Scientists believe that certain beers bursting with probiotic microbes might help drinkers fight obesity, sleep better, and life healthier lives.

According to research conducted by the University of Nebraska and reported by numerous international media sources, examples of these “healthy” beers include: Belgian Hoegaarden, Westmalle Tripel and Echt Kriekenbier.

Unlike most beers, these brands are fermented twice – once in the brewery and again in the bottle. The second fermentation uses a different strain of yeast to the traditional brewer’s yeast. This yeast doesn’t just convert the sugar in the grain into alcohol, it also makes acids that are poisonous to bacteria that can make us ill.

Professor Eric Claassen, a gut bacteria expert from Amsterdam University, said: ‘You are getting a stronger beer that is very, very healthy.” However, he adds that drinkers should not use this as a license to drink more.

However, according to a report in Stat News, all is not clear in regards to probiotics and as to their worth as a supplement.

Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel conducted a study in September 2018, published in the Cell journal, to determine the effectiveness of probiotics, which are live bacteria meant to boost the immune system, prevent disease and repair the adverse effects of antibiotics by colonizing the good bacteria along the digestive tract. The report found that probiotics might do little.

“I strongly, strongly question why the general public takes probiotics when medical evidence to this routine is not really available,” said Eran Elinav, an immunology researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.