Body rejecting beer!!! Leaning towards low ABV (session) beers

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Another "old" guy chiming in here... I am 38, and much like many of you, I have found the hangovers getting worse with age. The best way I have found to prevent it is to take a multivitamin before a night of drinking. Even though I VERY RARELY drink enough to actually get drunk anymore. (I can't even remember the last time I drank until I was sick) I still have hangovers if I drink more than 4 homebrews in a night. (8% homebrews, that is... I have a Tripel and a R.I.S. bottled right now). However, when I remember to take the vitamins before going to bed, then I find that the headache is only a minor annoyance, and the awful jackhammer monkeys seem to stay at home.
 
Are you overweight? Do you snore at night?You may have obstructive sleep apnea. I found as I got older my hangovers got worse. Alcohol makes sleep apnea much worse. Turns out I was choking in my sleep. Got a cpap mask now I don't choke and I feel much better after drinking.

Thanks for the thoughts :) I'm Pretty skinny actually, I don't snore (not much at least, only occasionally according to the wife).

I do know when I was a kid I would stop breathing in my sleep so mom slept next to my bed for my first 1 or 2 years of life. I'll ask my wife if she ever notices me having problems breathing while sleeping.

I also was told I'm pre-diabetic a couple years ago, (resting glucose at 102). I've changed my diet since then, but not always "on the wagon" with the low carb diet/paleo.

Hopefully this will happen :)
I went through that phase for about 3-4 years in my late 20s & early 30s. It passed though, thank goodness, and left me less interested in getting wild but still able to enjoy a good beer.

But until then I'll keep doing the water and an advil before bed, which seems to help a lot.
 
My hangovers can vary from none to feeling like crap and not wanting to eat or do anything until the afternoon of the next day. The amount of alcohol it takes to get a hangover can vary greatly.

Lately only a couple in the afternoon/evening before bed will make me feel lousy the next day. I'm not convinced it's dehydration. I've weighed myself and measured the amount of whizz and it's nowhere close to dehydration level. In fact, when I woke up with a lousy headache my measurements said I was just the same weight and actually got rid of less water than I took in.

I think it has to do more with what you eat and what kind of vitamins you take that can help. A few times I've gotten fairly tipsy and went to bed and woke up feeling great. Other times I've had only 2 beers and woke up feeling lousy. Again, not enough alcohol to cause dehydration.

My best preventative is to drink a 5 hour energy before drinking and one the next day. The B vitamins seem to help. I also try not to go to sleep feeling dizzy. It makes it hard for me to get a restful sleep.
 
Glad to know other old timers (a.k.a. - 30-somethings) are feeling some of the same ill effects that I have the past 2-3 years. I can't imagine consuming as much alcohol as I did in college. If I drank the couple of 40oz. cheap Mickey's that I used to consume on a Friday night in college I would be laid up for days at my age now. Drinking today consists of a couple of pints spread out over the evening with an equal amount of water between and after. Every once in awhile I get stupid and try to do what I once did and I always end up regretting it the next day and probably the day after that too.
 
Wow i'm lucky. As I get older (41) I'm going in the opposite direction. I can drink beer all day and all night long. Wake up the next morning and never feel like I had a drink the day before. When I was in college the next day hangovers killed me for days. Hangovers had me hating life to the point I didnt want to drink. But now I can drink beer like bottled water.
 
I wonder if the real issue is that most ~30 somethings are just growing out of the "invincible" stage of life and we're starting to realize that self preservation is necessary. Things maybe used to hurt as bad as they do now but suddenly thoughts of the future make them seem worse. Just a thought.
 
FWIW I've never had a good tolerance for alcohol...

I'm surprised sometimes by waking up feeling fine. Sometimes I'm depressed about how little it took for me to feel like crap.
 
Good to see that this is a VERY common issues as our bodies age. I'm 33 and can rarely drink more than 3-4, 6%abv homebrews in one night without feeling the ill effects the next morning. I always try to intake plenty of water after drinking and during the night afterwards but I suppose old age makes us more susceptible to the poisoning effects of alcohol. I have found the best thing to do to avoid being hungover is to stop drinking alcohol at least 3 hours before going to sleep and drink water for those last 3 hours instead. It also helps to eat during drinking to minimize the alcohol absorption.
 
Well I guess I am in the ancient category along with a couple others. I am over 60 and drink 3-5 beers/drinks most days. I can say the comments on hangovers and age are very much true for me. Back in my youth over indulgence might lead to a severe hangover which would mitigate by noon the next day and be gone by 4:00 the next afternoon. Now, on those rare occasions I really mess up, it will take as long as two and a half days to recover from flu like symptoms and longer to feel really normal. As I am retired now I stay up later and it leads me to one or two more brews than when I had to get up at an early hour; blessing or curse, I don't know. I have heard a Powerade or Gatorade at bed time is helpful.
 
Here's my tip: obviously drink water throughout the night, but eat a banana before you go to bed.
 
I don't usually get a hang over unless I catch a pretty good buzz. I can drink 5 or 6 pints over the course of the day and have no ill effects in the morning. But if I drink 2 or 3 in the course of a couple hours then I'll feel it the next day. I've gotten to the point where I don't like to get buzzed on alcahol. If I start to feel buzzed, I'll normally slack off or switch to water. I've also been waking up more and more often to a partially filled glass beer sitting on the end table. If I was still bottling beer instead of kegging I would probably waste a lot more.
 
I am honestly amazed and confused by comments here. I don't mean to judge, but first of all to say a 30 something is old is just foolish. I am 30, and I don't even remotely feel old, tired, or like I can't do what I once used to do. I exercise, eat well, and while I do enjoy beer, I may drink 1 in a night, certainly not every night of the week, and if I am in a more social situation, after 2 or 3 I call it a night--as far as drinking is concerned. Some are making it sound like once you hit 30+ that we might as well pull out our canes and electric scooters because we cannot binge drink like we did 10 years ago in college. Sorry, but we were never meant to handle loads of alcohol in one sitting, its technically a poison to our bodies. If you are drinking multiple beers every night and are coming to the conclusion that you are tired, hung over, or just feel bad the next day--maybe you need to stop drinking so much and so often. I do not mean to judge or call people out, but seriously, complaining you cannot drink more than 2 or 3 a night just sounds like you need to step back and look at why you think you need to drink that much to begin with. Sorry to be a downer, but I greatly enjoy this hobby and anyone who embraces it, but you don't have to embrace it so much that you become an alcoholic or dependent on alcohol. I only speak up on this as I am literally watching my father-in-law kill himself over alcohol. Its tearing his family apart and it really upsets my wife. So I am just interjecting with my opinion that if you are 30+ and complaining that you cannot drink more than a few drinks in a sitting--maybe that isn't a bad thing and maybe you need to reflect on why you think you need to drink more than that.
 
Something one of the posters mentioned earlier is the yeast. Both the fusel alcohol standpoint AND the yeast themselves. You may have developed a sensitivity (allergy) to the yeast. It could be affecting you with intestinal problems or give you the headaches and "flu like" symptoms. Does this happen only when drinking homebrew or microbrew? You can control YOUR batches a little by cold crashing your beer before bottling/kegging. It should reduce the yeast in solution and minimize it's effect.

OR, like many have mentioned here....you are just getting old. :)
 
Wow i'm lucky. As I get older (41) I'm going in the opposite direction. I can drink beer all day and all night long. Wake up the next morning and never feel like I had a drink the day before. When I was in college the next day hangovers killed me for days. Hangovers had me hating life to the point I didnt want to drink. But now I can drink beer like bottled water.

This is true for me now after the rough patch I mentioned to conpewter when I was his age. I bolded the part above b/c I still find it hard to believe how bad it was. I was hungover for >48 hours once after 2 mid-ABV beers! But whatever changed, it was around 33-34 when that all went away.

@Fennis~ I'm 41 and would generally agree with your opening statement: don't feel old or tired (anymore than I ever have, that is). The one difference I will note, and perhaps my "old timer" peers will agree: SOMETHING on my body always hurts. Shoulder, foot, knee, back... low-level pain is a fairly constant companion. No big deal and not unexpected after living hard for 30+ years... but there it is. Makes me happy that I can have a few really good beers now to balance out the discomfort :mug:
 
@Fennis~ I'm 41 and would generally agree with your opening statement: don't feel old or tired (anymore than I ever have, that is). The one difference I will note, and perhaps my "old timer" peers will agree: SOMETHING on my body always hurts. Shoulder, foot, knee, back... low-level pain is a fairly constant companion. No big deal and not unexpected after living hard for 30+ years... but there it is. Makes me happy that I can have a few really good beers now to balance out the discomfort :mug:

Ok, maybe I did go a little far in saying that I am completely unaffected by being 30. If I don't work out consistently and then go back to it after taking a few days off, I don't just drive right into it again because I end up hurting my back or arm muscles which was never the case when I was in college--so maybe age is catching up to me and I am in denial. Then again my dad is 67 and now just realizing that maybe he cannot do everything he did when he was my age now. So stubbornness runs in the family...
 
Based on earlier posters ages, I'm am ancient, At 64 1/2. :D
I've always loved beer, and except for a period in my 30's that I drank hard liquor (5 years) haven't had any real bad hangovers. I don't enjoy liquor, and can't remember the last mixed drink I had, been that long. And wine always gives me a headache. Tannin's, sulfite's? Doesn't matter, not as good as beer anyway.
I still love beer, and drink my share and then some. I don't feel old, am active, still ride my Honda 6 cylinder motorcycle, and have lots of enthusiasm for life, and that now includes my new hobby, home brewing.
And now that I'm making my own beer, I am drinking much better beer than I ever realized there was. I used to think Fosters, and Corona were premium beers:eek:
If you are unfortunately adversely affected by drinking beer, my heart goes out to you. But if you can only tolerate one or two beers a day (or week) that beer should be one awesome home brew!:mug:
 
I am honestly amazed and confused by comments here. I don't mean to judge, but first of all to say a 30 something is old is just foolish. I am 30, and I don't even remotely feel old, tired, or like I can't do what I once used to do.

No one is saying that 30 is old. I think that a lot of 30 year olds are realizing that the level of drinking they did 6-10 years earlier affects them more. Also, i think that more that usual beer consumption is something that comes along with this hobby for most people. Whether it's healthy or not.
 
I'm 33 and I think 30+ is over the hill physically. I didn't feel aches and pains in my 20's. I could do anything without stretching and rarely pulled a muscle. Now I have to be super careful and warm up before any sports or strenuous activity to avoid hurting myself. It's sadly the truth fellas.

Medically speaking human beings reach their physical peak between 18 and the lower 20's. Why are there so few pro athletes over 30? Because yes, we really do start to go downhill when approaching 30. How many guys who were trim and fit in highschool/college are now overweight and out of shape at 30 something? I'd say at least 75%.

We can make a lot of mistakes in college and not pay for it physically but as we age we need to learn to take care of ourselves if we want to stay healthy. Binge drinking is not healthy.
 
I'm 33 and I think 30+ is over the hill physically. I didn't feel aches and pains in my 20's. I could do anything without stretching and rarely pulled a muscle. Now I have to be super careful and warm up before any sports or strenuous activity to avoid hurting myself. It's sadly the truth fellas. ....[snip] Binge drinking is not healthy.

Wow. This thread morphed from "I'm starting to brew lighter beers" to "how much do you drink?" to "you drink too much!" and the final reduction "binge drinking is bad". And now 30 is the new 70?

I am nearly 50 and do half-marathons and cross train. And I drink copious amounts of beer. Drink what you can handle. If you have more than a couple, drink a good amount of water. Eat right, exercise, take yer vitamins, make good homebrew, and drink it.

What great news for all the 30 somethings! Your life is not yet quite over! Let's celebrate by having one beer and then going to bed early.
 
Yeah seriously. I am liking the smaller session beers, because, as any self respecting alcoholic will attest, only having one beer a night is super lame.
 
Wow. This thread morphed from "I'm starting to brew lighter beers" to "how much do you drink?" to "you drink too much!" and the final reduction "binge drinking is bad". And now 30 is the new 70?

I am nearly 50 and do half-marathons and cross train. And I drink copious amounts of beer. Drink what you can handle. If you have more than a couple, drink a good amount of water. Eat right, exercise, take yer vitamins, make good homebrew, and drink it.

What great news for all the 30 somethings! Your life is not yet quite over! Let's celebrate by having one beer and then going to bed early.

Yeah, I don't really know where the surprise that people on a beer brewing forum occasionally drink more than a beer a night came from. :drunk:
 
I'm 33 and I think 30+ is over the hill physically. I didn't feel aches and pains in my 20's. I could do anything without stretching and rarely pulled a muscle. Now I have to be super careful and warm up before any sports or strenuous activity to avoid hurting myself. It's sadly the truth fellas.

Medically speaking human beings reach their physical peak between 18 and the lower 20's. Why are there so few pro athletes over 30? Because yes, we really do start to go downhill when approaching 30. How many guys who were trim and fit in highschool/college are now overweight and out of shape at 30 something? I'd say at least 75%.

We can make a lot of mistakes in college and not pay for it physically but as we age we need to learn to take care of ourselves if we want to stay healthy. Binge drinking is not healthy.

ROFL!!!

Over 30 is over the hill? I was in the best shape of my life between the ages of 35 and 40. At 40, I caught a cold and it attacked my heart. That set me back a bit, but got back into good shape anyway. In my mid 40's I tore a rotator cuff and meniscus and that put the kabosh on things. No more weights and I gained weight. Its been a struggle since, but I eat right, exercise and medically I am in great shape except for the ticker. Like some said tho, everything hurts now, especially in the morning. Some days I cant put weight on my feet for a few mins cuz of the knee or the hip, or ankle or arches. All have been victims of overuse/abuse injuries through the years.

As far as alcohol, I just started having problems and becoming intolerant these last 4 years. I think its related to how high I was keeping my motabolism and the lower level now. Age, in my 50's, btw, is finally catching up to me. Now its two, maybe three pints once a week and I am done. That third pint is pushing it too. Some days I wake and feel like hell after 3. I will have A beer pulled from my tap between brew pub nites. One is very enjoyable without any repercussions.

So if you are under the age of 45 and you are suffering from low alcohol tolerance, how much exercise are you getting? When I was in my thirties, I ran 3 miles 7 days a week and lifted weights for an hour 6 days a week. I ate clean, no refined starches or sugars besides beer, and drank a ton of water.

My guess is most younger people who suffer like this are sedentary, eat lousy fast food, fried, lots of dairy, and dont flush their bodies. You might still be younger but you are not kids is all. No free rides on the metabolism train. Your livers and kidneys are getting overworked.
 
ROFL!!!

Over 30 is over the hill? I was in the best shape of my life between the ages of 35 and 40. At 40, I caught a cold and it attacked my heart. That set me back a bit, but got back into good shape anyway. In my mid 40's I tore a rotator cuff and meniscus and that put the kabosh on things. No more weights and I gained weight. Its been a struggle since, but I eat right, exercise and medically I am in great shape except for the ticker. Like some said tho, everything hurts now, especially in the morning. Some days I cant put weight on my feet for a few mins cuz of the knee or the hip, or ankle or arches. All have been victims of overuse/abuse injuries through the years.

As far as alcohol, I just started having problems and becoming intolerant these last 4 years. I think its related to how high I was keeping my motabolism and the lower level now. Age, in my 50's, btw, is finally catching up to me. Now its two, maybe three pints once a week and I am done. That third pint is pushing it too. Some days I wake and feel like hell after 3. I will have A beer pulled from my tap between brew pub nites. One is very enjoyable without any repercussions.

So if you are under the age of 45 and you are suffering from low alcohol tolerance, how much exercise are you getting? When I was in my thirties, I ran 3 miles 7 days a week and lifted weights for an hour 6 days a week. I ate clean, no refined starches or sugars besides beer, and drank a ton of water.

My guess is most younger people who suffer like this are sedentary, eat lousy fast food, fried, lots of dairy, and dont flush their bodies. You might still be younger but you are not kids is all. No free rides on the metabolism train. Your livers and kidneys are getting overworked.

I'm actually in really good shape, too! I teach and train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and box/Thai box on the side. I thought maybe that was leading to my decreased alcohol capacity, like I was already beating myself up enough, and a little over indulgence put me over the edge. Who knows?
 
Yeah, I don't really know where the surprise that people on a beer brewing forum occasionally drink more than a beer a night came from. :drunk:

No doubt. I'm starting to feel like an alcoholic because i never just drink one beer "with dinner."
Anyways, i think the OP already knows the answer to his own question. What was the question again?:drunk:
 
The point I was originally trying to make is that I once (5-10 years ago) could consume as many as 12 light beers in an evening and then wake up and play football followed up with some basketball the next day. Now at 30 I can consume as little as 3 micro brews in an evening, drink a glass of water before bed and wake up with a splitting headache that can't be cured.

I'm finding it hard to brew beer when I want to consume the beers I brew only to end up regretting the beers I drink. It's become a vicious cycle that is drawing me towards changing the strength of the beers I brew and/or my habits all together.

30 is not old for the record! Although it was the toughest age to turn for me to date.
 
The point I was originally trying to make is that I once (5-10 years ago) could consume as many as 12 light beers in an evening and then wake up and play football followed up with some basketball the next day. Now at 30 I can consume as little as 3 micro brews in an evening, drink a glass of water before bed and wake up with a splitting headache that can't be cured.

I'm finding it hard to brew beer when I want to consume the beers I brew only to end up regretting the beers I drink. It's become a vicious cycle that is drawing me towards changing the strength of the beers I brew and/or my habits all together.

30 is not old for the record! Although it was the toughest age to turn for me to date.

I hear ya, bro! My issue is that, while I seem to be less able to physically tolerate the big beers, my palate has changed so that I do tend to enjoy them more...weird. You'd think I'd get the hint after a few too many nights spent with big triples and IIPA's, right?
 
I'm only 23 (I promise that's not meant to sound like bragging), so I tend to only get hangovers if I put away a case - BUT I do have an absolute miracle suggestion.

The night before you go to sleep, drink pedia-lyte. The bottle is conveniently ribbed on the outside, and I tend to portion off the distance between two of the ribs. I've hit the whiskey bottle real hard and then drank pedia-lyte, and I have felt great in the morning. Couple it with a big ol' glass of water, and it should definitely cut back on the headaches, even if it doesn't cure them.
 
i never heard of pedialyte, is it sold at most supermarkets?

It's basically sweet electrolyte fluid. It's meant for babies when they have the ****s so they don't get severely dehydrated. Tastes delicious, and perfect for when you're banged up!

Look for it in the babies section.
 
Gatorade and vitamin waters work well too. Also good if you wake up not in the best of shape. Restores Vitamin C and electrolytes your body became deficient in.
 
we give our kids coconut water for the trots- it works great. i drink it a lot when i am hung over, which is when i'm not drunk. i haven't had a solid bowel movement since my sophomore year in hs
 
The older I get the more I have to work water in during the evening. I drink an 8oz glass about every two beers and 20-30oz right before bed. The water intake is key. If I feel a little bit of a headache in the morning I will take a couple of ibuprofen with 8oz of water. Never fails. I never get bad headaches anymore and I'm 40 and drink 8% IPAs most of the time. I got worse headaches in my late 20s! Then i realized that most of the time I would get headaches because of low water intake vs high alcohol intake.
 
I'm only 33 and definitely do not feel over the hill but I have realized that I can't hang like I did ten years ago. I am also drinking smaller amounts of much better beer now than I was in my heavy party days. I'm glad to have learned that quality trumps quantity. Hangovers hurt way more than they used to but I don't go out pounding shots and pitchers of cheap beer anymore (very often) so it isn't much of a concern. +1 for drinking water and eating well while enjoying one or two big beers.
 
from around age 18-22 I could drink until i just about blacked out and be fine the next day. I went out with friends one night when i was 22 and i was hung over for 3 days. since then i only have 3-4 beers a night max
 
Guess I'll take the heat on this one, but it's what I'm thinking. Why do you boys that say you drink three beers a week even bother with homebrew? Three a week? It would take you 16 weeks to drink a 5 gallon batch! To tie up the $$ and time, and storage space, to brew once every four months just doesn't compute for me. What with all the really decent craft brews available these days why don't you just buy a case once every blue moon and party down? No offense intended, and to each his own, but it really just seems to me not to be worth the effort if you drink so infrequently.
 
I'm 25 and I usually feel fine the next day unless I really over do it and skip eating or something. But if I sober up while I'm still awake I get the worst headache. If I catch a good buzz while brewing or something but then stop before I get too stupid I'm guaranteed a headache in a couple hours. I think I read somewhere that it was the blood vessels in my head re constricting to normal.
 
Guess I'll take the heat on this one, but it's what I'm thinking. Why do you boys that say you drink three beers a week even bother with homebrew? Three a week? It would take you 16 weeks to drink a 5 gallon batch! To tie up the $$ and time, and storage space, to brew once every four months just doesn't compute for me. What with all the really decent craft brews available these days why don't you just buy a case once every blue moon and party down? No offense intended, and to each his own, but it really just seem to me to be worth the effort if you drink so infrequently.

I am one of those 3 beers a week guys. The reason I homebrew is two-fold. When I do drink beer, I want to drink really good beer. But the MAIN reason I homebrew is the brewing and recipe-crafting process. It is a lot like gourmet cooking. Many people love to cook gourmet meals. Part of it is the love of good food, part of it is the theraputic effect of time spent crafting something you can truly be proud of. I relate homebrewing to cooking. My personal quest is to make the best possible beer I can. Maybe someday I will open a small brewery if I get good enough. For me the therapy is in the brewing. Having a really great beer every now and then is just the icing on the cake, so to speak.
 
I am one of those 3 beers a week guys. The reason I homebrew is two-fold. When I do drink beer, I want to drink really good beer. But the MAIN reason I homebrew is the brewing and recipe-crafting process. It is a lot like gourmet cooking. Many people love to cook gourmet meals. Part of it is the love of good food, part of it is the theraputic effect of time spent crafting something you can truly be proud of. I relate homebrewing to cooking. My personal quest is to make the best possible beer I can. Maybe someday I will open a small brewery if I get good enough. For me the therapy is in the brewing. Having a really great beer every now and then is just the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Makes sense I suppose. I think I might do smaller batches just so I got the feedback on a more frequent basis, but who can argue with doing something which pleases you? Prost.
 
befus said:
Makes sense I suppose. I think I might do smaller batches just so I got the feedback on a more frequent basis, but who can argue with doing something which pleases you? Prost.

I drink more like 5/work week then between 5 and 10 on weekends. And I brew more like 3 times a month, often with double batches. I really enjoy the whole process, from planning to brewing to refining and sharing.

However, like you suggested, I have switched to 3gal batches (2.5gal yield) and I also give away a lot of my beer to friends. It makes sense to me :)
 
+1 for therapeutic brewing. I average 6 to 10 beers a week and my dad usually has one or two when he stops by on the weekend. I usually brew two 2.25 gallon batches a month, production is about equal to consumption. To me the process of brewing is great therapy and I get beer when I'm done
 
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