Is Beer Acidic or Alkaline?
Beer (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance. Nearly neutral. Beer has a PRAL of −0.4 per 100 ml, so it plays no role in your acid-base balance, though it does matter for your liver and your calorie balance.
Classification
Beer is mostly water, plus alcohol, residual sugar and a little potassium from the malt. That comes to −0.4 per 100 ml, a neutral value. It's no argument for drinking: alcohol and the 38 kcal per 100 ml don't factor into the PRAL at all. On a snack platter, cheese, sausage and bread determine the balance anyway, not the glass next to them.
In the Drinks category, beer (prepared) ranks #43 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Sports drink (−0.4), Peppermint tea (−0.4), Herbal liqueur (−0.5). More acid-forming are Alcohol-free beer (−0.4), Black tea (−0.3), Herbal tea (−0.3).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is beer acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Beer (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.4 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does beer count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.4 per 100 ml, beer is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Beer logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.