Death of a Brewpastor?

I am living in fear right now. You see, my mom is gluten intolerant, which means barley, wheat, rye, any grain with gluten, are basically toxic to her. She did not have a problem with this until she was older.

Lately I am having the symptoms myself. I really am not ready to go down this road. I have a beer and my gut is not happy. I had 3 beers Sunday and felt horrible all night and all day yesterday, like I had the flu. I am trying to remain calm and utilize the power of positive thinking, but man I an getting really bummed because I really don't want a garage full of brewing equipment I can't use!

greenhornet said:

Click to expand...

I have seen that and been reading up on gluten free brewing. It is better then nothing, but it isn't the same. Malting and roasting my own grains to make substandard beers that mimic the beers I love? And I am not a wine lover either.

Oh well, I still am waiting to see what is going on so I am not checking scrap stainless prices yet!

Say it isn't so! It can't be true! Maybe you're just a lightweight! Maybe your beer has an infection! Anything but this!!

Who knows, maybe it's nothing!?

Well, if you were looking for a challenge then making sorghum mimic barley might be the way to go. It's a huge, virtually unexplored territory in the US. I've only had two sorghum beers so far, thought they were alright. However, they are trying to appeal to the average beer drinker. The lack of strong flavor might have been a brewing choice, not necessarily a problem with the grain.

Or you might be screwed. I don't pray often, but this is a worthy cause. Here's hoping you just have a virus.

If it is just due to my being a whimp I will be the happiest whimp you ever saw! I have been trying different beers, mine and others and find the results to be unsettling. I can go get blood work done and will if things don't improve, so I will just keep my eye on it and my fingers crossed!

Dang man, sorry to hear that. Just read up on that, looks like a nasty illness. Im a positive thinker so I bet all is well.

Maybe you just had the flu?

That sucks man. Is there anything that you can take to relieve the effects.

i.e. if you had an acidic stomach you take anti-acid (alkali).
What is the opposite of grain / wheat. Anti-wheat?

I am gibbering but sometimes I gibber good ideas. not all of the time of course! In fact this is def not one of them!

good luck - hope it turns out well for you

IMO: You need to find out now. Take the test.

You already know that you are at risk (Mom) and that you consume gluten.
You do not yet know if the gene is expressed (triggered) and you may be able to use your "positive thinking" techique to keep stress and other triggers from ocurring.

In other words, you may not have it, but stressing about it could self-fulfill.

Yeah man, I hope it's just some nasty, painful flu. You know what I mean...

olllllo said:

IMO: You need to find out now. Take the test.

You already know that you are at risk (Mom) and that you consume gluten.
You do not yet know if the gene is expressed (triggered) and you may be able to use your "positive thinking" techique to keep stress and other triggers from ocurring.

In other words, you may not have it, but stressing about it could self-fulfill.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. it is one of those "I need to know, but I really don't want to know" sort of things.

On the bright side, I could call my brewery The Intolerant Brewing Company!

Say it ain't so BP. Hopefully its nothing. Does scotch have gluten in it? You could take up distilling?

Rum, some vodkas, tequilla, some gins are OK. My mom says that grain based booze should be avoided.

Dang! I don't know which would be worse: gluten/beer intolerance or being allergic to dogs. About the only two things that keep me going!

On the other hand, I can't help but wonder about a sorghum-based IPA. Hop Juice anyone?

How long have you been drinking/brewing beer? I think you should have built up tolerance for gluten rather than the opposite.

Drink more beer! It is probably all in your head! Think positive beer thoughts!

Ugh, sorry to hear that man.

We thought my fiance had celiac disease because a lot of the symptoms were there after she ate foods with gluten. Turns out it wasn't that (we're still not sure what it was/is, the symptoms come back from time to time) ... so let's hope that yours is temporary too!

I have a gluten-free bread cookbook if you're interested. We aren't using it, so if you want it it's all yours.

Sorghum IIPA, Heles Bock, Czech Pils? Briess makes an extract.

Actually, I am going to go home and have a couple 777s, ignore the whole thing and never speak of it again. Even if I do have it I could always just drink non-stop and just not care!

Before I learned to brew gluten-free I was poor, had diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, bone pain, muscle cramps, was constipated, had constipation alternating with diarrhea, exhibited behavioral, learning or concentration problems, was irritable, had growth failure, had dental enamel defects, projectile vomited, had chronic anemia and chronic fatigue, displayed weakness, experienced migraine headaches, nerve problems such as tingling of hands or difficulty walking, or other conditions that are unexplained.


Now I am just poor.

olllllo said:

Before I learned to brew gluten-free I was poor, had diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, bone pain, muscle cramps, was constipated, had constipation alternating with diarrhea, exhibited behavioral, learning or concentration problems, was irritable, had growth failure, had dental enamel defects, projectile vomited, had chronic anemia and chronic fatigue, displayed weakness, experienced migraine headaches, nerve problems such as tingling of hands or difficulty walking, or other conditions that are unexplained.


Now I am just poor.

Click to expand...

LMFAO! I think I'll put that on a t-shirt with a big skid mark below it.

Brewpastor said:

Actually, I am going to go home and have a couple 777s, ignore the whole thing and never speak of it again. Even if I do have it I could always just drink non-stop and just not care!

Click to expand...

777 in one hand and pepto in the other

Sorry to hear that BP, but I second olllllo's suggestion that you get it checked out.

If it turns out that you do have the allergy, I would experiment with Sorgum before scrapping your setup. Dont look at it as mimicing the beer you like; it really is uncharted territory.

Good luck

- magno

Well, before we subscribe to the "life sometimes sucks' philosophy, get the test! Then if you are gluten intolerent, we'll help you come up with coping stragegies, including drinking yourself silly with tequila.

Hopefully, (fingers crossed, prayers to the Almightly) it's not gluten intolerance. Just a case of middle aged digestive issues.

Sending powerful gluten rich thoughts your way............

BP, I'm sorry to hear it, but like many others have said, go for the check. Trust me, if there's one thing I've learned... avoiding the obvious usually doesn't work out that well...

Maybe you're being encouraged to enjoy your creations in "small doses". Who knows.

But in the end it's better to know what you're dealing with and adapt and adjust.

It's what we primates do best.

All the best to you my friend,

Ize

Say it ain't so, BP! Sounds like you're dealing with it as most of us would...a strong brew (or six), and a strong will.

Don't EVER check stainless scrap prices! Your brewquipment is far too valuable to scrap. I could never take it off your hands (I just couldn't bring myself to do it), but PLEASE don't take all of that beautiful beer art to the scrap heap...EVER!

ize mentioned small doses. From what I understand about "silly yak" is there are different degrees of gluten intolerence, it isn't just pass/fail.
You may be sensitive to gluten and still be able to enjoy beer, but you need to find out if gluten is the problem before you can start finding out what your parameters are.

I went ahead and bought a Lakefront Brewery New Grist beer made from Sorghum and Rice extract.
http://www.newgrist.com/


Clear pale yellow color
Head dissapated very quickly.

Fruity apple nose with no discerable hop character.
Crisp but thin mouthfeel.
Tastes more like a cide than a beer.

Sorry BP. You have your work cut out for you.

I'll pick up some Bards tale and see what that's like.

IF worse comes to worse you could always look into other hobbies that are very similar but a little less legal . . . .

Dont think of it as being a potential felon, think of it as being a pioneer in legalization.

If it's positive, I'll bet we hear about a guy named Weedpastor who has the greatest indoor hydroponics setup ever discovered!

Just kidding, BP, hope it's not as you think.

I'm with O and Yooper on this one. Get a test. I have a friend interested in brewing gluten free. And if anyone can figure out how to make a great tasting gluten free beer it's you. You could benefit yourself and others too.

Sorry to hear this, BP. Best wishes, friend, keep strong in this.

I really do believe, though, that there are opportunities to be had in the gluten-free arena. Seems that most of the products being offered are light on the hops; seems like there should be opportunities to explore areas like gluten-free IPAs and stouts. It might not be feasible to truly duplicate the malt profile of barley, but roastiness and hoppiness are areas that would be interesting to explore.

BP I hope for the very best for you. We will pull together and figure something out if the need be.
For now lets think positive thoughts.

Best of luck to you BP....

What do religious people say? If the allergy test is positive then God works in mysterious ways. If the test is negative then God meant it to be...

Drown your sorrows with some Apfelwein. That always makes me feel better!

I'm going out on a limb here and don't laugh, but sometimes the unseen things are what blinds you. Do you eat before drinking or always drink on an empty stomach? I had those symptoms too for a while from drinking and not eating. Wanting for the "buzz" effect to take hold quicker and not get fat. Once a started eating something and then drinking, all was better. Just a stab in the dark here. Also, I know it's not probable with an experienced brewer such as yourself, you may just have a bad batch???????????

Sorry to hear the news, BP.

May I be the first to propose a Gluten-Free section on HBT? Seems to me that there's quite a bit of interest.

Get a few batches under your belt, share what you've learned, and I'll sure as hell brew a batch in your honor.

Brewpastor said:

...Oh well, I still am waiting to see what is going on so I am not checking scrap stainless prices yet!

Click to expand...

Whoa....don't be going all "CraigsList" on us just yet.

We'd miss your beer porn.

I'll cross my fingers that it's just a temporary virus thingy.

If not...sorry man. Get things checked out though.

Hey BP, my wife has celiac disease and I new her prior to her diagnosis. We did a lot of research over the years. I would highly recommend getting tested for it. Celiac disease is a less-explored disease than, say, Crohn's disease. Genetics aside, I don't believe science has a complete picture on what triggers it and what other complications it can cause. My wife unexpectedly developed collagenous colitis a few years after being diagnosed with celiac disease. The only cure for celiac, as I'm sure you are aware, is a gluten-free diet. However, there is a lot of conjecture as to what contains gluten and what doesn't. Unfortunately for you, beer does. However, I don't believe scotch/whiskey does. Gluten is a protein and generally does not distill out. If I remember from our research, most agree that distilled spirits are OK.

From a positive perspective, maybe you're the man to invent a really good tasting gluten-free beer. I've tasted most of the gluten-free beers out there and they're OK, but they're just not the same. Best wishes on a negative diagnosis and keep us posted!

Whats the opening bid on all your equipment if I come pick it up?