Drinking water between beers and why it helps

Water does three useful jobs

A glass of water between beers helps in three separate ways. It slows your pace, because a hand holding water is not reaching for the next pint. It rinses your palate, so the next beer tastes like itself and not like the last one. It replaces some of the fluid you lose, which matters on a hot evening.

None of these needs a lot of water. A 200 to 250 ml glass for every beer is a sensible rhythm. Ask for a jug when you order your first beer. Any decent bar will bring one.

Pace is the biggest benefit

Most people drink to a rhythm, not a plan. Put a full glass of beer in front of them and they finish it in about the same time whatever is in it. Alternate beer with water and the evening stretches. Three beers that would have taken ninety minutes take two and a half hours.

That matters because your liver clears alcohol at a fairly steady rate, often quoted as roughly one UK unit an hour. A 500 ml glass of 5% beer is 2.5 units. Drinking more slowly does not change the total alcohol, but it gives your body more time with each glass and keeps the peak lower.

Water resets the palate between styles

Beer leaves things behind on the tongue. Hop bitterness lingers. Roasted malt coats. Residual sugar from a strong ale builds up glass after glass. Alcohol itself adds warmth that dulls the next sip. A mouthful of plain water clears most of it.

Room temperature water rinses better than ice cold water, which can numb the tongue for a minute. Still water is the usual choice at tastings. Sparkling water scrubs harder, which some tasters like before a delicate lager. Our guide to palate cleansers compares water with crackers and bread.

If the water itself tastes of chlorine or minerals, it will colour what you taste next. Bottled or filtered water is safer for a serious tasting.

What water cannot do

Water does not dilute the alcohol already in your blood in any way that makes you more sober. It does not lower your blood alcohol level for driving. It does not stop a hangover if you drink a lot. It simply spaces your drinks out and keeps you from being thirsty, which tends to mean you drink less.

That distinction is worth being blunt about. Plenty of people believe that matching every beer with water makes it safe to drive afterwards. It does not. Only time lowers blood alcohol.

Water also does nothing for the alcohol you have not drunk yet. If the beer in front of you is a 10% imperial stout, two glasses of water will not make it a session beer. Pick the pour size for the strength first. Use water to space out what you have chosen.

Heat makes water more useful

On a 35 °C afternoon in a beer garden you lose fluid through sweat faster than usual. Cold beer feels refreshing but it is not a substitute for water. Alcohol suppresses a hormone called vasopressin, which normally tells the kidneys to hold on to water. The stronger the drink, the bigger the effect.

So the hotter the day, the more the water habit pays off. Start with a full glass before your first beer, keep a bottle on the table and refill it. Our guide to beer in hot weather covers the dehydration question in more detail.

Make it easy to keep the habit

Habits stick when they are effortless. A few tricks help:

• Order water at the same time as your first beer, so it arrives together.
• Ask for a jug for the table rather than a single glass.
• Finish the water before you order the next beer.
• At home, put a jug of water next to the bottle opener.

At tastings we pour water for every guest before the first beer arrives. Nobody has to ask and nobody feels singled out for drinking it.

Start with your next round

The next time you are at a bar, order a glass of water with your first beer and finish it before the second. Notice how long the evening lasts and how the second beer tastes. That one round is the whole experiment.

Common questions

Does drinking water between beers stop you getting drunk?

No. It slows your pace and keeps you hydrated but it does not remove alcohol from your blood. Only time does that.

How much water should I drink between beers?

A glass of about 200 to 250 ml for each beer is a sensible rhythm. Drink more in hot weather.

Is sparkling or still water better between beers?

Still water is the usual choice at tastings. Sparkling water scrubs the palate harder, which some people prefer before light beers.

Can I drive if I drank water with every beer?

No. Water does not lower your blood alcohol level. Plan a cab or a sober driver.