Hangovers...

Does homebrew made from liquid extracts always give worse hangovers than mass produced beers? I've had some terrible hangovers from homebrew beers in the past but I don't get them with supermarket beers, so what can I do to lessen the after effects (drinking less is NOT an option)

I'm certainly no expert, but I believe a main reason for big hangovers (headaches) are fusel alcohols that are produced by higher than ideal fermentation temperatures. Try brewing on the cooler side of the ideal temp for what you are brewing...

Yeah I went camping last weekend and it was the first time I had five or six of my own brews in a night. I felt friggin horrible the next day. I don't even remember the last time I had a hangover that bad. Hopefully it is just a coincidence and not the beer.

I think one thing that causes hangovers are fusel alcohols. You will get these in abundance if you let your fermentation get too warm. Controlling your fermentation temp will help to cut these down. That being said, even if you reduce them completely, if your getting plastered every night your going to be hungover whether or not they're are any fusel alcohols.

Brewnscooter is right, the fusel alchols created by high fermentation temps will make you want to swallow a bullet to end the pain.

My experience is just the opposite- I can drink homebrew all day and night long, with no bad effect (except being tired the next day, since I don't sleep well when I've overimbibed), but more than three commercial beers gives me a rip-roaring headache the next day.

The best medicine for a hangover is to drink LOTS and LOTS of water before crashing. Sometimes it's not easy to do (depending on how donk you are) but hangovers are actually caused by dehydration. Ever get really thirsty while working out or while exerting yourself and get an incredible headache?? Same thing.

Oh yeah, a small portion of that water should include some form of electrolyte. I once had a long conversation about this with a friend of mine who's a doctor. Rather amusing since we were both drinking at the time and knew we were on our way to a hangover.

Fermentation temp control, pitching rate, and proper aeration will all guard against production of higher alcohols, though some strains will simply produce more high alcohols than others (Belgian Trappist strains are notorious for producing fusels). A beer which is well aerated (shake that baby for 5 minutes, or better yet, buy an O2 stone), pitched with a neutral yeast like US-05, and fermented in the mid-upper 60's *F will not give you a fusel problem.

I'm with Yooper, I usually get into trouble when I'm not drinking homebrew. My IIPA is an exception, higher gravity beers inevitably will have more fusel alcohols, so I have to limit myself even though it's hard.

I drink a bottle of catorade (16 oz i think) and take 2 asprins before bed if i have more than 4 of my homebrews (6.5% abv on average) and almost never have a hangover. I just wake up 3 hours later and have to pee, and again 4 hours after that.

My experience is just the opposite- I can drink homebrew all day and night long, with no bad effect (except being tired the next day, since I don't sleep well when I've overimbibed), but more than three commercial beers gives me a rip-roaring headache immediately.

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My experience is very similar to Yooper's. And other than not sleeping well after having a few too many...I actually have more overall energy than before I was drinking homebrew. I assume it's the B vitamins? In any case, I just feel healthier in general now that I'm drinking homebrew regularly again. It's magic I tell ya.

EDIT: forgot to add...the higher fusels react with the acidic beer to form esters (dark fruit notes) but it takes a loooong time for it to happen...on the order of months. That's why some big Belgians get so much better with aging...they have a lot of fusels to begin with which after enough time results in a lot of esters.

SMOKEU said:

... so what can I do to lessen the after effects (drinking less is NOT an option)

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I'm witcha, man. When I start drinking homebrew, I tend to throw caution to the wind (it just tastes SO GOOD!!). That's why I tend to brew mostly "session" beers. The fusels can definitely cause some grief, but the plain ol' alcohol causes enough on its own.

Believe it or not, I've never had a headache in my life (nyahh, nyahh!!), so I find it difficult to relate on that level, but I have felt like I was fixin' to die a time or two.

+1 on lowering the fermentation temp. My first brew was way too warm, and besides having some nasty off-tastes to go with it, I got some great headaches from it. Knocking my fermentation temp. in to the low 60s for ales addressed both issues (taste and headaches).

Yoop: I know what you mean. When I was in college, I could get plastered and sleep like a baby. Fast forward to today. Overindulgence leads to me tossing and turning and waking up at 5:30 in the morning.

I know its not easy but try to drink a whole glass of water after every 2 or 3 beers, if you know your gonna drink a lot. It really will make a huge difference. Alcohol is a diuretic which increases the excretion of water from your body which essentially is dehydrating you causing a hangover. Its also good to take some sort of B vitamins before bed. I usually drink a lot of water and then take Emergen- C its a b vitamin supplement powder sold at most stores. Just mix with water and you should be good to go.

A hangover is mainly due to dehydration and loss of B-Vitamin essential for the body. As you drink you are pee-ing out all those b-vits... homebrew has been known to reduce hangovers because of the yeast in the beer (yeast is loaded with b-vits). How to avoid a hangover? Drink two pints of water before going to bed (and hopefully not wet the bed as well! LOL).

YooperBrew said:

My experience is just the opposite- I can drink homebrew all day and night long, with no bad effect (except being tired the next day, since I don't sleep well when I've overimbibed), but more than three commercial beers gives me a rip-roaring headache the next day.

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Same here.

I have a theory - or maybe a superstition. I have yet to get a homebrew hangover; so when coming home from a night of non-homebrew I down a pint on top of whatever I drank while out. So far it works for me, and my neighbor has also tested this theory and it also seems to work for him too.

-OCD

I have to agree with Yooper and the others - I have hardly a hangover with homebrew than with commercial stuff. If I'm really drinking, I'll try to make sure to down a glass of water between each brew (until I forget)!

wake up at 4am and drink two pints of water and take 4 advil. you will be fine by 7am !

I'm a BMC headache type of guy, can't say I avoid commercial brew, but when I drink storebought, it's micro/craft brew. It can't be all about warm fermentation, I haven't been able to rig up any type of fermentation chamber yet, and even the wet t-shirt method only gets me around 70-72. (I live a little closer to the surface of the sun than a lot of brewers on this forum) most of my brews are in the 6-7% range and I have no problems with fusels/hangovers. Just kegged a tripel that tastes like beer listerine, but I knew that one was coming, I think that one'll be taking a long nap in the back of the closet and be a nice winter warmer.

Could be that if your use to drinking BMC at ~4% and your now drinking Homebrew that is a much higher ABV (depending on what you are brewing) it could just be that catching up with you.

My anti-hangover cure is to take two aspirin and drink about a quart of water before bed. If I'm drinking liquor, I'll try to drink a cup of water for every 1-2 shots.

Sucks about the homebrew hangovers, though... I haven't had one of those yet, but my guess would be fusels. The B-vitimins in the yeast should be helping, but I guess not enough...

Hegh said:

My anti-hangover cure is to take two aspirin and drink about a quart of water before bed. If I'm drinking liquor, I'll try to drink a cup of water for every 1-2 shots.

Sucks about the homebrew hangovers, though... I haven't had one of those yet, but my guess would be fusels. The B-vitimins in the yeast should be helping, but I guess not enough...

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There's the potential of being shot for saying this, but I've never had a real session with my homebrews. I have so many friends that request it, that I'm rarely left with more than a 6'er for myself. Of those 6, I try to stretch them out as long as possible. I might have 2 in one night but those are usually stretched out between commercial brews. I shouldn't be so generous with the next batch.

My fermentation temps don't get above 22°C, is that too warm?