It's official - beer is good for you

Major misconceptions about the qualities of beer have been revealed in a national survey.

According to a poll of 2,000 people by education group the Beer Academy, 68 per cent consider beer to be Britain's national drink.

But many think it is fattening or made from chemicals.

A quarter of people asked wrongly said that they believed red wine contains more vitamins. And on top of that 10 per cent incorrectly stated that they think that beer contains fat.

A total of 13 per cent thought beer was made from chemicals and only two per cent of people realise that beer is a source of silicon - which is good for bone strength.

Beer expert and Publican​ columnist Pete Brown said: "Still we persist in the myth that somehow beer is an inferior drink to foreign imports such as wine. From government receptions, through to weddings and business occasions wine, rather than beer is served.

"It has been fashionable to look down on our own national drink in favour of overseas imports. But to do that is to turn our backs on our great British success story and our own heritage, and miss out on the myriad tastes and complexities that beer can offer."

The Beer Academy report also stresses that beer is one of the healthiest drinks available as a good source of vitamins fibre and with a relatively low calorific value.

Professor Jonathan Powell, head of MRC human nutrition research at Cambridge, discovered the links between silicon and bone density.

He said: "Silicon is found in large amounts in the husk of barley the very substance that is used in the beer making process and is dissolved into the fluid of beer. Even so we were surprised that some of the beers we tested were literally drenched with silicic acid - silicon."

For more information about beer and its benefits visit: www.beeracademy.co.uk​