Buddy allergic to brewer's yeast!!

OK, it really sucks, being that he is my long time drinking buddy and I was looking forward to brewing a couple of fantastic beers for his wedding. Is there a way to brew without it? Are there any beers that he might be able to have? What about ciders or Lambics? Wedding is in October so I need to get experimenting.

Allergic to yeast? Can't say I've heard of it, but I guess it's possible. I have to ask the obvious, though...has an allergist tested your friend for this? Does it have to be alive, or might dead yeast affect him, too? The only beverages I'm aware of that are absolutely, 100% free of yeast are spirits (or drinks made alcoholic by spirit additions). If dead yeast are OK, anything that has been pasteurized should be fine.

Is it a complete yeast allergy?

Chances are it's going to have to be something that's filtered and pasturized to kill the yeast, and that only if the allergy level is low. It's in any of the beverages that I can think of except for some sodas. Even kombucha and kefir has yeast involved.

More than likely it'll be the hard liquor route.

Is it only brewer's yeast, or any yeast? I have had some success with Bread Yeast, both for Mead as well as Beer. Just make sure it is something English or similar that the yeast character isn't as important.

I doubt this, he probably doesn't like your beer and is trying to be polite. If he eats bread, he doesn't have a yeast allergy.

Google says that yeast allergies are characterized by getting sleepy after eating it. There is also celiac disease, which is an allergy to gluten. This gives the symptoms of abdominal pain when consuming gluten. Basic Brewing had a recent podcast about gluten free brewing, but no clue how to make beer without yeast!

Tall_Yotie said:

I have had some success with Bread Yeast, both for Mead as well as Beer.

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Same species. Bread yeast, beer yeast, wine yeast, it's all brewer's yeast. Some strains just perform a little better in different solutions.

dantheman13 said:

Google says that yeast allergies are characterized by getting sleepy after eating it. There is also celiac disease, which is an allergy to gluten. This gives the symptoms of abdominal pain when consuming gluten. Basic Brewing had a recent podcast about gluten free brewing, but no clue how to make beer without yeast!

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Good info! If it is yeast allergy in general, then you can not make beer, long story short.

talked with him more and this was a test done by an independant company that finds food items that your body doesn't agree with. Going further into it, these are items that his body shouldn't have, or at least need to be regulated, in order for him to be at full health. Some other items that are on the list are blueberries and mustard. So I don't really view this as an allergy, but more of some guideline that allows to live a healthy lifestyle. What typically is the definition of "brewer's yeast"? Being that yeast is a living bacteria that is found all around us and can innoculate any sugary liquid that then can produce CO2 and alcohol, how is one supposed to ensure they don't ingest it. He is getting me more information about this. I hope this isn't some "new age" health craze, cause then I am going to hit him!

If he is avoiding brewers yeast, he is no avoiding bread, and just about anything of substance.

MY mom went to one of these crackpots(it was a chiropractor, but don't get me started there. Crack my back and leave me alone). She ended up spending thousands of dollars and noticed no change in quality of life. When I got word of what she was doing I had to sit down with her and explain this is just a crap way to take your money.

Sure, you might feel better if you don't eat any sugar, avoid gluten, less red meat and more water.... but that is just good diet advice. Not some cure to an imaginary disease.

ChefJoeR said:

talked with him more and this was a test done by an independant company that finds food items that your body doesn't agree with. Going further into it, these are items that his body shouldn't have, or at least need to be regulated, in order for him to be at full health. Some other items that are on the list are blueberries and mustard. So I don't really view this as an allergy, but more of some guideline that allows to live a healthy lifestyle. What typically is the definition of "brewer's yeast"? Being that yeast is a living bacteria that is found all around us and can innoculate any sugary liquid that then can produce CO2 and alcohol, how is one supposed to ensure they don't ingest it. He is getting me more information about this. I hope this isn't some "new age" health craze, cause then I am going to hit him!

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How is it determined that his body doesn't agree with brewers yeast? Has he had problems or is he just being told that's the case?

Second yeast is a unicellular fungi not a bacterium.

Third, did they specifically say Saccharomyces? You can brew all Brettanomyces beers and while they're yeast they are genetically different than Saccharomyces.

Sounds like the quackery of one of the anti-candida diets.

Sounds fishy to me, did they wave a pendulum over his belly? Because brewer's yeast is actually considered some of the healthiest food to consume, and is even sold in health food stores. The yeast is full of vitamin B complex. You can buy it in many healthfood stores, and the Belgian's practically worship it for it's healthful benefits.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html

Long and short of it, the only "real" cases were from people who read a book about this issue and came in saying they had this problem.
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Quote from the article:

In 1986, two doctors from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine reported seeing four young women whose nonspecific complaints included chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. All four mistakenly believed they had disseminated candidiasis and were taking nystatin or ketoconazole, which had been prescribed by their family physicians. All had read The Yeast Connection and had carried the book into the office during their visits. One patient on ketoconazole had hepatitis, which resolved when the drug was stopped [9].

Worse yet, a case has been reported of a child with a severe case of disseminated candidiasis who had been seen by a "Candida doctor" and given inadequate treatment. The report concluded that "the advice of yeast connection advocates may be inappropriate even for illnesses in which Candida is implicated." [10]

Perhaps the saddest report was a letter in a health-food magazine from a woman appealing for help and encouragement. She said that a clinical ecologist had been treating her for allergies and Candida for four years, that initial tests showed she "was allergic to all foods" as well as to numerous chemicals and inhalants, and that so far nothing had helped.

End quote.
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The self-diagnosis is hilarious if not scary. "Abdominal pain? Mood swings? Craving for bread, sweets and alcohol? Ever had birth control?" Wow, that must be a yeast allergy! Get to the doctor! Oh wait, no, that is my wife once a month.

It does indeed seem fishy. If this really is a good buddy of yours, talk to him about how this might be a really bad prognosis, and he should see a doctor from a real medical facility if he is instead seeing some form of "specialist" or someone with a private practice. The biggest fear is that he has some other illness or condition that is being ignored because of some "doctor" saying he has a yeast allergy. Research says there is really no such thing.

Tall_Yotie said:

Is it only brewer's yeast, or any yeast? I have had some success with Bread Yeast, both for Mead as well as Beer. Just make sure it is something English or similar that the yeast character isn't as important.

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Brewers yeast and bread yeast are both the same yeast, Saccharomyces cerivisiae. Are they allegic to Brettanomyces? If not you could do a totally wild fermentation.

I want to know what happens to him when he drinks your beer. He probably drank a homebrew from the bottle, yeast and all and had the runs from his stomach not being used to the yeast. And even if he really is allergic and gets deathly ill, then you have more beer to drink yourself.

ErieShores said:

I doubt this, he probably doesn't like your beer and is trying to be polite. If he eats bread, he doesn't have a yeast allergy.

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haha, yep.

B'lo reprent!

ChefJoeR said:

talked with him more and this was a test done by an independant company that finds food items that your body doesn't agree with. Going further into it, these are items that his body shouldn't have, or at least need to be regulated, in order for him to be at full health. Some other items that are on the list are blueberries and mustard.

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He wasted his money and time on this garbage. Tell him to drink your beer and be happy. If he's not happy after one, give him two more and check back later.

rockfish42 said:

Sounds like the quackery of one of the anti-candida diets.

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+1

And bread/beer yeast and "candida"/Yeast infections, are not the same and have NOTHING to do with each other. We've put that ignorant nonsense to bed years ago.

I went to a naturopath because I was having a wierd severe hand rash that I jjust could not get rid of. Diagnosis: Candida overgrowth, please buy these 5 things now, come back for 5 appointments next month (bill by the visit) - and then we can do a Cleanse to rid your body of toxins (Toxins? Whats wrong with my Kidneys? Or my liver? Do they not do that already?).

I think your buddys 'medical' advice is questionable. Sure, there are 'natural' remedies for ailments. However, yeast overgrowth? Yeah.... and monkeys fly out of my butt...

jjones17 said:

Yeah.... and monkeys fly out of my butt...

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Then you need THIS!



Now we know this works... Truckers swear by it.

jjones17 said:

I went to a naturopath

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There's your problem right there Nothing wrong with natural remedies per se (though it's always nice if you can get the active ingredient in a pure form with a controlled dosage, i.e. medicine...) but naturoPATHy is total BS.

Agreed, I think he's wasting money if he's not really having a problem. A number of tests aren't scientifically verified and can't reproduce dependable results. (Look up the Alcat test for example).

Even then, sometimes to get results, a person is tested 20 times, or someone finally has them try it out.

(I did my own research and decided to try not having gluten for a while to see if my stomach problem cleared up. It did, and cleared up some other things too. And I checked a few things like eating cake. Gluten free cake, I'm fine, normal cake, I'm not. And theres only one big difference there. It could be all in my head, but it's not worth me going through a dozen tests just to get a "it could be". Additionally, I have had some things that caused a reaction and I didn't find out until after a reaction that there was wheat in it, so I consider that close to a blind test. Darn licorish)

Now, if he was having analyptic reactions, or other allergic reactions, then it'd be a concern.

ChefJoeR said:

What typically is the definition of "brewer's yeast"? Being that yeast is a living bacteria that is found all around us and can innoculate any sugary liquid that then can produce CO2 and alcohol, how is one supposed to ensure they don't ingest it. He is getting me more information about this. I hope this isn't some "new age" health craze, cause then I am going to hit him!

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Brewer's Yeast is not a "Living Bacteria"; it is a type of fungus, much like a mushroom or mold, and has the 'scientific' name "Saccharomyces cerevisiae".

Bacteria are completely different organisms.

I am from Santa Cruz, CA; crazy hippy people with their naturalistic medicine, organic-karma-veggy-hemp lifestyles, and all that stuff. I have been luck enough to avoid a great deal of this. I am used to seeing a lot of natural remedies, and some do work, but you don't go to the people selling this stuff for a diagnosis. Had a guy tell me that I didn't need surgery on my spine, all I needed was zinc and some weird ass root and I would be fine. Yeah, that will cure the sliced off piece of disc and the squeezed nerve causing unbearable pain...

Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT of good natural remedies out there. But go to a real doctor to get a diagnosis.

Moral of the story, as others have said here, your buddy is getting a load of crap from whoever he is seeing. Get him to get a second opinion from a professional.

ChefJoeR said:

talked with him more and this was a test done by an independant company that finds food items that your body doesn't agree with. Going further into it, these are items that his body shouldn't have, or at least need to be regulated, in order for him to be at full health. Some other items that are on the list are blueberries and mustard. So I don't really view this as an allergy, but more of some guideline that allows to live a healthy lifestyle. What typically is the definition of "brewer's yeast"? Being that yeast is a living bacteria that is found all around us and can innoculate any sugary liquid that then can produce CO2 and alcohol, how is one supposed to ensure they don't ingest it. He is getting me more information about this. I hope this isn't some "new age" health craze, cause then I am going to hit him!

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Probably anything you could think of wouldn't be part of somebody's "healthy lifestyle". Unless this "indepandant company" was a certified allergist with an independant practice he almost certainly did not get sound medical advice.

jd3

Like me, he is also a chef, so he understands food make-up and science. He is saying somewhat the same as I am in terms of these are just good diet advices. As we all know, food makes up our physiology, it affects our immune system, digestive system, skin,...etc. In one way, this sort helps you want to listen to your body more and be more aware of the foods you take in. I used to be a personal trainer and would never accept a workout from a magazine that a client brought me. Everybody's body is different and should be treated as such, be it food intake, drink intake and overall lifestyle choices.

I used to have a lot of asthma problems when I drank beer. Through the years its pretty much all gone, but does pop up once in a while. I used to think it was something in the hops or malt, but it happens almost anytime I drink Ed Wort's apfelwein. So, I'm thinking it some fermentation byproduct.

I think the most suspect part to me about this whole thing is that you mention this guy being a long time drinking buddy of yours and now all of the sudden he is allergic to yeast?

makes no sense to me but what do I know.

My dad says he is allergic to beer. He just told me that at easter. I don't think he has drank beer since the late 70s but I thought it was just because he became super religious. He drinks and makes wine now so its not the booze. He said its not gluten so I don't know what he is talking about. I guess he can't try my beer then oh well.

theschick said:

I used to have a lot of asthma problems when I drank beer. Through the years its pretty much all gone, but does pop up once in a while. I used to think it was something in the hops or malt, but it happens almost anytime I drink Ed Wort's apfelwein. So, I'm thinking it some fermentation byproduct.

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This is really interesting to me, because my husband sometimes gets a weird allergic-looking reaction to random beers at random times. We thought the same thing, maybe a specific type of malt or variety of hop. And now my first batch of Apfelwein is a month in, so I'll be sure to remember this.

As far as OP's friend's allergy or sensitivity or whatever, allergies can suddenly come on at any age. Same with intolerances to things such as gluten. It sounds to me like the friend is having difficulty describing his problem with yeast, which means he doesn't exactly know what the problem is. That would make it hard for OP to tailor a beer to friend's new restrictive diet. Solution? Make a batch of homebrew for the reception, the rest of the guests will enjoy it, and friend can partake if he desires.

Id be extremely careful taking medical advice from an alternative health care provider... especially with some of these hard-to-treat/diagnose medical problems such as fibromyalgia and CFS these frikkin guys are real snake oil salesman. I have heard exactly of this kind of wierd allergy fixation where the "physician" actually takes some blueberries and puts them near you while monitering your "aura" and the response to the item is what helps them decide whether or not your "allergic" to it. Its all a bunch of hooey. If I sound jaded its because I just married a woman who had been taken for many thousands of dollars by these types, and many of the things she's "not supposed to be eating" we have regularly with no problem. She could have bought me an amazing AG setup for all the money she wasted

well, if you want to play to him you could just filter the beer with the "sterile" filter pads...no yeast, no problem.

I'd be curious to know how this independent company specified that it was the yeast that he should stay away from. One doesn't normally think of being tested for the effects of yeast.

An easy way to find out if this company has the remotest possibility of legitimacy is to ask your friend (in detail) what kinds of tests they ran to determine his "allergies." If they didn't run a controlled skin or blood test, they're a bogus company. He'd be telling you about the 75+ times he got scratched, injected, or had blood drawn if this test has any chance of being accurate.

Molds are a common allergen, but most people are not allergic to the kind of yeast we make bread, beer, and wine from. I've yet to hear of anyone allergic to saccharomyces.

Try a lager strain. If he's allergic to brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) I don't think that will necessarily mean he's allergic to lager strains (Saccharomyces pastorianus). Can anyone who knows more than me on the subject chime in?

You could use the Common/Steam yeast and ferment at your normal ale temperatures.

Deleted. Mispost.