Beer Brands Alcohol Content
Beer experts: does Newcastle Brown Ale pose any unusual health risks?
I was at a bar I hadn’t been to in a couple years last night and an old friend was bartending. I’ve been drinking a lot of Newcastle the past 2 years because I get the stuff dirt cheap ($2.50/pint) at my favorite pub.
My friend (who is Irish) freaked out when I ordered a Newcastle. She said that it causes mental health problems and has high aluminum content in it. She says people are hospitalized for drinking too much of the stuff. And then, being a Irish bartender, promptly put a Smithwicks in front of me and said “drink!”
It sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me and a quick search didn’t return any thing on the subject. So does anyone know of any health risks associated with drinking lots of Newcastle or know of people deliberately trying to tarnish the brand name with this kind of rumor?
(in b4 15 year old tells me, “I heard alcohol is bad for you so you should stop)
See ***** @ bottom of page
I tend to like the answers that say BS/rubbish. The number one thing that New Castle Brown Ale (sounds good about now) suffers from is oxidation, well at least our imported stock. I am unaware of any metal(s) issues with this beer.
“In 1997, the World Health Organization said that it had found no evidence that aluminum was a health risk for healthy people who were not in contact with aluminum because of their jobs, and there was no evidence that aluminum was a primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease.”
http://www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling/packagingbranch/aluminum_qanda/
“The Food Standards Agency regularly measures the average amount of aluminum in the UK diet. In the most recent survey we’ve carried out, dietary intakes of aluminum were well within the safety guideline set by the World Health Organization.”
ALUMINIUM had been long ago debunked for a cause of mental health concern. I suppose if one were to eat it as we eat a chocolate bar problems could present themselves. How much is too much for a to be or currently pregnant women? I don’t know. I wonder if this is your friends’ concern. I have not seen any negative reports in the brewing trade magazines/periodicals that I receive about the issue or this particular beer. An average barley analysis is so low for aluminum content/concentration, it is not an issue. For hops I believe this to be true as well but need to confirm it.
Sources of ALUMINIUM
Plants have been reported (nothing new) to up-take aluminum from soil and from water. Barley and perhaps hops have or may done/do the same. Aluminum is added to some foods during processing. Additives (food additives) contain aluminum to improve texture (processed cheese, baked goods, and powdered foods).
Aluminum may find its way into food from cookware but this too has been proven false or not harmful. A concern with foods and aluminum cookware is discoloration. And acid foods (tomato sauces) stored ion aluminum will pit the metal.
Other: Ethyl alcohol can contribute to mental illness.
Aluminum in foods:
Low and variable nutrition source in foods.
It is a component of some antacids and leavening agent (sodium aluminum sulfate Na2SO4 . Al2(SO4)3).
Texture modifier.
Beer nothing of concern. Well on another note…
Some beer haze research has reveled large amounts of aluminum. However, it is copper and iron that appear to be the main metal contributors to catalysis of oxidation. Makes this curious why aluminum is at the issue. The oxidation of this beer is well known yet this metal is not a major contributor to the condition.
*****Finally, Finally*****
Ask her if she is referring to aluminum oxide fibers. She may be confusing it (used in filtering beer and wine sometimes) with asbestos. Asbestos was used at some point years back to filter some beer and wines (in the UK anyway). But is has since been replaced and she may be confusing the issue.
I could C&P reference material from industry sources but this is frowned upon by the under-educated here.
Not only am I correct but the thumbs down is case in point of the level of immaturity on Yahoo Answers. Are you too going to thumbs down your teachers and later when you (hopefully) attend college, professors, when they too attempt to/at teaching you something?
1960s Colt Malt Liquor commercial