DIÄTBIER

Pronunciation guide for English-speakers:
"dee-ate-beer" (pronounce the "ä" like the "a" in "bad")

Definition:
Literary "diet beer," Diätbier is specially-brewed for people suffering from diabetes, a condition that is characterized by the body's inability to process glucose normally. Glucose is a type of sugar — a carbohydrate, that happens to be present in wort (the sugary run-off extracted from malted grains in the brewers mash tun) — but is converted almost completely into alcohol and carbon dioxyde by brewers yeast during fermentation. The result is a beer that is extremely low in residual carbohydrate content. It has a low physiological caloric value nas well. Because of the way diet beer is made, even though it has nearly no residual sugar, it has approximately the same alcohol content as a comparable regular beer.

The cells of the human body depend on glucose as their main source of energy. A hormone, called insulin that is made by the pancreas regulates the supply of glucose in the blood stream. In so-called type-1 diabetis, the pancreas makes too little insulin, while in type-2 diabetis it makes sufficient amounts, but the body is unable to use it efficiently. In either case, glucose levels in the bloodstream can rise abnormally, causing such symptoms as excessive urination, extreme thirst, and severe weight loss.

It is obvious that any residual, that is, unfermented, amount of glucose in beer would constitute an increased risk for diabetics. Diätbier, therefore, relies on specialty yeasts that ferment beer to the very finish. The total amount of carbohydrates in Diätbier is a mere 0.75%, compared to around 3% in regular beer. In brewers' language, such low-carb beers are termed extremely "dry."

Medical researchers have also observed that moderate beer consumption stimulates the pancreas into increasing its production of insulin weith the resulting reduction in blood sugars levels — clearly a plus for type-1 diabetics.

Beer in general, and Diätbier in particular — and, incidentally, Kristallweizen (filtered, yeast-free wheat ales — are very low in a group of substances called purines. In Diätbier, they are virtually non-existant. Purines are elements formed of nucleic acids that are found in such genetic materials as DNA. When ingested with food, however, purines are reduced to ureic acid and excreted by the kidneys. Any malfunction in the purine reduction process can lead to the accumulation of ureic acid in the blood stream, which, in turn, can cause deposits of uric acid crystals in the joints — a painful affliction known as gout. Diätbier, therfore, makes it possible even for gout-ridden people to enjoy a glass of beer.

Dätbier is commonly available in Germany but usually not exported to North America.