Non-Alcoholic Beer Is Probably Not The Future Of Sports Drinks

Imagine a world, where exhausted athletes were handed squeeze bottles full of beer. Where marathon runners snatched plastic cups loaded with stout. Where Super Bowl winning coaches were doused with coolers full of hoppy, bubbly, pale ale. It's not an impossible dream, sports fans. It's here.

A German brewery is positioning its product, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, as the newest generation of sports drinks. "Alkoholfrei" means, naturally, alcohol-free. But just because something won't get you drunk doesn't automatically make it a competitor to Gatorade. That's what Erdinger is trying to do, handing it to athletes on the podium and distributing it in the finishing area of distance races.

An "isotonic, vitamin-rich, no-additive beverage with natural regenerative powers" is how they're pitching it, and while there's something to be said for carbohydrates, there's also something to be said for the numerous other sports drinks which won't give you horrible, horrible gas after you've run a few miles.

The best endorsement a professor can give the Erdinger: "it's better than a regular beer" for hydration. So is drinking your own urine. To be fair, no one ever said O'Doul's is better than regular beer for anything, so maybe this is progress. (It's still up for debate whether O'Doul's is better than drinking your own urine, flavorwise.)

Athletes quaff no-alcohol beer as sport drink [AP] A Non-Alcoholic Beer As A Sports Drink? Now I've Heard Everything [Sportress Of Blogitude]