Yeast Strain and Hangover Headaches

I have recently noticed that certain yeasts produce more headache generating compounds than others. For me, the headache is the only unpleasant part of the hangover, when I drink a brand of Vodka that never gives me headaches, I can ignore the rest of the symptoms and be up and about no matter how much I drank. For this reason yeast strains that don't make a lot of those compounds are of interest to me.

So far the worst strain I brewed with was Saflager 34/70 (45F Ferment, 35F Lagering). Just one bottle of that gave me a headache that last 3 hours long afterwards

The best has been Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale (65F Ferment), a six pack of 7% stout I made with that could easily be ignored the day after.

So my question is, have you noticed any low headache strains? Post them here if you have.

Weird you mention this. I was just thinking the other day that even with the same strain of yeast and different brews the headache is different. Using Coopers ale yeast in a light beer clone at about 4% I can drink all night long but same yeast and alcohol in a Moose Drool clone and I will have a headache the next day.

Sucks because I love the Moose Drool clone

That really is funny. I was just thinking of this too. I was looking at the White Labs website at the profiles of the different strains. I would love some some insight on certain strains and which are more prone to creating compounds that contribute to nasty hangovers.

acetaldehyde is a by product of fermentation, but is also a biproduct of ethanol metabolism in the liver and is a contributing factor in the biology of a hangover.

As we know acetaldehyde in beer can have a green apple flavor of a young beer. Different yeast strains will produce different levels, but for the most part should scavenge it for food at the end of the fermentation process and remove it from the beer. Its presence in a beer is more likely due to racking too soon off the yeast cake than the yeast strain.

In the liver ethanol is metabolized to form acetaldehyde (which is toxic to cells at high concentrations). Acetaldehyde is then metabolized ,using glutathione, into a harmless acetate. Glutathione is in limited supply in the liver so I'd imagen that even if the acetaldehyde level in the beer is below the flavor threshold, if it is present when consumed it will reduce the available glutathione in the liver, reducing the amount of alcohol that can be metabolized with out producing the excess acetaldehyde that results in a hangover.

Next time you brew your moose drool clone, you might try to condition it a few days longer on the yeast cake and see if you still have this problem.

Bsquared said:

acetaldehyde is a by product of fermentation, but is also a biproduct of ethanol metabolism in the liver and is a contributing factor in the biology of a hangover.

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For me personally acetaldehyde has never been a problem. It just gives me mild disorientation the next day. The headaches are caused by something else. Notice I said headaches, not the rest of hangover symptoms. I have friends who can't handle acetaldehyde at all, they never get headaches but still have horrible hangovers that consist of mostly nausea and vomiting.

We can't really avoid acetaldehyde because its an intermediary of ethanol metabolism, so I made this thread focusing on headache inducing compounds.

EDIT: Wyeast 1084 that I mentioned before made me beer with a detectable green apple taste in one batch, and strong green apple taste in another, yet it still gave me the most manageable hangover I ever got of beer.

This is biology (science) not an opinion. The headaches you get is from excess acetaldehyde in your body causing an inflammatory response in your cells that you experience as a hangover and a headache.

Lyikos said:

For me personally acetaldehyde has never been a problem. It just gives me mild disorientation the next day. The headaches are caused by something else. Notice I said headaches, not the rest of hangover symptoms. I have friends who can't handle acetaldehyde at all, they never get headaches but still have horrible hangovers that consist of mostly nausea and vomiting.

We can't really avoid acetaldehyde because its an intermediary of ethanol metabolism, so I made this thread focusing on headache inducing compounds.

EDIT: Wyeast 1084 that I mentioned before made me beer with a detectable green apple taste in one batch, and strong green apple taste in another, yet it still gave me the most manageable hangover I ever got of beer.

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How do you know acetaldehyde isn't a/the problem? Do you brew beers that cause only some alcohol metabolism byproducts, and not others?
You might also consider an allergy to hops or certain strains of yeast as headache producers. Have you noticed a tendency to get more headache from more hoppy beers?

I get headaches from wheat beers almost immediately.

It isnt just aldehydes but also fusels

http://byo.com/stories/article/indi...mentation-a-flavor-compounds-homebrew-science

We have a hormone called the Anti Diuretic Hormone (ADH) in our bodies. Alcohol depletes the production of ADH. This is why we pee a lot when we drink. Well.. Both the depletion of ADH and the increased consumption of liquids.

With the depletion of ADH, our bodies dehydrate from the inside. Ironic that drinking will lead to dehydration. But anyway with the dehydration if all body fluids, the cerebrospinal fluid also deplete a little bit. The headache from a hangover is from the base of the brain actually being tugged on by a dehydrated subarachnoid space.

Whether or not acetylaldehydes or fusels contribute to the depletion of ADH I do not know, but it would seem to make sense.

Try drinking a big ol glass of water every 2 or 3 beers and you will probably have much less headaches.

Also VERY IMPORTANT do not take Tylenol ( acetaminophen) when you are drinking. The metabolism products of acetaminophen combined with the byproducts of alcohol metabolism will form a toxic compound and can cause liver failure. Ibuprophen is a safer choice.

Lyikos - As you may have noticed from the previous posts, there is no real scientific agreement on the reason for hangovers. Laboratory experiments with pure alcohol injected into mice have shown hangover effects, and this is 100% pure alcohol, no fuesels, or acetaldehyde, and with liquid intake/output being controlled for. The important part is to find what works for you, and stick with that. Don't bother trying to figure out what specific compound is causing the trouble.

For me, I have found that Wyeast 1214 can give me some serious headaches the next day.

Here is the link to a great review of hangover science, not sure if it is available freely though.
Enter this into google-> DOI: 10.1002/hup.1023

theredben said:

Lyikos - As you may have noticed from the previous posts, there is no real scientific agreement on the reason for hangovers. Laboratory experiments with pure alcohol injected into mice have shown hangover effects, and this is 100% pure alcohol, no fuesels, or acetaldehyde, and with liquid intake/output being controlled for. The important part is to find what works for you, and stick with that. Don't bother trying to figure out what specific compound is causing the trouble.

For me, I have found that Wyeast 1214 can give me some serious headaches the next day.

Here is the link to a great review of hangover science, not sure if it is available freely though.
Enter this into google-> DOI: 10.1002/hup.1023

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I am aware there is no scientific agreement as to what causes hangovers. But I have noticed there is a trend depending on the yeast, and that's what I want to explore.

Funny in that I get a worse hangover from store bought beer than my own. I do leave my beer to condition on the yeast for awhile though. Full keyed pipe line so I'm in no hurry.

theredben said:

Laboratory experiments with pure alcohol injected into mice have shown hangover effects, and this is 100% pure alcohol, no fuesels, or acetaldehyde, and with liquid intake/output being controlled for.

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So after pure alcohol injection and having their body fluid and electrolytes replaced intravenously the mice are supposed to feel great?

So very true, though. As long as guys are getting paid to inject mice with ethanol to prove why their scientific model should get another grant for research, there will always be disagreements for the cause of any condition. The prevailing body of knowledge shows that electrolyte imbalance, low blood sugar, and dehydration are the primary reasons for a hangover.

And issues such as lack of sleep, personal psyche, diet, exercise, and a host of others will always be up for study and evaluation.

Lotsa alcohol (usually) = hangover.

If you replace your body's water with water you will have less hangover symptoms. And your liver will thank you.

707 said:

So after pure alcohol injection and having their body fluid and electrolytes replaced intravenously the mice are supposed to feel great?

Lotsa alcohol (usually) = hangover.

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Problem with most research out there I encountered is it focuses on hangover symptoms as a whole. I have encountered hangovers with completely different symptom profile, but the only symptom I care about is the headache I can deal with everything else. Acetaldehyde causes a hangover for me, but with some brands of hard liquor I didn't feel any headaches unless I consumed 400mL+, with other brands all it took was 125mL. Same applies to beer, when I started brewing I noticed the headache causers all had the same thing in common - the yeast strain. Hence this thread.

Yeah... I high jacked this thread. And I apologize. Be careful, I left a big soapbox sittin on the floor.

lyikos said:

problem with most research out there i encountered is it focuses on hangover symptoms as a whole. I have encountered hangovers with completely different symptom profile, but the only symptom i care about is the headache i can deal with everything else. Acetaldehyde causes a hangover for me, but with some brands of hard liquor i didn't feel any headaches unless i consumed 400ml+, with other brands all it took was 125ml. Same applies to beer, when i started brewing i noticed the headache causers all had the same thing in common - the yeast strain. Hence this thread.

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:d

I brewed with was Saflager 34/70 (55-65F for 2 weeks) then in the kegorator for 3 weeks. It is giving me and my wife a nasty headache. SMaSH beer - Avanguard pilsner 2 row, with Tettnanger hops (.5oz for 60 min, .7 oz for 10 min). I put another beer on the yeast cake with different hops and malt bill. This might be a good test to see if it is the hops. Thinking about taking this beer off the tap and lagering it for a few months and giving it a try again... ugg these head aches are bad and lasting 2-3 days just after 16oz of beer.

That bad of a headache from just 16 oz of beer would have me concerned that there is something seriously wrong with the beer - that's not a hangover. Bad fusel alcohols, for example. I would toss it. Fermenting your lager yeast at 55 - 65F is high, standard procedure for a lager yeast is 50F - I suspect you have some fermentation by product that is no bueno. If you brew it again, I would consider switching to a clean ale yeast or fermenting at 50F with the lager yeast and see if that makes a difference.

Belle Saison! I love saisons, but after as few as two of them I was suffering a hangover headache. I would get them four hours or so after going to sleep on the nights I enjoyed a couple of saisons. Switched to BE 134 and now I don't get headaches from saisons.

I was pretty sure that it was fusels that were causing them. I am incredibly sensitive to acetaldehyde, ( I can taste it a mile away) but with the Belle saisons, it was definitely the fusels causing it.

The other thing to consider is sulphur compounds. Some people have significant reactions to sulphites so you might want to consider how much Camden etc you use.

But the fact that you mention a lager yeast makes me wonder if hydrogen sulphide is part of the problem, have you tried more lagering and looking after your yeast nutrition etc?

Before homebrewing again I did not drink very much and my go to beer was Sierra Nevada pale ale. Was feeling like a light weight as a 6pack in an evening would give me a nasty sinus type head ache (behind the eyes) the next day. Then one day I had 1 or 2 and the eye ache type head ache came in a couple hours. Switched to other beers and the head ache did not happen. I use US-05 all of the time(wlp001 a few times too) and no head aches which sort of eliminates the yeast for me. One day I should see if SNPA still gives me a head ache still.