Can You Drink Beer on a Low-Carb Diet?

Beer is made from grains, which contain a lot of carbs. While drinking beer isn't possible if you're cutting out carbs entirely, you can drink beer if you are just on a low-carb diet.

Low-carb diets have frequently been trendy over the last few decades. Beer, on the other hand, has been around for centuries. What about the carbs in beer, though? Beer is made from grains, which contain a lot of carbs. So, is it possible to drink beer on a low-carb diet?

While drinking beer isn’t possible if you’re cutting out carbs entirely, you can drink beer if you are just on a low-carb diet. The beer-making process helps remove some of the carbs, allowing you to still fit in a beer or two even when you’re trying to cut down on carbohydrates.

Beer has been around for thousands of years. While the exact method of brewing and ingredients used have varied throughout history, the overall process has remained mostly the same.

Beer ingredients

To make beer, you need four primary ingredients:

• Malted cereals, like barley or rye
• Water
• Hops (a type of plant that adds flavor and aroma)
• Yeast

Steps involved in making beer

Before brewing can begin, the cereal grains need to be malted. To accomplish this, the grain kernels are steeped in water so certain enzymes will activate, a process called germination. After this, the kernels are dried and heated to stop germination and reduce the risk of spoilage. Once the cereal has been malted, the beer can be brewed.

Steps one and two: Milling and mashing the malted grain

To begin, the grains are mixed with warm water to make a mixture called a mash. The mash needs to be kept at a specific temperature and pH level to allow the necessary reactions to happen.

Step three: Filtering

Once the mash is ready, the spent grains are separated from the soluble extract, which is called wort. The wort is then transferred to a container so it can be boiled.

Step four: Boiling

While the wort is boiling, additional ingredients are added to give the beer its flavor. This often includes hops, which are cone-shaped, green flowers from the Humulus lupulus plant. These flowers contain lupulin glands, which hold resins and oils that give beer its bitterness and flavor. Other spices may be added for flavor as well.

Once the wort has been boiled, insoluble components are removed, and after it has cooled, it goes into the fermenter.

Step five: Fermentation

For fermentation to occur, yeast needs to be added to the wort. This sets off a chain reaction that helps give the beer flavor. The first stage of fermentation takes about ten days and produces what’s called “green beer.” 

After this stage, most of the yeast is removed, and then the beer moves to a maturation tank, where it sits at low temperatures of 30–41°F (-1–5°C). 

The amount of time that the beer sits in this tank depends on the type of beer the brewer is making. Beer that sits in the tank for several days creates ale, while beer that is in the tank for a few weeks becomes lager beer.  

Carbohydrates, or carbs, are one of three types of macronutrients that your body needs to stay healthy. The other two macronutrients are fats and protein.

Fiber, starches, and sugars are all types of carbohydrates. When you eat these, your digestive system breaks the carbs down into glucose. This glucose is then absorbed into your bloodstream for your body to use as energy.

Eating too many carbs at one time, though, can cause your blood sugar to spike. High blood sugar levels can then increase your risk of developing diabetes. On the other hand, if you don't get enough carbs, you can end up with blood sugar that’s too low.

You may have heard carbs described as “simple” or “complex.” Complex carbs contain longer chains of molecules than simple carbs, and they are broken down more slowly. Because your body has to turn these complex carbs into glucose more slowly, they are less likely to spike your blood sugar levels. 

Starches and fiber are complex carbs, and you can find them in:

• Beans and legumes, like chickpeas and lentils
• Fruits, like apples and berries
• Nuts and seeds, like almonds and peanuts
• Whole-grain products, like brown rice and whole-wheat bread
• Vegetables, like corn and lima beans

Simple carbohydrates, in contrast, are much easier for your body to break down. Because they’re so easy for your body to turn into glucose, they can cause your blood sugar to spike quickly. Sugars, for example, are classified as simple carbohydrates.

Experts still don’t know how healthy low- or no-carb diets are. These types of diets may be more beneficial for some people than others.

Many people use low-carb diets as a way to lose weight. Low-carb diets often focus on eating protein and non-starchy vegetables. The hope is that if you reduce your carb intake, your body will burn fat for energy. Unfortunately, most studies have shown that while low-carb diets can help you lose weight in the short term, they don’t have much benefit after 12–24 months.

Diets that focus on healthy sources of carbs, fats, and protein, though, can be great for lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

The ketogenic (keto) diet, which is a high-fat and low- or no-carb diet, is sometimes recommended for people with epilepsy. Seizures occur if neurons fire when they aren’t supposed to, and since glucose is the primary source of energy for your brain, the keto diet can reduce the activity of neurotransmitters in your brain. This makes it less likely that a patient will have a seizure.

Because beer is made from grain, it contains carbs. The number of carbs in the beer will depend on the brand and type of beer, though. The carb count can be influenced by:

• Added sugars
• The type of grains used
• The type of yeast used

Fortunately, by the time the beer has been fully processed, a lot of the sugar has been removed. A standard 12-ounce serving of 5% beer will typically have between 10–20 grams of carbs. Many companies also make low-carb beer options now, which (according to federal standards) can’t contain more than 7 grams of carbs per serving. 

While beer isn’t an option if you’re cutting out carbs entirely, then, you can easily fit the occasional beer into a low-carb diet.