So apparently beer is better at rehydrating you than just plain water.

Professor Manuel Garzon, a member of Granada’s medical faculty, made the finding after tests on 25 students over several months. Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

[…]

Garzon said that the rehydration effection in those who were given [two half pints of Spanish lager] was “slightly better” than those who were given only water. He also believes that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer’s carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.

[…]

Based on the results of the study, researchers recommend moderate consumption of beer as a part of athletes’ diets. “Moderate consumption” for men is 500ml per day, and for women is 250ml per day.

Make some sense, but let’s not forget that alcohol is a diuretic; plus there’s that whole drunkenness thing. 🙂  So… non-alcoholic beer better for you post-workout? I see the line forming for future studies. 😀

Personally I’ll stick with water during my workouts, but I do like to have a glass of milk post-workout for the same basic reasons as the beer: it will rehydrate, there’s some sugars, and the milk has some protein; all good things to ingest post-workout. Heck, my old dojang was across from a McDonald’s. If after a couple hours of working out I was rather drained I’d sometimes pull through the drive-thru for a small french fries as the potassium in the potatoes, the salt on them, and the simple starches within were all good as a post-workout recharge. Maybe not part of some Olympic-athlete-level diet, but it works for me.

Frankly I think life is good if you enjoy a little of everything now and again — nothing in excess.