Feeling lousy after drinking gf homebrew

Hi Everyone, I've been brewing gf beer for over a year but after having just two beers I don't have energy the next day. I don't know if its gluten or just the alcohol but there shouldn't be enough alcohol to give me a problem. I'm wondering if others have a problem or similar experience, or not. I use Grouse millet and buckweat plus Briess sorghum syrup. I wonder about the sorghum because Briess makes all kinds of regular glutinous extracts. If they are using shared equipment it could be cc. I'm very upset because I can't even have a couple without suffering the effects, so I'm faced with quitting. Please weigh in- does it affect you, or not?? Thanks, Gman

No idea. You might try contacting the manufacturers to get any certifications of their GF ingredients. Or maybe try using a different source of sorghum like from Amazon or something. Get something that you KNOW is GF.

Everyone is affected differently by different amounts of gluten. For some people it only take a tiny amount. Or you may just be reacting to something else. Have you tried commercial GF beers and have you had any reaction to them?

Did you feel the same when you were drinking "non GF" beer? I have absolutely no experience with GF, but my problem has always been dehydration. I would be dehydrated before I even drank my first beer, so I would have a hangover from 2 or 3 beers.

Can the beer ever be fully GF? If not, you might be faced with either quitting or trying to counter the imbalance in other areas such as diet and exercise. I know that regular exercise definitely helps me enjoy my brews and gives me more energy. I hope you can find a solution and still enjoy your brews!

I did suffer reactions to New Grist when I drank it, don't anymore. I obviously haven't had any regular beer since I got sick and developed celiac. Already exercise and eat as well as possible, so that has no effect.

Gman505 said:

I did suffer reactions to New Grist when I drank it, don't anymore. I obviously haven't had any regular beer since I got sick and developed celiac. Already exercise and eat as well as possible, so that has no effect.

Click to expand...

It could be contamination from shared equipment. Do you mill your own grain? Also I was wondering what yeast you use, I imagine the big companies would be propagating yeast in regular grain, but washing would reduce the "beer" to an inconsequential amount that you would dilute further in your brew. This is serious for your health.

technically brewers yeast sourced from gluten free ingredients should not affect CD - BUT an informed person told me that yeast itself can either cause a misdiagnoses of CD or trigger CD (I did read for a big pharma site that bakers yeast allergy can trigger CD).


Thus, in my humble and non-scientific opinion (in other words, consider that I am not speaking based on any authority) don't presume your yeast is GF nor rule out a yeast allergy. (edit note: hoppyy2bmerry ^^^^ appears to see the same connection between the source of the yeast and the need to wash it down with GF grain)


good luck

A couple things I would check.

Any of your equipment once used for NON GF beer? Stainless should be good, but any plastics can carry CC.

What yeast did you use? Presumably all dry yeasts are GF, and I've yet to have a problem. But if you are using liquid yeast, I've been told there can be gluten present or other CC.

Grab a gluten test kit, or send a sample to a lab to get confirmation.

Being Gluten'd sucks, I know how you feel. Especially when you are trying to make your own GF beer. Good luck tracking down the source.

An inline filter would remove most of the yeast. You could also try pasturizing the beer

I started brewing only because I can't drink regular beer so my equipment has only been used for gf brewing. I grind my own grain from the gfhb.org. I only use dry yeast. I've tried different brands and it doesn't seem to help. I'm going to try Windsor next since I picked some up on sale. It says gluten free on the package, for whatever that's worth. I'm thinking about skipping the whirlfloc and using some clarity-ferm instead next time.

Did you use any Maltodextrin?

Good point Bruce, some maltodextrin can be derived from wheat. Usually it's potato, rice, tapioca and corn. Check your packaging??

Hi there, a buddy of mine has crohn's and he tried a small amount of my pale ale with ClarityFerm with no ill effects. He didn't have a whole pint, so take that for what it's worth. Clarityferm did not impact the beer in any sensory way that I could tell.

No don't use maltodextrin. I don't know what all is in the whirlfloc tab regarding starches.

Cider and mead are GF. A new "thing" is craft mead, at 5-7% Abv. Maybe try that?

I started brewing for the same reason except it's for my wife. We had the same issue when we started, couldn't figure out why she was still having symptom because all the equipment was new.

Whirlfloc is supposed to be gluten free but some people have issues with the Carrageenan that's in it. It'd start there.

The other thing we noticed is if the beer hadn't completely clarified she'd get a stomach ache, presumably from the little bit of yeast left. But once it all fell out after a cold crash she was good. We use the danstar dry yeasts.

Gman505 said:

I started brewing only because I can't drink regular beer so my equipment has only been used for gf brewing. I grind my own grain from the gfhb.org. I only use dry yeast. I've tried different brands and it doesn't seem to help. I'm going to try Windsor next since I picked some up on sale. It says gluten free on the package, for whatever that's worth. I'm thinking about skipping the whirlfloc and using some clarity-ferm instead next time.

Click to expand...