Allergic to beer!

Well, not me (thank god). :rockin:

A good friend of mine gave me a call and he sounded like someone died. I was expecting to hear some horrible news when he said that he just found out he's allergic to malt. The guy was devastated. He is a craft beer lover and was looking to get into brewing in the new year until he got the news.

So, he wanted to know what beers have little malt or if there are any alternatives. I wasn't sure about it seeing as how malt pretty much makes it beer.

Any suggestions as to what he can drink? At the very least a good beer low in malt?

Ouch!

Wonder how a benedryl + carb cap would work for each bottle.

Is it siliac's (sp) disease? There are more people brewing sorghum beers out there for that reason.

Apfelwein Ftw!!

sirsloop said:

Apfelwein Ftw!!

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Or mead for that matter... Good call, sirsloop!

Does he know what about malt he is allergic to? is it maltose?

Can he eat breakfast cereals?

How old was he? Hopefully he lived a full and fruitful life. Was he married? Any kids?

That's so sad. Maybe he can try ciders, or sake, or *sob!*...... Sorry. I'm all verklempt. Please talk amongst yourselves.... The topic: Should he take up interior design to fill the void?

Fingers said:

How old was he? Hopefully he lived a full and fruitful life. Was he married? Any kids?

That's so sad. Maybe he can try ciders, or sake, or *sob!*...... Sorry. I'm all verklempt. Please talk amongst yourselves.... The topic: Should he take up interior design to fill the void?

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Okay Fingers, that was funny! (A little mean you naughty boy, but funny!)

He needs to nail down exactly what he is allergic to, beer is complex. I've heard of people being allergic to maltose, hops & gluten. With most allergies, going to a low-[whatever] isn't going to help. If the problem is maltose, then ciders & meads are his main alternatives.

What about rice beer? I have heard of it before and even tried it. It was not horrible or anything. Or would rice fall into that maltose catagory?

Dark and/or hoppy beers tend to wreak havoc on my sinuses...but so far I've just said "F'k it"...and I refuse to give up tasty homebrew!!

It's just malt that he is allergic to. I'll call him to get specifics.

I appreciate all the replies, but so far it doesn't look good huh....poor bastard.

Redskins838892 said:

What about rice beer? I have heard of it before and even tried it. It was not horrible or anything. Or would rice fall into that maltose catagory?

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do you mean sake or Budweiser?

Ok, just talked to him and he's allergic to any form of barley...looks like he's gotta switch to the hard stuff.

What kind of reaction does he have to it? I went to an allergy doctor once and was told I was basically allergic to 90% of things. The only thing I ever have a reaction to is seafood though. Unfortunately, I love seafood and for a long time I said screw it and dealt with the reactions with benadryl etc. Lately, the reactions are getting worse (like hives) so I have been avoiding it. The point is that if he isn't having a bad reaction then don't worry about it. I think some allergists just say you are allergic to stuff to get you to come to their offices and take shots because it is lucrative for them.

BuffaloSabresBrewer said:

do you mean sake or Budweiser?

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Yea, i guess its sake. I always thought that sake was a lot more potent then beer.

I've seen several different sorghum beers. Never tried them though. At Whole Foods, there is a decent interest in organic and alternative-grain beers, and I've seen some there. Also, check the Southeast Asian/Africa sections, because I think sorghum is commonly grown there. Did he just find out? I know I have a mild allergy to horses and it just gets me sneezing- I'd be a little more concerned if it involved consumption though.

it depends a lot on the degree of his allergic reaction, if he goes into anaphylaxis when he consumes beer (even itchy throat when he drinks) that could be real bad news, but if its a minor allergy then screw it have a home brew!

it might not be as bad as he thinks though, there are a few craft brewers making gluten-free beers and the like. as a new brewer himself, he could come up with a recipe he could enjoy that could be tasty for all!

He said it's pretty rough. He can't breathe and he gets headaches and his face turns beet red. I guess he hasn't always had the reaction. He told me that he wondered why he felt like **** when he drank recently.

I'll tell him to do some more research on alternative grains. In the meantime, I'll have him make a batch of apfelwein to make him feel better. :cross:

I discovered I had a beer allergy when I first started stealing the old man’s Gobles from the garage. In the 20+ years I have come to find that any alcoholic drink with grain makes me look/feel like I have hay fever by the end of the first glassful- wheezing, red face, clogged sinuses, etc.

My allergist said to treat this allergy like I treat mowing the lawn. I find taking an OTC allergy medicine just before having more than a couple of drinks is the only way to enjoy. If I don’t have meds available, then I have to stick with rum/vodka cocktails or suffer through with lots of sniffles.

As a side note: I wasn’t expecting it, but the effects were even more pronounced when I make my first batch of beer last weekend. The wort steam coming out of the pot and into my face made me feel worse than putting up hay in the summer as a kid… so I bought a longer spoon to get further away. Problem solved (I hope).

Wow. I couldn't imagine being allergic like that. THAT'S TOO BAD!!

Would a wheat beer be better for him?

Wow, that's rough. I'd definitely try and figure out something to work it out. Sorry about that, best of luck, and let us know if there's anything else the members could research.

FWIW Their was an article about brewing glutten free beer in "Brew Your Own" magazine last year. I don't remember the issue, but they had a few recipes and several commercial examples.

Maybe have him try some of the commercial examples. If they don't mess him up then he can start brewing. If they do he's screwed and we should all be thankful we are not him.