"The beer belly" is a misnomer as the beer per se does contain many calories.

But beer is indeed an appetite stimulant and its consume can lead to storing pounds.

Beer also has high levels of purines, which boost the levels of uric acid in the joints, aggravating the gout.

Black beer was once promoted as a rich source of iron, but just like the spinach, proved to contain only 1.1mgm of iron in every pint. So, we should stick to red meat.

Still, a daily pint of black beer is said to reduce heart clots and the risk of heart attacks.

Still, beer is one of the richest sources of silicon and boron, two oligominerals necessary for healthy bones, and also of B vitamins, especially B3, necessary to help release energy from food.

But some recently discovered additional health benefits of the beer seem to overpass the effects of the wine.

Dr. Margo A. Denke, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, has found that beer contains beneficial levels of polyphenols that are similar to those encountered in red wine and, surprisingly, by five times the levels found in the white wine.

Polyphenols are antioxidants found for increasing good cholesterol and stop certain cancers.

Moreover, a team at Oregon State University recently found that hops, one of the main ingredients in beer aimed to give it the bitter taste, contain isoflavinoids, plant estrogens known to inhibit prostate, breast and colon cancer.

As beer is made of grain, it has some protein.

But craft beer, the artisan beer brewed in small batches by independent brewers, is typically not filtered, so it's a "soup" of proteins, vitamins and minerals from the yeast. "Beer is 93 % water, no fat, no cholesterol, no triglycerides, no sugar. (Beer has) significant amounts of magnesium and potassium and other minerals as well as vitamins B2, B6 and folic acid.", said Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, a practicing physician and medical journalist in Toronto.