Does Beer Have Sugar? Beer Types and Sugar Content 

Sugar and carbohydrates

To better understand the topic of beer and sugar, it is important to clarify what sugar is. 

Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrate. Other forms of carbohydrates are fruits, legumes, vegetables, or fiber. Carbohydrates are one of the building blocks of our diet. Along with protein and fat, they are referred to as macronutrients.  

The liver primarily breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars to provide important energy to your body. However, too many carbohydrates can result in your liver storing this extra energy in the form of cholesterol.  

The metabolism of sugar  

When we consume carbohydrates, their digestion starts in our mouths. An enzyme, called amylase starts breaking down the carbohydrates.  

They get broken down into their simplest form, monosaccharides. Later in the digestion process, the monosaccharides will be absorbed into the blood.  

As a result, blood sugar levels increase, prompting the pancreas to release insulin, which signals our cells to absorb the monosaccharides, allowing us to utilize them for energy (2). 

To digest any carbohydrate, whether simple or complex, our bodies must break them down into simple monosaccharides. This means that even oligosaccharides or polysaccharides will be broken down into monosaccharides and eventually lead to a rise in blood sugar.  

Does beer have sugar? If yes, how much sugar is in beer? 

The amount of carbohydrates can vary between beers. Stouts, porters, and Guinness have the highest carbohydrate levels, often exceeding 20 grams per pint (16 ounces). 

Real ales have between 10 to 20 grams of carbohydrates per pint and lagers have 10 to 15 grams per pint.  

The beers with the lowest carbohydrate content are light. Light beers contain less than 10 grams and in some cases even less than 5 grams of carbohydrates per pint (3). 

How does sugar get into beer?  

To answer this question, we need to explore the beer manufacturing process  

1. The first step is the creation of a mash, a mixture of grain and water. Malted barley is the most popular grain to be added. Rice, wheat, or corn can also be added. After the grains and water are mixed, the mash is heated up. 
2. At this point, enzymes break down the starches in the grain into sugar. This new mixture, called wort, is strained. 
3. After the mixture cools, the yeast is added. Adding the yeast starts the fermentation process, which results in the production of alcohol and carbon dioxide. 
4. The last step is the carbonation. This is done by adding carbon dioxide under pressure to the bottled beer, or by adding a little bit of sugar to each bottle (4). 

Now the question remains how much sugar is in beer? The amount of sugar in a serving of beer is determined by the amount of sugar that is broken down by the enzymes to produce alcohol (5). 

There are different yeasts used for different types of beers (6). Each yeast leads to a different amount of sugar in the end product.  

Thus, the sugar and alcohol content in a can of beer can vary depending on which yeast is used (7). The remaining carbs in the beer are oligosaccharides, which the body cannot digest (8). 

Beer companies can also add sugar directly to enhance the flavor of the beer or drink.  

Can people with diabetes drink beer? 

For many, enjoying alcoholic beverages including beer is a part of life they are hesitant to give up. But what happens if you are suddenly struck with the diagnosis of diabetes? Does this mean you have to give up this habit completely? 

The answer is no. People with diabetes can drink beer as much as healthy individuals can. There are just some things to keep in mind when you reach for that bottle of lager.  

Drinking alcohol affects the body’s glucose metabolism. The liver is the organ that regulates glucose breakdown and synthesis, and tightly controls blood glucose levels.  

However, the liver also breaks down alcohol and processes alcohol before regulating glucose. When this happens, our blood glucose can drop very low, resulting in hypoglycemia.  

Unfortunately, the symptoms of hypoglycemia and alcohol intoxication are quite similar. Confusion or difficulty walking are some of the symptoms that can occur.  

That’s why a person could be mistaken for being drunk when they are experiencing the symptoms of dangerously low blood sugar.  

That’s why it is important for people with diabetes to continuously check their blood sugar when drinking alcohol (9).  

Light beer 

Light beers were created to offer an alternative type of beer for people who would rather avoid the high caloric and carbohydrate content of regular beers.  

The most popular way to produce light beers involves using the enzyme glucoamylase. Glucoamylase is added during or before the fermentation process, transforming carbs through metabolization into fermentable sugars. This leads to the reduction of calories and alcohol content of the end product (3).  

Beers with no sugar 

Here are some examples of sugar-free beers or lower-sugar options: 

(10, 11, 12)

Is alcohol high in sugar? 

What about that cocktail you like to drink on weekends? How many grams of sugar does it have? In fact, alcohol is the end product of the fermentation of sugars.  

To produce vodka, for example, the sugars in potatoes are used to extract alcohol. Essentially, alcohol itself does not contain sugars; sugars are just necessary for its production. 

Depending on added sugars, the sugar content of alcoholic beverages can vary (13). 

Besides that, even if a drink doesn’t have a high sugar content, it can still contain carbohydrates that will eventually turn into sugar in the body (14, 2).  

However, it is important to keep in mind that alcoholic beverages often contain added sugar to improve the taste. This added sugar can lead to high sugar content in many alcoholic drinks (15).  

What has more sugar than beer?  

Many foods have much more sugar than beer, some of which are popular and considered healthy or harmless. Here are some examples of foods with surprisingly high amounts of sugar in a 100-gram serving: 

• Ketchup (21.8 g) (16) 
• Sports drinks (5.24 g) (17)  
• Granola (17.9 g) (18) 
• White bread (5.67 g) (19) 
• Jam (48.5 g) (20) 
• Whole milk (5.05 g) (21) 
• Orange juice and fruit juices (20 g) (14) 
• Butter croissant (11.3 g) (22)