Some beers, particularly ones with a high IBU, can help settle your stomach by promoting digestion and perhaps even improving your overall gut health, both of which can help with uncomfortable indigestion issues.
Beer is not helpful in treating gas, stomach ulcers, or heartburn, and drinking to soothe a hangover will only delay the inevitable.
Beer can promote digestion and therefore settle an upset stomach if that upset stomach comes from indigestion. Beer is a complex substance and there are several components that can, in the right doses, improve overall gut health as well.
In small doses, ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, promotes the creation of gastric acids which break down food. This can help digest a big meal no matter what type of alcohol you’re drinking.
If you’ve ingested enough alcohol the day before to be hungover the next day, your stomach may be irritated from the sheer volume of alcohol you drank. Drinking more alcohol certainly won’t help that stomach irritation.
These gas bubbles can make your stomach feel full or bloated, and also cause burping. Because of this, beer and all other carbonated beverages should be avoided when stomach gas is an issue.
Generally speaking, beer (or alcohol of any kind) is not a suggested source of relief from existing stomach ulcers because alcohol can delay the healing process of existing ulcers.
Because bitter hops in beer contribute strongly to settling one’s stomach, more bitter styles of beer can potentially have a greater positive effect on the digestive process.