could drinking the yeast sediment cause a hangover?

I've seen threads talking about drinking the yeast sediment causing gas (never happens to me), but I'm starting to wonder if it could on some occasions cause a headache.

I have a German-style dark. I've only had a limited number of bottles of it so far (I'm trying to save it), but a couple of times it's given me a headache the next day. The first time it was still pretty "green" so I can't draw any conclusions. The second time I drank the sediment out of the bottom of the bottle, as I often do. Headache. Other times, like last night, just pure wonderful homebrew pleasure. I didn't drink the sediment.

Obviously there is not enough data to draw any conclusions here, so I turn to my fellow forum members for their experience.

Not an expert, but most people say the opposite. The vitamins in the yeast help prevent a hangover. Might get a fart-over, though.

No - yeast will actually reduce the hangover due to the vitamins in the yeast.

From what I have read, often headaches are caused by the development and ingestion of fusel (or what some term 'higher') alcohols. This can be avoided by keeping your fermentation temperature down low, below 70 °F should be sufficient. In the case of brewing Belgian styles where the temperature can get rather high, the idea is to allow the temperature to ramp up over a period of 3 to 5 days rather than shock it to say 80 °F or so.

A hangover is basically dehydration of the brain...if you drink a couple glasses of water before going to bed you won't get one.

I haven't had a hangover in over 30 years...

I am sure it is the alcohol in your homebrew. I had four Hefe's the other night and woke up in the middle of the night with a slight hangover. I am not sure, but I think the Vicodin I took earlier for my hurt back had something to do with it too.

My wife cannot drink my homebrew because the yeast seems to be triggering her migraines. Her neurologist said that yeast is one of the many migraine triggers out there, and after a few incidents in a row of homebrew immediately preceding a migraine, she's sworn off my beer. Coincidence? Maybe, but I guess the debilitating pain makes that connection seem valid enough for her. I just wish the doctor wouldn't have used the phrase, "So lay off that bathtub hooch your husband makes." Grrrr... no Christmas 6-pack for him!

Greg

I'm pretty sure its all the B12 in the yeast that help you from getting a massive hangover. I was at a belgian beer bar before where you could order a shot of yeast to add to your last beer of the night.

Hmmm- maybe it's not the yeast, but something in the trub, then?

FSBrewer said:

I've seen threads talking about drinking the yeast sediment causing gas (never happens to me), but I'm starting to wonder if it could on some occasions cause a headache.

I have a German-style dark. I've only had a limited number of bottles of it so far (I'm trying to save it), but a couple of times it's given me a headache the next day. The first time it was still pretty "green" so I can't draw any conclusions. The second time I drank the sediment out of the bottom of the bottle, as I often do. Headache. Other times, like last night, just pure wonderful homebrew pleasure. I didn't drink the sediment.

Obviously there is not enough data to draw any conclusions here, so I turn to my fellow forum members for their experience.

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I've never heard of it triggering headaches but it's possible that you might have a slight allergic reaction to the yeast?

I've found the yeast helps my good cholesterol quite a bit. I've been on Zocor 20 mg for about 3 years. My HDL's were always in the mid 40's. Started brewing again last Jan and was drinking a german style weiss which naturally has a good dose of brewers yeast that I swirll and add to the pour. My HDL's were 78 a month after steady drinking of the weiss. Just had a second check up and my HDL was 62 still much higher than before homebrew. I think it was lower because I've not been getting as much yeast as the weiss beer had but still a lot higher than before homebrew. Doing an internet search and it says brewers yeast helps raise the good HDL cholesterol. My Doctor says keep doing what I'm doing because the blood tests show that it's helping.

Barring an allergy, I've never heard of yeast giving non-migraine headaches. Like the others say, though, it can give you the winds something terrible!


TL

homebrewer_99 said:

A hangover is basically dehydration of the brain...if you drink a couple glasses of water before going to bed you won't get one.

I haven't had a hangover in over 30 years...

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A couple glasses of water???, pal you surely don't get drunk!!! When I go to sleep is because I can't drink no more. If I don't get drunk, obviously I neither get hangovers...
No hangover in 30 years, but how many wet beds???

Blanda said:

No hangover in 30 years, but how many wet beds???

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I was thinking the same thing.

Blanda said:

A couple glasses of water???, pal you surely don't get drunk!!! When I go to sleep is because I can't drink no more. If I don't get drunk, obviously I neither get hangovers...
No hangover in 30 years, but how many wet beds???

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That's funny stuff, I don't care who you are!!!

Of course, unlike yourself I don't drink until I pass out. If I end up "napping" before actually going to bed I still brush my teeth and drink the water...

Interesting. I have brewed 10 batches so far.

During which time, I have almost always had an early sample bottle of each batch. Recnetly I also made an american wheat beer.

So far, two times, I have gotten a migrane after trying young beer, out of probably 10 young beers that I have sampled from.

So far once, I have gotten a migraine from drinking my American wheat 'Mit Heffe' of after swirling the yeast up.

These migraines seem to come on about 4-8 hours after consuming the beer in question, and if caught early can usually be reduced quite a bit by 2-3 excedrin.

Under normal circumstances, I get 2-3 migraines per year.

gregs765 said:

My wife cannot drink my homebrew because the yeast seems to be triggering her migraines. Her neurologist said that yeast is one of the many migraine triggers out there, and after a few incidents in a row of homebrew immediately preceding a migraine, she's sworn off my beer. Coincidence? Maybe, but I guess the debilitating pain makes that connection seem valid enough for her. I just wish the doctor wouldn't have used the phrase, "So lay off that bathtub hooch your husband makes." Grrrr... no Christmas 6-pack for him!

Greg

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My mother had to quit drinking homebrew some years ago for the same reason. She is migraine-prone in general though.

So it looks like I'm going to keep drinking the sediment!