Why does Homebrew seem to get me so buzzed? :)

So I have noticed that since I have been popping some tops on the first brew I made that it seems I catch a mighty wicked buzz mighty quick as compared to popping tops on anything I've consumed commercially. Now, don't think I'm complaining because I am not but I just wanted to see if this was noticed by anyone else who had the same experience at the start of homebrewing. And for what it's worth the ABV on my first brew came in at ~5.2% when calced by specific gravity. So my questions would be:

• Is there something about the type of alcohol produced?
• Is it just because I enjoy the fact I brewed and it adds to the experience?
• Am I just crazy?

You might be drinking more often to analyze the flavor?

aeviaanah said:

You might be drinking more often to analyze the flavor?

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Nah...

Over the span of 4 hrs last night I had 5 and woke up on the couch I fell asleep on last night. :cross:

I can't remember 5 beers ever doing that to me.

Don't forget that if you're priming with sugar, your ABV is going up ~0.25% as well...

Did you also happen to have a crushing hangover? You probably found our nemesis Fusel alcohol.

You need more practice. I recommend more practice!

BeerGrylls said:

Did you also happen to have a crushing hangover? You probably found our nemesis Fusel alcohol.

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No, in fact I was clear as a bell. I had read on here about fusels and hangovers but I know I fermented on the cool side in a swamp cooler and it never went above 68 so I doubt that's it. Like I said I'm not complaining but it sure hit me pretty good.

Some people will claim there is something called hop euphoria. now lots of people know the relationship that marijuana and hops have because they are basically sister plants. Some people say that when drinking home brew with the freshness of the amount of hops you use that you may be experiencing some type of hop high mixed in with your usual alcohol buzz....

how much of that you want to believe is up to you. I don't believe it at all but it makes a good story.

*there is no THC in hops (the psychoactive chemical in pot) as well as THC is actually a fat soluble therefore it could not be dissolved within beer.

BigFloyd said:

You're not alone on this. I've noticed the same thing sometimes when consuming rather modest amounts of mid-ABV home brews. Strange.

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So it's not just me. That's what I need to know.

Psycotte said:

Nah...

Over the span of 4 hrs last night I had 5 and woke up on the couch I fell asleep on last night. :cross:

I can't remember 5 beers ever doing that to me.

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Well, when you go out and drink 5 beers, are those some 5 beers 5.75% ABV (with the priming) over 4 hours?

Not me! When I go out, I rarely see a 6%ish beer in the typical restaurants/pubs we have around her. Coors, for example, clocks in at 5% or so and I rarely drink 5 of them in 4 hours. But at home, I'll keep having just a little more and many of my beers are IPAs in the 6%ish range.

I'm making a real effort to make more beers in the 4-5% range so that I can enjoy them without getting buzzed.

Psycotte said:

So it's not just me. That's what I need to know.

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I'm the same way but I never really thought about why.

Tinga said:

Some people will claim there is something called hop euphoria. now lots of people know the relationship that marijuana and hops have because they are basically sister plants. Some people say that when drinking home brew with the freshness of the amount of hops you use that you may be experiencing some type of hop high mixed in with your usual alcohol buzz....

how much of that you want to believe is up to you. I don't believe it at all but it makes a good story.

*there is no THC in hops (the psychoactive chemical in pot) as well as THC is actually a fat soluble therefore it could not be dissolved within beer.

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It is alcohol soluble. I know a guy who used to "dry-hop" double IPA's in the bottle.

Yooper said:

Well, when you go out and drink 5 beers, are those some 5 beers 5.75% ABV (with the priming) over 4 hours?

Not me! When I go out, I rarely see a 6%ish beer in the typical restaurants/pubs we have around her. Coors, for example, clocks in at 5% or so and I rarely drink 5 of them in 4 hours. But at home, I'll keep having just a little more and many of my beers are IPAs in the 6%ish range.

I'm making a real effort to make more beers in the 4-5% range so that I can enjoy them without getting buzzed.

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Point taken although you won't catch me drinking Coors when I go out. Maybe a nice Oatmeal Stout or something else yummy on tap. Even still, the homebrew seems to treat me differently. I must just be a little crazy. LOL

double post.

Me too, three bottles and I'm well, floating. If I had put it in a tin, and made the label, it would say "does what it said on the tin" . Four or five bottles sees me off, but no hangover or gut rot. So much more pleasure than commercial beer, it is not just the case that you have made it, it has body, shop bought is always so lightweight, could it be that we use priming sugars and and bottle condition, commercials don't, they do something else? They bottle then ship them out to retailers?

the reason you get buzzed on HB is that it is far stronger ABV than your liquor store . Different states have different Alcohol amounts allowed also . the ABV % on the bottle just means that it can only contain that much and may have far less . that is how it was explained to me one time .
so you measure 6.0 in your beer and the store may have only 4.0 in theirs .
Kansas liquor store 6.0 % grocery store 3.2 % . when I went to Oregon the beer had a far better flavor and got me a much better buzz on less . The difference in taste for old english 800 was quite a difference .

The discussion on adding controlled substances to beer, while a novel concept, it is going to get this thread shutdown. It is against forum rules so please knock it off.

As for the OP,
Yes there is hop euphoria, yes I have had a similar experience. Unfortunately I think people grow a tolerance to the effects very rapidly and that some people are more influenced by the hop euphoria than others. My 1st experience I drank 4 5%-ish beers and my wife thought I drank all of them...

All very interesting comments. I got into home brewing for the flavor, now I'll stay for the flavor and the buzz.

Hops can be a mild sedative.

I have the opposite problem. I have to drink almost twice as much HB to get the same effect as store bought. I've been checking my gravities closely, so I think my numbers are correct. I have to drink about three of my 8% apple ciders to get the same effect as one 8% Ayinger Dopplebock. I have to drink about two of my 5% hefes to equal one 5% Franziskaner. I currently have a 5.4% Nut Brown, a 7.2% Maibock and a 6.2% Marzen almost ready. Time for more research. As much HB as I have to drink to get a buzz, it's a good thing my beers taste good!

I'm with the OP on this one. I have drank the same amount of homebrew as I do craft beers when I'm out, (with the same abv) and the homebrew will give me a wicked buzz in absolutely no time. Has happened to me a few times before most definitely and I have wondered the same thing as you!

It's called the buzz of self accomplishment.

I don't notice a difference between a few homebrews vs a few commercials but I especially enjoy getting a good buzz on beer that I made myself and it's even more fun giving my friends a good buzz on beer that I made myself.

BeerGrylls said:

Did you also happen to have a crushing hangover? You probably found our nemesis Fusel alcohol.

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A couple weeks ago I cracked the top on my Smashing Pumpkin Ale. I needed a second taste.... and a third, 4th, 5th, and 6th. I do have to say it did get better with each one. 😜 it was also one of the worst hangovers I've ever had, my hands and feet throbbed the entire next day.

Now I know why...

BeerGrylls said:

Did you also happen to have a crushing hangover? You probably found our nemesis Fusel alcohol.

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the homebrew should be helpful with that with all the b vitamins from the yeast.

Clef051 said:

the homebrew should be helpful with that with all the b vitamins from the yeast.

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True, but B-vitamins can't touch what fusels do to you.

The buzz imho is a little different feeling.
Especially for ciders.Much cleaner feeling i think because of the b-vitamins in the yeast.First time i had my Pub Ciders i thought to myself "I'm not THAT buzzed" as i stood up to get my 4th one.......Then about fell over.
Course I tend to drink them much slower now as it is a 18-20%ish ABV cider that i'm drinking from a beer mug.

Just look at it like this. Your homebrews will last you a bit longer.

You drank 5 beers. Were they 0.33 litre, or 0.5 litre portions? 2.5 litres of over 5% ABV beer is enough to get anyone buzzed up good!

I actually "bottle" mine in 1 litre PET bottles. If I drink two of those, I'm feeling pretty good

podz said:

You drank 5 beers. Were they 0.33 litre, or 0.5 litre portions? 2.5 litres of over 5% ABV beer is enough to get anyone buzzed up good!

I actually "bottle" mine in 1 litre PET bottles. If I drink two of those, I'm feeling pretty good

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You are probably getting a plasticizer endocrine disruptor effect.

I noticed this, but not just limited to homebrew. If I have a Coors (not lite, and flame away, it's nice to have one once in a while), and then a similar ABV, but darker/hoppier beer, the latter will definitely get me more buzzed. I think there is something to the "hop euphoria." Most of the time, a darker/hoppier beer just seems to hit me harder than a crystalline, light beer.

Could it be you're producing higher carbonation levels than what's typical in commercial beers? I'm referring to the "champagne" effect where the greater fizz causes greater buzz.

I too get a bigger kick from my brews but that might simply be because it's so damn yummy that I'm gulping the delicious stuff down too quickly!

And i just found out that bottle carbonation adds 0.25% bump in ABV. Who knew???

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_hops.htm

There's an interesting link that explains quite a bit about the herbal uses of hops. Coincidentally it has long been used as a treatment for insomnia. Who knew. Explains why I crashed so hard on the couch.

Psycotte said:

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_hops.htm

There's an interesting link that explains quite a bit about the herbal uses of hops. Coincidentally it has long been used as a treatment for insomnia. Who knew. Explains why I crashed so hard on the couch.

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Awesome link, thanks for sharing. I learn something new every day. I guess hops have been found to contain dimethylvinyl carbinol, which is believed to be a sedative or hypnotic. This becomes more pronounced as the hops age. Interesting! :cross:

Also, through similar research I've found that hops oils contain 5-15% caryophyllene, which is a agonist for the CB2 cannabinoid receptors. These aren't highly present in the brain, but rather in the body. That's why we can have plenty of hops and feel the "hop relaxation" without feeling like we've just smoked something. I guess there really may be something to this hop euphoria. For me, a good hoppy beer makes me relaxed.

Funny enough, caryophyllene oxide is the compound that drug-sniffing dogs key in on. I guess it's wise not to walk through the airport with a bag of hops unless you fancy a deep cavity search.

BeerGrylls said:

Awesome link, thanks for sharing. I learn something new every day.

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Me Too! A silly thread actually turns into a bonafide discussion which results in learning. Gotta love it!

Psycotte said:

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_hops.htm

There's an interesting link that explains quite a bit about the herbal uses of hops. Coincidentally it has long been used as a treatment for insomnia. Who knew. Explains why I crashed so hard on the couch.

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That's pretty neat. I was just having this discussion a few weeks ago with a friend of mine about the difference in effects of HB v. Commercial. The first thing I noticed right from the start when getting into HB is that the buzz is completely different. It was more of a pleasant relaxing feeling as opposed to the nauseating effect of a commercial buzz. I also noticed that I would wake up very early in the mornings after consuming HB and feel very serene and refreshed.

Now I know why.

Psycotte said:

Point taken although you won't catch me drinking Coors when I go out. Maybe a nice Oatmeal Stout or something else yummy on tap. Even still, the homebrew seems to treat me differently. I must just be a little crazy. LOL

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The other variable may be environmental.

Out at a bar you try to resist the "buzz" a lot more or are more aware of other things going on such as conversation, music, game etc. which means you are somewhat passively active so the alcohol works through your system differently.

At home you are on your own ground with no restrictions and very few if any distractions, you also know you won't have to drive and can let go a bit more than you would at the bar.

Effects of alcohol on a person can be as much a psychological response as it is a physical one.

Also keep in mind our homebrewing way of calculating ABV (OG-FG * 131 or whatever formula you use) isn't the same as a commercial breweries process. Our 5.5% beer may be different than their 5.5% beer...

Plus, you tend to drink good homebrew faster.

AZ_IPA said:

Plus, you tend to drink good homebrew faster.

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+1 on this!