It’s Oktober Fest! On the eve of the celebration of this much loved German beverage, let’s take a close look at its uses and benefits.

1. Beer can be used instead of fresh cream or milk in many recipes, thus reducing the proportion of saturated fats as well as the number of calories.

2. Beer is an amazing source of vitamin Bs and was even recommended to pregnant women for decades for that very reason until it was decided women should refrain from drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

3. Did you know? Beer can improve bone density (the Tutt U study conducted in 2009 showed that a moderate beer consumption could improve bone mineral density).

4. Choose an unpasteurised and unfiltered beer for best benefits, as pasteurisation destroys the nutritional components and filtration eliminates the yeast (that provides all the B vitamins).

5. Beer contains very little sugar! With just 1 teaspoon in half a pint, it is  significantly less than the 7 teaspoons of sugar in a can of Cola or the 6 teaspoons of a cup a orange juice.

6. Contrary the urban legend, a moderate consumption of beer will not give you a “beer belly” (University of London study conducted with over 2000 regular moderate beer drinkers, moderate = 1 small bottle a day, no more!)

7. Beer, when drank in moderation, could even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. A study published in 2008 in the Food & Chemical Toxicology magazine showed that the silicium levels beer holds could help counterbalance the damage caused by aluminium in our body that has been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

8. Beer can help give you good skin and protect against sun damage. Where wine is a marvelous source of polyphenols, antioxidants associated with cardiovascular health, beer, made from barley, contains high levels of ferulic acid. This compound has proven  abilities to protect against sun damage.

Beware however, never to drink more than a pint a day (a moderate consumption is an average of ½ pint a day). A greater consumption could lead to memory losses for men over the age of 50, a paunchy belly (just like with any other alcohol by the way), etc.

3 lovely beer based recipes we love:

Basic sauce for meat

This recipe can be used for any kind of meat. You can add spices, mustard, dried fruit, etc… let your you imagination and creativity take over!

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 40 min

Ingredients (for 4 people):

• 20 cl soya cream or low fat creme fraiche
• 6 to 8 onions
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 25 cl white beer (Hoegaarden)
• salt, pepper

Steps:

• Slice the onions
• In a frying pan warm up the rapeseed oil and cook the onions until golden
• Once the onions have caramelised, pour the beer over them.
• Mix well and reduce for 20 to 30 minutes Bien
• Pour the cream in the pan, let it warm up for 2-3 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Serve warm with the meat.

Belgian mussels with in beer with blue cheese

Preparation time: 30 min
Cooking time: 14 min

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 1 kg cleaned mussels
• 1 tbsp non hydrogenated margarine
• 1 large yellow onions sliced thinly
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 minced celery stick
• 1 minced small carrot
• 1 beer (1 medium sized bottle)
• 100g blue cheese (optional, if you remove the cheese you will have a classic beer mussels recipe)
• Salt and pepper (go easy on the salt as mussels are naturally quite salty already)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Steps:

• In a large cooking pot, melt the margarine and cook the onions, the carrot and celery gently for 3 minutes
• Add the beer and bring to the boil.
• Add the mussels and the parsley. Mix well and cover the pot.
• Cook on medium heat until all the mussels have opened.
• Remove the mussels from the pot.
• Mix the cheese in the remaining liquid (juice from the mussels and beer) and let it melt on medium heat.
• Return the mussels to the pot.
• Serve immediately!

Beer batter crepes

A very easy way to reduce the saturated fat content of this classic recipe, as well as making crepes that will be much easier to digest!

Preparation time: 10 min + 3 hours rest
Cooking time: 2 minutes per crepe

Ingredients (for 4 people):

500 g flour

• 6 eggs
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp rum
• 25 cl beer
• 50 cl non dairy milk (almond or rice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Steps:

• Mix the salt into the flour. Add the milk progressively mixing with a fork at the same time. Then, add the beer and the oil. Mix well.
• Beat the eggs and add to the mix
• Mix well until obtaining an homogenous batter and add the rum.
• Mix again.
• Let the batter rest for at least 3 hours. (This is the secret to successful crepe making)
• Cook in a frying pan or hot crepe pan
• Serve with lemon juice, maple syrup, ham and cheese, etc….