Leave it to our spiritual Commonwealth brothers up north, the Canadians, to come up with a low-alcohol, protein-packed ‘fit beer’. They expect it to be marketed as a sports’ drink later this year, if funding allows… and it’s hard to imagine an idea this good failing.

The Lean Machine recovery ale, created by a genius team of food scientists at Vampt, is a healthy alternative to traditional ales, with only 77 calories, 7 calories, and 7 grams of protein. Rumours say that there’ll be only 0.5 percent alcohol by volume, but I know that can’t be right. And it’s enriched with nutrients, antioxidants and electrolytes to help replenish the body and let it recover after a good workout.

As you probably know, when we exercise, we lose fluid and electrolytes through sweat as the body tries to cool down. We also draw down our small stores of carbohydrates and proteins as we put our muscles to work. Sports drinks, which are full of carbs, sodium and all sorts of nutrients to keep our bodies hydrated and energized during and after exercise have traditionally been the best solution. But beer could also do that, if it is made the right way.

There are already a number of relevant studies, mostly undertaken by Australian  and German universities, but all I really want to know is how soon will it be ready? and why didn’t we come up with this ages ago?

Matt Derody

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