(TheDrinksBusiness) - Sapporo Breweries-backed study shows that beer contains chemicals that could counter colds. As the majority of us continue to trudge through the cold, virus-heavy winter months, sniffling and sneezing, a warm ray of hope shines out from Japan. Sapporo Breweries, one of the country’s oldest beer makers, funded a study that has discovered that hops – one of beer’s primary ingredients – contain a chemical that could counter the virus that causes cold-like symptoms.