simply awful. Among the imported brands, Clausthaler, St. Pauli NA, Haake Beck and Buckler are excellent, and Kaliber, Moussy and several others are quite good.
As a general rule, if you prefer imported regular beer over domestic varieties, the same will hold true for non-alcoholic beer and for the same reasons. Domestic brands cost about the same as domestic premium beer and imported brands cost about the same as imported beer.
Non-alcoholic beer will never be a big seller. Most people will always prefer regular beer. But if you've been out on a long run on a hot day and don't wish to consume alcohol, a cold non-alcoholic brew of two can be mighty refreshing.
August 1991
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