I recently read an article on Gout that said that beer is higher in purines than any other alcoholic beverage. The author deduced that there is some other ingredient in beer that contains the majority of the purines because other alcoholic drinks have much lower purine counts. The article also went on to say that Homebrew had a substantially lower purine count than commerically produced beer. I figured who better to ask than BA Homebrewers. Any clarity is greatly appreciated.
I believe any purines in beer would come from the yeast. In that case i would think that commercial beer would have a lower concentration because they do more to filter yeast out of their beer than homebrewers do. Just a guess.
A quick consultation with Dr. Google reveals that yeast is a super-rich source of purines; filtered or well fined beer should be easier to take. In these sort of matters, we are all an 'experiment of one'. Keep careful records of everything you consume and how you feel for a few weeks. YMMV. For the record, I've been homebrewing and drinking possibly excessive amounts of homebrew for over 25 years, and while my bodyweight has increased somewhat as a result of this regimen, I have never had any problems with gout. The Germans think that wheat beers are easier on gout; no scientific basis as far as I know.
