Do spiced beers affect your sleep?

So as I've been enjoying my https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/samhain-pumpkin-ale-140674/ the last week or two, I've noticed a strange phenomenon. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but after several such "coincidences" I'm now beginning to think there is a strong correlation. The pumpkin beer is affecting my sleep. And depending upon how much I've had, the effects differ. The first time I had enjoyed probably about 4 pints and then went promptly to sleep. I experienced vivid, crazy dreams that whole night. Not like my normal dreams but much more disjointed and strange. Weird, I thought. Then a few days later I had 2-3 pints of the pumpkin ale before bed. That night I didn't have crazy dreams, but I was kind of "restless" the whole night and woke up what seemed like every 10-15 minutes throughout the night. Then last night I had a pint of my pumpkin ale and a pint of post road to compare. And again last night I woke up several times, though not as much as the other night, feeling just kind of off. I know nutmeg is a hallucinogen but there's no way there's enough in the beer to have an effect. I grated maybe an 1/8th of a fresh meg and added to the boil with the rest of spices. I'm wondering if it's a combination of several spices and the alcohol that is having some effect. Maybe there is something to the stories of gruit ales having mind-altering properties. So anyway, has anyone else experienced anything like this? I can't say I really enjoy it and will probably limit myself to 1-2 pints of the pumpkin ale at a time from now on, and always way before bedtime!

I came and slipped shrooms into the boil when you weren't looking.

On a real note, I have no idea. Maybe its all in your head at this point.

I was gonna suggest that maybe those weren't hops he used at the end of the boil.

Haha, I can assure you it's not just in my head. I wasn't expecting anything the second time it happened. And this kind of thing never happens to me any other time. How about someone else play guinea pig. If you have a spiced ale, have 3-4 before bed and see what happens.

Send me a couple pints and I will test it for you. As a sleep walker/talker I am sure it would turn out entertaining. Should I leave my vid cam on motion sensing outside the bedroom? lol

dude, if you were close I would. But 4 bottles to WA would be like 20 bucks!

Vitamin b6 has been known to cause vivid dreams. Molasses has its fair share, pumpkin has a little, yeast has some. I'm not sure if its enough to cause what you are saying though.

But if you ever pop a b-6 pill before bed, you will know it.

I thought I remembered reading somewhere about making a pillowcase with hops and other herbs in it that would give you weird dreams.

KingBrianI said:

dude, if you were close I would. But 4 bottles to WA would be like 20 bucks!

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Dang. I was looking forward to some good dreams.

My girlfriend and I had some Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale earlier this evening and fell asleep on the couch within half an hour. It was 7 pm..... No weird dreams, but damn did it put me to sleep.

Thoroughly enjoyed it by the way. First time I've tried a Pumpkin Ale.

I'll be making a pumpkin ale in a few weeks so I'll try it but it will be a while till it's done.

Maybe the pumpkin pie taste reminds you of your childhood and you have repressed memories that are trying to come through. Hahaha, no I have no idea but different people respond differently to herbs/spices. Maybe you're sensitive to nutmeg, cloves, cinammon, all spice, ginger or whatever else you put in it. Let us know if it happens again.

I swear the Epic Armageddon (probably the hoppiest beer in NZ) always gives me freaky dreams!

jake777 said:

My girlfriend and I had some Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale earlier this evening and fell asleep on the couch within half an hour. It was 7 pm..... No weird dreams, but damn did it put me to sleep.

Thoroughly enjoyed it by the way. First time I've tried a Pumpkin Ale.

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They've got it on tap at the brewpub now? I saw it advertised as "Coming soon" a few weeks back but it's not listed on their website or on the new weekly newsletter I got this week.

I had my first glass of my pumpkin ale last night and had very vivid dreams, that I can remember perfectly. I never remember my dreams. I don't know if it is related, but it seems to be more than a coincidence.

Jesterday said:

I had my first glass of my pumpkin ale last night and had very vivid dreams, that I can remember perfectly. I never remember my dreams. I don't know if it is related, but it seems to be more than a coincidence.

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cool, try 3-4 glasses tonight and let us know the results!

Sweet! I've got a batch of pumpkin ale that I just bottled. I could definitely see any miniscule effects from the spices, mostly nutmeg, being enhanced (read: synergised) by the alcohol, especially 4+ pints.

WIP said:

Send me a couple pints and I will test it for you. As a sleep walker/talker I am sure it would turn out entertaining. Should I leave my vid cam on motion sensing outside the bedroom? lol

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Paranormal Activity 2, then?

I will try a couple glasses tonight. I never had any dreams last night, without Pumpkin Beer, so if I dream tonight there will be more evidence to support this hypothesis.

scrambledegg81 said:

Paranormal Activity 2, then?

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You would be suprized...

Did you use nutmeg? Nutmeg has psychoactive properties in large doses, so could be it.

justflow1983 said:

Did you use nutmeg? Nutmeg has psychoactive properties in large doses, so could be it.

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Yeah, it had some fresh grated nutmeg, but not nearly enough, especially when diluted in 5.5 gallons, to have any effect by itself, surely.

I had 2 pints last night, and no dreams that I can remember.

Jesterday said:

I had 2 pints last night, and no dreams that I can remember.

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dang, too bad!

Yeah, I will try again on Halloween, I am planning on putting a big dent in the 4.5 gallons that is left in that keg

I think next time I brew a pumpkin beer i'll try to get enough nutmeg in it for a bit of trippy fun . Actually, nutmeg in those doses apparently does bad things to your brain so i'd rather not.

coffe beers majorly affect me...I can drink plain coffee right before bed and Im fine and wont wake up. The little bit that is in beer makes me stay up or wake up in the middle of the night wide awake. Dont know what is is with the coffee in the beer but I cant touch the stuff after about 6

Crappy beers (such as coors/bud light) amplify the symptoms of sleepwalking for me. Good beers help me sleep.

Weird pysched out dreams.. man I hope my wife's pumpkin ale she just brewed and going into secondary this weekend will pan out to some fun paranormal dream nights...

Now looking at KingBrianI's profile pic I have to wonder if it was the nutmeg or as someone else suggested if you placed the wrong green bag in the boil?

Might be a synergistic effect with the alcohol for both of those. I wonder if the alcohol might make them absorb better into the body.

Well, I gave 4 bottles of this stuff to NCBeerNut to try tonight and I'm having some myself. My dreams have been pretty normal lately, though I have had a higher number of lucid dreams than normal. Maybe we'll have good data tomorrow to add to the list.

Well, after about two pints last night I didn't noticed any effect whatsoever on my sleep. Might require more, I'll have to experiment!

Drank a variety of pumpkin/harvest ale beers this past weekend. I had some of the most lucid and crazy dreams that I have ever had, actually bit through the side of my cheek in one of them, still hurts. I had 2 last night, crazy dreams were back again, not to the intensity of this past weekend, but noticeably more vivid than "normal".
I thought I was nuts thinking that it was the beers affecting me, lots of people were skeptical.
Good to know I'm not alone and not crazy, even if its in the minority.

Alcohol in general is bad for your sleep patterns. If you're an insomniac it is recommended you don't drink before bedtime, amongst other recommendations. Maybe it alters your REM sleep or something.