Special Report: Beer with benefits?

"Boston is one of the great beer towns in the United States, it's got a very diverse palate", says Lawrence Schwartz of Stampede Light Beer.

But let's not forget Boston is also a hub for health. And now one man says he's combined the two, in the first-ever beer infused with vitamins.

Schwartz says, "Beer naturally has a lot of vitamins, and great health benefits, but we decided to put back in the vitamins that your body depletes when you drink alcohol."

Stampede Light beer is enhanced with B vitamin, folic acid and other essential vitamins. And while it's unclear whether or not the vitamins can help stamp out those pesky hangovers, some drinkers say it's worth a shot!

Jeffrey Cain says, "Most of the time if you drink too many beers you wake up with a headache, so if the beer has vitamins in it, you won't wake up with a headache."

Glen Williams says, "Getting vitamins with your beer, its a little odd, don't you think?"

But according to Jen Buford, "If all you are going to do is drink beer to get your vitamins, I don't think it's a great idea. If your having a beer with a hamburger a few extra vitamins is not gonna hurt anything."

But not everyone is a believer, including the founder of Boston's own Harpoon Brewery.

Rich Doyle says "You don't have to put vitamins in beer, you don't have to put things in to make it healthier than it is. To make claims you have to justify it, So I assume they have their ducks in a row, but I'm not the doctor."

So what does a doctor think?

Dr. Caroline Apovian says, "I'm not sure its gonna help or hurt someone who drinks a beer now and again, but it's not a bad idea. I think you're not going to reverse too much alcohol with a B vitamin, so I'm not sure its going help hangovers."

While Beantown will always be in the market for a new brew, We'll have to wait and see if vitamin enriched beer is the way to go.

Schwartz says, "If you are going to drink, why not drink something that actually has got something back in it, and that's good stuff like vitamins."

Stampede should be available in Massachusetts by the end of the summer.

Stampede Beer

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