my beer gives me a headache

and not just because i drank a lot of it. and not the same kind of morning after hangover headache. is there something i might be doing wrong in the brew process that's creating some sort of chemical that's causing this?

SenorWanderer said:

and not just because i drank a lot of it. and not the same kind of morning after hangover headache. is there something i might be doing wrong in the brew process that's creating some sort of chemical that's causing this?

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I'm just going to start at the beginning troubleshooting this:

1) Are you using secondary fementation to clear your beers?
1A) Are you drinking from the bottle/pouring the whole bottle into the glass?

First, if you are not clearing your beers, there may be a higher amount of yeast in the bottle, which leads to 1A. If you're drinking from the bottle, or pouring the whole bottle into the glass, then the high amount of yeast (after drinking a few beers) may be affecting you adversely. I've heard of this being more of an intestinal issue, but it could manifest in many different ways.

If you are doing either of the above, stop drinking from the bottle, and leave the bottom 1/4 inch or so of beer in the bottle when you pour it into a glass.

2) You could potentially be allergic to certain types of hops, yeast, malt extract, grains, specialty grains, alcohol etc.

I hate even suggesting this, but its a possibility. I have a friend who's allergic to alcohol that gets all red and sometimes gets migraines when he drinks.

I hope it's a combo of 1 and 1A

Cheers,

Hangovers can often times be caused by fusel alcohols. These tend to form when fermenting at too high of a temp. What yeasts are you using and what temps are you fermenting at?

jdoiv said:

Hangovers can often times be caused by fusel alcohols. These tend to form when fermenting at too high of a temp. What yeasts are you using and what temps are you fermenting at?

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Most likely the problem. Those fusel's will hurt ya.

Search this site for "Fussel"

I can honestly say that homebrew is the one adult beverage I can over consume and be back on my feet fresh the next morning. Drink only one BMC and quit, I've got a headache 1 hr later. Drink one homebrew, no problem.

Cheesefood said:

http://weeklywire.com/ww/01-04-99/tw_chow.html

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Very cool article, thanks Cheesefood! :rockin:

Cheesefood said:

http://weeklywire.com/ww/01-04-99/tw_chow.html

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NOW you tell me. And all this time, I've been pounding warm toilet hooch and not thinking twice about it.

FUSELS will make your head fissle. Strain & Temperature are key to pay attention to.

Good luck.

- WW

Thanks for all the replies. In response to the questions about clearing and too much yeast, yes I do use a secondary along with irish moss in most of my beers. They come out VERY clear. I also never drink from the bottle and always leave at least an inch on the bottom. From what everyone's said I'm guessing my problem is the fusel alcohol. This latest batch was fermenting during a heat wave and I'm guessing that fermentation temps could have gotten into the upper 70s. I've since bought one of those square ice cube coolers at wally world and I'm using that to hold fermentation temps in the low 60s. Tanks for all the help!

sorta off topic, but...you don't have to leave a whole inch in the bottom. pour slowly and you can get by with 1/4" of 'wasted' beer with no sediment in your glass.


it just pains me to see good homebrew left undrank...undrunk...not consumed.

(yes I've been relaxing tonite)

I doubt it's the yeast. We used to swirl up the slurry and drink it after the beer. We heard/told ourselves it was good for a hangover, Probably didn't do anything but it didn't hurt either.

IndyPABrewGuy said:

You could potentially be allergic to certain types of hops, yeast, malt extract, grains, specialty grains, alcohol etc.

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I am allergic to hops and have to be carefull of very hoppy beers. My blood pressure spikes and my core temp. jumps a few degrees. So you never can tell what may be going on. A bit of caution never hurt anyone.

SenorWanderer said:

and not just because i drank a lot of it. and not the same kind of morning after hangover headache. is there something i might be doing wrong in the brew process that's creating some sort of chemical that's causing this?

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Wanderer,

First things first: what is the temperature of your primary ferment? If it's anything over 68F, we might have found the root of the problem. Also, could a wild yeast be getting into your ferment other than whatever brewing yeast you are using? Are you using any rice-based adjuncts? There seems to something about rice as a beer ingredient that will set your head on fire and make your kidneys scream.

Secondly, I'm sure you have your good standards in the sanitation end of things. What I do is I change all my plastic brew buckets after 6 brews, use a new siphon only one time when racking into secondary and then discard, replace my fermentation locks every 6 brews, and use a new J-tube and new siphon only one time at bottling time and then discard.

Plastics do seem to deteriorate with prolonged use (and I know from experience) and at some point they can and will impart some strangeness to your brew. The inside of a siphon or J-tube always remains damp after use even when sanitized and that is a haven for all sorts of bacterial growth.

This is my personal experience but this added attentiveness to frequently replacing the plastic tools has more than repaid itself in the reduction of batches going strange.

Cheesefood said:

http://weeklywire.com/ww/01-04-99/tw_chow.html

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Cheezefood Thanks for sharing that link. Very informitive.