According to a new study conducted by the University of California, Davis, drinking beer could be good for your bones. Silicon, which is a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density, is also contained in beer. The UC Davis study tested 100 commercial beers to discover which types of beer contain the highest amounts of silicon.
The silicon content in all the beers tested averaged 29.4 milligrams per liter (mg/L). India Pale Ales had the highest subgroup average with 41.2 mg/L, while regular ales averaged 32.8 mg/L. Regular lagers averaged a silicon content of just 23.7 mg/L, while light lagers averaged just 17.2 mg/L. Basically, beers with the highest levels of malted barley and hops were generally the richest in silicon content.
When studies that point out the virtues in what was originally thought to be a pure vice are made public, it can help to boost sales of the product. Research such as that published in a Harvard study linking coffee consumption with reduced risk of prostate cancer is thought to have helped coffee sales spike. Similarly, studies that show the anti-aging effects of resveratrol found chiefly in red wine were said to have had a positive effect on wine sales.
So, could we start seeing a bounce in beer sales based on consumer desire to get substantive amounts of silicon in their diets? Well, given the consumer penchant for health fads, I definitely think we could see a spike in beer sales — even if those beer sales are in lower silicon-content beers such as lagers. And which companies stand to benefit most from this beer, bone and silicon study? Well, the big brewers certainly are well positioned.
Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) could see a nice silicon bounce, as could the 800-lb gorilla in the space, Anheuser Busch Inbev (BUD). But the real winner could be premium brewer Boston Beer Co. (SAM), makers of the Samuel Adams brand. The company’s flagship product is Samuel Adams Boston Lager, but it also makes a slew of premium beers including Samuel Adams Pale Ale — the beer type with the highest average silicon content.
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