Has anyone else gotten sick from home brewing?

[jdlev]

<warning...some nasty stuff follows...read at your own risk >

So this past year...I hit 30 and it feels like my body's falling apart. I'm not sure what's going on. I've gone through about 15 gallons of my home brew since August, and I can trace a lot of my medical issues back to early september...namely since the sierra nevada batch (my second batch). I don't remember having issues after the first batch, but the last 2 batches seem to be making me sick. I know pathogens can't live in beer that affect humans...so I don't think it's that.

Whatever I have, it seems to be a stomach/intestinal bug, and its been affecting me pretty badly for about 6-8 weeks now. I've dropped 15+ lbs ban: the one good thing about all this). I had some strange symptoms, so I ended up going to the ER twice, and went to my regular dr once...I was very lightheaded...my face was tingly...i had the squirts and some sharp pains in my stomach/intestines. I've not had a fever. My stomach feels like a box of rocks after I eat pretty much anything. I think I may have some ulcers, which I suppose could get exacerbated by the home brew. However, I've been taking prilosec for the last week, and that should have helped to heal any ulcers? About the only thing that keeps a river from running through me is drinking a bottle of pepto.

I've been a beer/scotch drinker for the last 10 years, and have never had any issues like this until I started home brewing. I also have never been sick with anything for longer than 4 weeks, and that was sinus related.

I've cut back on drinking my home brew quiet a bit (which has made it taste better since it ages)...but now don't typically drink more than 1 glass a day, and the stomach cramps happen alot of the time after I have even a little bit. I've even cut back on having even 1 glass a day. Other alcohol doesn't seem to affect me, so I'm not sure what it could be.

I think my body may be reacting to the yeast. My first ER trip was because I wanted to learn, and so after racking to my secondary, I tasted a little bit of the yeast cake/trub at the bottom of the fermenter. Anyone else experienced anything like this? If I'm allergic to my home brew, I'm going to start taking steroid shots! Is there a filter out there I could put on my beer line or run my beer through to get rid of the yeast? It makes sense that yeast could be causing the problem because anything sugary really upsets my stomach. Also, after 3-4 big glasses of home brew, I would have a ton of gas. (My wife loved that, and has frequently joked about sowing my ass shut lol!)

 

[waldoar15]

Beats me. Could be the yeast, a gluten allergy or celiac. Quit drinking it altogether and see if things change.

 

[ChandlerBang]

Have you tried not drinking any home brew at all for a week or two and see if the symptoms go away?

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

It can't be the beer! I hope?! Hope you get to feeling better.

 

[phatuna]

Try to rule out everything else, and leave homebrew at the end of your checklist.

new cat
new shampoo
new hot sauce
etc.

 

[PVH]

This has been covered before. Search for it and you'll find some entertaining reading.

For me, I think it's whatever is undigestible in the beer (somebody help me out with the scientific stuff here - there are undigestible sugars or somethind, right?). I can get quite a bit of discomfort from some brews.

 

[johnmcc]

I've been too sick to brew, had the flu this past weekend and wasn't able to brew.

 

[devilishprune]

This has been covered before. Search for it and you'll find some entertaining reading.

For me, I think it's whatever is undigestible in the beer (somebody help me out with the scientific stuff here - there are undigestible sugars or somethind, right?). I can get quite a bit of discomfort from some brews.

If you're talking about undigestable for yeast, then yes. As far as I know, there aren't any that are undigestable for humans present in beer.

The main thing I thought of was celiac/a gluten allergy. Have you gotten a test for celiac before?

 

[jamesjensen1068]

I would go to your local health food store and ask them for their best probiotic....make sure it is a brand that is kept in the fridge. Probiotics are "good bacteria" that live in your intestinal tract. I would take double the recommended dose until your symptoms resolve. Probiotics are very, very, very safe to take. Also ask the health food store for some charcoal caps...take between meals and away from medications. Charcoal will absorb any nasties in your intestinal tract and make your poop formed again. Only side effect is you poop will be dark/black from the charcoal. You may have an infection from the yeast cake in the sense that you upset the normal flora (good bacteria) that is in your intestines. Or you may have some form of food poisoning completely unrelated to sampling the yeast cake. By the way you have some balls for sampling the cake. I have never looked at the yeast cake and said, "I wonder how that would taste?" P.S. I am not a doctor so it is up to you to take full responsibility for your health...I make no promises.

Cheers...get well and get back to brewing.

 

[rocketman768]

You may be allergic to beer yeast. It is a common allergen. It may explain why you only have a reaction to homebrewed beer, since most commercial beer has all the yeast filtered out.

 

[rjwhite41]

Have you had any other beer during this time? Did it make you feel the same? Was it filtered or bottle conditioned?

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Take 2 weeks off of homebrew and then drink a commercial beer that is unfiltered, there are more than you'd think. If that doesn't cause the reaction, try another homebrew and see if it does. If you have a reaction while not drinking homebrew then obviously you've ruled that out.

 

[jdlev]

If you're talking about undigestable for yeast, then yes. As far as I know, there aren't any that are undigestable for humans present in beer.

The main thing I thought of was celiac/a gluten allergy. Have you gotten a test for celiac before?

I don't think it's a problem with gluten absorbtion...I drank for years before home brewing without incident? Unless its an agitation that develops over time?

 

[jdlev]

You may be allergic to beer yeast. It is a common allergen. It may explain why you only have a reaction to homebrewed beer, since most commercial beer has all the yeast filtered out.

How would I go about filtering my own brew next time? Would a well filter do the trick, or do i need something smaller? Are there any drawbacks to filtering?

 

[RchanceN]

What did your Dr. say and do? Anyone do any labs or imaging? Like others said, could be Celiac, but you would have a problem with wheat, barley, rye and maybe oat products not just home brew. Could be ulcers, but again symptoms wouldn't appear only because of home brew. Also, a week of Prilosec is a start, but is not the complete treatment for ulcers.

It makes sense that yeast could be causing the problem because anything sugary really upsets my stomach.

I don't see how a=b in this statement.

Try the home brew theory by eliminating and then reintroducing it, but it doesn't seem likely to be the cause. Don't ignore it. Follow up with your doc. If you aren't happy with what he/she is doing or not doing, get another one. Hope you get this figured out and that brewing is still in your future!

 

[dlester]

I've never heard anyone getting sick. Allergies or chemicals are possible. Go get an allergy test and show your doctor the list of beer ingredients and chemicals used for cleaning. It's possible you left cleaning agents in the beer bottle.

Good Luck

 

[Zeuceone]

Sounds like the yeast have started to reproduce inside your intestines. Rather than drinking beer, go ahead and drink the wort, that should keep your stomach happy.

 

[Revvy]

Nothing pathogenic can grow in beer, so nothing in homebrew can make you sick. You can't get food poisoning or anything like that. In fact beer was brewed and used in place of water just becasue it was safer usually than the water.

I wrote this awhile ago and it's been posted all through here. It was written for an old thread. But the information is something you all need to know.

Ok for the sake of all the noobs on here, who are terrified that one wrong look at their fermenter and it is going to turn poisonous and kill them,

Get it straight people, no known pathogens can grow in your beer....nothing in your beer can kill you. Or make you sick!!!!!

In fact it was because water was often dangerous to drink that brewing became popular to begin with, because the brewing process killed most pathogens including e-coli

That's why the even brewed table beers, the third runnings from a partigyle session so that the children could have a drink that was safe to consume....

I came across this from a pretty well known and award winning homebrewer railing against a fellow brewer (it was on one of those "color coded" brewboards where they are a little less friendly than we are.) I just cut and pasted it and stuck it in a file...here it is.

Can you get a PATHOGEN from beer. No. NO *NO* Did I make that clear? You have a ZERO chance of pathogens in beer, wine, distilled beverages. PERIOD!

Pathogens are described as organisms that are harmful and potentially life threatening to humans. These are some 1400+ known species overall encompasing viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths. Of that group, we are only interested in those that can be foodborne. Quite simply, if it can't survive in food, it isn't in beer. That knocks out all but bacteria and fungi. Viruses need very specific circumstances to be passed around... like on the lip of a glass or bottle, not the beer in it. **Ahhh...CHOOO!**

Pathogens as a rule are very fastidious beasts. Meaning that they want very specific temperatures, acidity, nutrients and other conditions to thrive.

Bacteria that *could* live in wort, cannot survive even a little bit of fermentation. There are several reasons for this. One is in the 'magic' of hops. It is the isomerized alpha acids that provide a preservative effect to the beer, which happens to inhibit pathogens! Good deal for fresh wort!

Another reason is the drop in pH from fermentation. Next, yeast emit their own enzymes and byproducts, all in an effort to make the environment hostile to other creatures. The major one is alcohol, of course, but their enzymes will break down less vigorous organisms and they become sources of trace nutrition. Now the latter is very minor compared to the effect of alcohol, but it exists! Most of the time these enzymes work on the wort, not organisms until late in the process. Good deal for beer! ...uh, wine too.

Oh, Botulism specifically... did you know that this is an anaerobic pathogen? It's toxin is one of the few that is broken down by boiling. Did you know tht it is strongly inhibited by isomerized alpha acids, even in water? Since fresh wort has a healthy amount of oxygen in it, the beastie cannot even get started, then once the O2 is used up, it doesn't have a chance against the hops or the yeast.

All that is left are a handful of acid producing bacteria that'll ruin a batch of beer. Overall, there are less than 200 organisms that can survive in beer and lend flavor effects. None of these for very long, or very often. Lambic being the sole exception, and if pathogens *could* survive, that'd be the style where you find 'em.

Engrave this in your mind, and tell your fellow homebrewing buddies to ignore idiocy like this thread....If something toxic could come from our homebrewing, it wouldn't be a legal hobby!!!!! It would be like distilling.....illegal.

Don't forget, we had to go through a hellova lot of hurdles to get it re-legalized, 40 years after prohibition was rescinded...If it weren't safe then it wouldn't be happening for us.

Also, remember, we're NOT doing anything different than the big brewers are doing...We make beer the same way, with the same processes and ingredients that the commercial and micro breweries do....only on a smaller scale. Just keep that in perspective, we're not making poison, even ACCIDENTALLY. We're making food.

Actually we are making something safer than food. As canners know, or picnickers with potato salad, sometimes FOOD can turn on you. Not so with beer, wine, cider OR mead. The were meant to be safe in times when even water was dangerous. Even an ifected beer is not pathogenic to humans...it might be nasty but usually the nasti-ness would prevent us from even bringing it to out lips to begin with.

However people can have allergies/ or an intolerence to beer ingredients, someone could have an allergy to hops, or yeast, or the gluten in the grain, someone could be lactose in tolerant and have gastric issues from a sweet stout.

There's going to be two kinds of reactions, things like hives and respiratory, like a peanut allergy, and someone can get cramps and the runs-which is more like a lactose issue.

But they are going to be pretty immediate, the hives and resp are going to happen within minutes, if not sooner, and the GI would still more than likely happen within an hour maybe 2.

True food allergies are your body's immune (IgE) response to food proteins, and only food proteins. The most common are milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. Food intolerance (Gluten/Lactose) causes strictly GI issues, although food allergens will cause vomiting, but along with the other symptoms, such as hives, swelling, etc.

And the thing is, if someone is allergic to most of the beer ingredients then a) then they will be allergic to all beers, even commercial, unless it is yeast, then it would be with SOME commercial beers, that are unfiltered. BUT they would also then be allergic to bread as well. Since the same yeast is used in baking.

The hardest one to figure would be a hop allergy, since except for beer, hops don't really appear in other things. BUT then also, the person would be allergic to other beers as well.

When people post asking about this, I usually caution them to look to other things in their environment rather than homebrew, since those allergies are rare and manifest with similar ingredients (like bread) or happen with commercial beers as well.

Good luck.

 

[gregger]

WARNING: this reply isn't for sensitive ears...

When people post asking about this, I usually caution them to look to other things in their environment rather than homebrew, since those allergies are rare and manifest with similar ingredients (like bread) or happen with commercial beers as well.

I second that. I highly doubt that it has anything to do with your brew. Fifteen pounds lost, stomach pains, excess gas, feeling of bloatedness...

Sounds like a parasite. In fact, without being a doctor, I'm 91.193% sure - and this isn't for the squeamish - you may have an intestinal parasite. Think back to a few days to a week or so before symptoms showed up. Did you take a trip somewhere to a country with poor hygiene? Mexico? Eat any raw seafood, undercooked meats?

The little research I did just now seems to point to a parasitic infection. A few of the symptoms: Diarrhea, bloating, flatulence, abdominal cramps. The tingling and weight loss come from the rapid decline in nutrients that the parasites are stealing from your body. A few other symptoms you may have can be tiredness, no energy, burping excessively, even blood in your stool. Alcohol lowers your immune system and increases permeability by these parasites. I'm sure you have a high tolerance for alcohol which is why you have problems after 3-4 big glasses of your brew, versus one small glass. The gas comes from the parasites breaking down the alcohol. In fact, expect the same thing to happen with all other beers in the same quantity.

Ask your general physician if there are tests he can perform. Be prepared to provide him fecal matter. Sorry again for the TMI guys.

And one more time... Except for my interest in the matter, the human body, and science, I am otherwise not qualified at all for a professional diagnosis. Take my recommendations like you take everyone else's who isn't a doctor.

If it is a parasite, listen to every word your physician tells you in terms of doing the right things for treatment. Trust me, depending on what parasite this may be, treatment can be very difficult mentally. From personal experience, taking a pill or medicated liquid will be very easy to cure this thing.

 

[jdlev]

Sounds like the yeast have started to reproduce inside your intestines. Rather than drinking beer, go ahead and drink the wort, that should keep your stomach happy.

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

[KRYLOK]

Sounds like a gastric ulcers. Stomach ulcers affect about 4 million Americans every year. I had one for about 5 months. Was a bad experience with lots of money spent on doctors and ER trips. The only thing that fixed it in the end was a bland diet. This can be a serious problem so do some research. In the meantime don't drink alcohol, cause if it is an ulcer that will only make it worse.
Try a bland diet, it sux but it worked for me.

What causes Stomach Ulcers?
Smoking
Excess alcohol consumption
Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (aspirin) or corticosteroids.
Improper diet, irregular or skipped meals
Stress, but may be a contributing factor
Spicy foods

and also pepto bismol can make it worse too... like i said the bland diet sux.
sorry hope u feel better

 

[BrewDocND]

However people can have allergies to beer ingredients, someone could have an allergy to hops, or yeast, or the gluten in the grain, someone could be lactose in tolerant and have gastric issues from a sweet stout.

There's going to be two kinds of reactions, things like hives and respiratory, like a peanut allergy, and someone can get cramps and the runs-which is more like a lactose issue.

But they are going to be pretty immediate, the hives and resp are going to happen within minutes, if not sooner, and the GI would still more than likely happen within an hour maybe 2.

And the thing is, if someone is allergic to most of the beer ingredients then a) then they will be allergic to all beers, even commercial, unless it is yeast, then it would be with SOME commercial beers, that are unfiltered. BUT they would also then be allergic to bread as well. Since the same yeast is used in baking.

The hardest one to figure would be a hop allergy, since except for beer, hops don't really appear in other things. BUT then also, the person would be allergic to other beers as well.

When people post asking about this, I usually caution them to look to other things in their environment rather than homebrew, since those allergies are rare and manifest with similar ingredients (like bread) or happen with commercial beers as well.

Good luck.

This is very well said. I will comment however that not all allergies are immediate. Without getting too technical, some allergies are quick and easy to recognize, others are subtle and can present with any multitude of symptoms (skin rash, headache, runny nose, etc.). I would visit a doctor who deals with food sensitivities, like a licensed naturopathic physician. They should run the proper allergy and parasite tests.

To the OP: prilosec will not cure ulcers. It is a band-aid treatment that will have no positive effect on the disease process, but might make you feel better.

 

[BrewDocND]

Sounds like a gastric ulcers. Stomach ulcers affect about 4 million Americans every year. I had one for about 5 months. Was a bad experience with lots of money spent on doctors and ER trips. The only thing that fixed it in the end was a bland diet. This can be a serious problem so do some research. In the meantime don't drink alcohol, cause if it is an ulcer that will only make it worse.
Try a bland diet, it sux but it worked for me.

What causes Stomach Ulcers?
Smoking
Excess alcohol consumption
Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (aspirin) or corticosteroids.
Improper diet, irregular or skipped meals
Stress, but may be a contributing factor
Spicy foods

sorry hope u feel better

yup

 

[ChandlerBang]

I visited France and Spain a few years back and boy did I get sick. 17 pounds in 3 days. After all the tests, blood and 'other', the doc said it was a parasite I could have gotten from basically any food or drink (no booze, I was underage by US standards.) Literally anything. It was the worst king of sick I have ever been. And after I was all better I didn't get full strength back for months.

Skip the ER, go to your regular doctor. And like somebody else said, if you don't like his answer, go to another one. It ain't the beer (unless it's and allergy).

EDIT: I shouldn't have to say this, but I'm not a doctor.

 

[VTBrewer]

Sucks that you're feeling bad, and I hope that you feel better soon. But from a scientific stand point, and you seem like a smart guy, this doesn't require a post. Simply stop drinking your own homebrew and remove that from the equation. If things don't get better, and I hope that they will, then you'll know the cause. If things are still uncomfortable then please see your doctor. Be well my friend.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Homebrew isn't that different from the fermented beverages you were consuming before.

It is either a yeast allergy (sorry about your FVCKING LUCK!!!), a parasite (as mentioned), or........... THE WEAPONS GRADE PLUTONIUM YOU HAVE HIDDEN UNDER YOUR BED.

 

[ChandlerBang]

........... THE WEAPONS GRADE PLUTONIUM YOU HAVE HIDDEN UNDER YOUR BED.

OH $HIT! I forgot about this one! Is your hair falling out????

 

[KRYLOK]

alcohol will make it worse if it's an ulcer, you dont drink if you have the flu... unless your in Dublin ha ha. So why drink if your sick. put the beer down till you find out what is wrong.

 

[jdlev]

What causes Stomach Ulcers?
Smoking
Excess alcohol consumption
Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (aspirin) or corticosteroids.
Improper diet, irregular or skipped meals
Stress, but may be a contributing factor
Spicy foods

Have you been watching me?!?

I already started my bland diet. Lunch was broccoli cheddar bread bowl (last i'll be having of those for a while)

Dinner was scrambled eggs and plain steamed broccoli. No more cigars. No more Home Brew (for at least 10 days) No more scotch!

 

[KRYLOK]

Have you been watching me?!?

I already started my bland diet. Lunch was broccoli cheddar bread bowl (last i'll be having of those for a while)

Dinner was scrambled eggs and plain steamed broccoli. No more cigars. No more Home Brew (for at least 10 days) No more scotch!

yep like i said it sux a big one
stick with it man

 

[jdlev]

This is very well said. I will comment however that not all allergies are immediate. Without getting too technical, some allergies are quick and easy to recognize, others are subtle and can present with any multitude of symptoms (skin rash, headache, runny nose, etc.). I would visit a doctor who deals with food sensitivities, like a licensed naturopathic physician. They should run the proper allergy and parasite tests.

To the OP: prilosec will not cure ulcers. It is a band-aid treatment that will have no positive effect on the disease process, but might make you feel better.

ulcers make sense (kind of). my wife had them, and she took protonix (or something like that) and changed her diet and eventually they went away.

It's very rare that its a sharp pain, though it has happened on occassion. It's mainly just a dull/bloated pain, typically after I eat. It kind of feels like my stomach is a bag full of rocks. If I don't eat anything, then typically there is very little pain - which is the biggest reason I've lost weight. I've cut my beer intake to 1/10th (hell...i can't remember the last time I got drunk - oh wait...yeah I can...about 2 weeks ago), and I just don't eat anywhere near what I used to because I don't like feeling like crap...I just don't know why ulcers would cause the squirts and lightheadness. That was the most frightening symptom...at its worst (probably a little over a week ago)...I was extremely lightheaded, and my face would tingle. I thought I was having a stroke or something...

 

[flabyboy]

Have you been watching me?!?

I already started my bland diet. Lunch was broccoli cheddar bread bowl (last i'll be having of those for a while)

Dinner was scrambled eggs and plain steamed broccoli. No more cigars. No more Home Brew (for at least 10 days) No more scotch!

Broccoli is a huge gas producer. Bloat city baby. It sounds like an ulcer to me. I have had problems with my gut before. I was working nights, eating crap and stressed out in general. I switched to day shifts, ate better, exercised, and got adequate sleep. Things improved greatly. Of course, then I had children and adequate sleep went bye bye. Make sure to take care if yourself. Put down scotch and stay away from coffee.

 

[imasickboy]

First of all...consuming live yeast will make you "bubbly" inside. You will get gas. depending on the amount, you may get diarrhea. You may also experience cramping.

Filtering your beer is a definite option, if you are kegging. A standard cartridge filter housing with a coarse filter will remove most of the yeast. If you are bottle conditioning, filtering is not a viable option. Allow your beer to carb for a few weeks. The longer the better, as the yeast will settle as time passes. Put it in the fridge, and let it stay there for a while. The yeast will settle even more when cold. Pour carefully into a glass, doing your best not to pour any yeasty sludge from the bottle into the glass. Never drink from the bottle.

I'm sure you know all of that, but just in case, it deserved to be said. Too much yeast will make you feel like your entire insides are trying to come out.

As for the dizziness and tingly feeling, if it was just a one time occurrence, I'd not worry about it, and pass it off as coincidence.

Overall, though, I am inclined to go with the majority on this one: ulcers.

 

[KRYLOK]

you can still eat rice and... um... water.

 

[BrewDocND]

ulcers make sense (kind of). my wife had them, and she took protonix (or something like that) and changed her diet and eventually they went away.

It's very rare that its a sharp pain, though it has happened on occassion. It's mainly just a dull/bloated pain, typically after I eat. It kind of feels like my stomach is a bag full of rocks. If I don't eat anything, then typically there is very little pain - which is the biggest reason I've lost weight. I've cut my beer intake to 1/10th (hell...i can't remember the last time I got drunk - oh wait...yeah I can...about 2 weeks ago), and I just don't eat anywhere near what I used to because I don't like feeling like crap...I just don't know why ulcers would cause the squirts and lightheadness. That was the most frightening symptom...at its worst (probably a little over a week ago)...I was extremely lightheaded, and my face would tingle. I thought I was having a stroke or something...

Different types of ulcers present with pains at different times, but yes, do tend to be sharp and no, would not cause "squirts"

You just need a good doctor who will listen to you

 

[RchanceN]

Even if it is ulcers, they are most often caused by a particular bacteria called H. pylori which can be tested for and treated. Most of the rest are caused by frequent use of NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, etc). Smoking, excessive alcohol, and stress play a part in some people, but are likely contributing factors rather than causes. Ideally you would have some labs and an endoscopy done to confirm or rule out this possibility if a doctor thinks your signs and symptoms warrant this.

As someone else said though, ulcers don't explain your diarrhea or weight loss. Dizzy and tingling could be caused by too many things to discuss here. Your symptoms, especially lasting 8 weeks, need some investigation.

 

[gregger]

I'm going with a parasitic infection. All symptoms point to it and only a few symptoms - the non-serious ones - point to ulcer. IMHO I don't think ulcer is logical given all of his symptoms and ailments. The lightheadness, tingliness, diarrhea and 15lb weight loss in less than two months is the clue that does it for me. I don't think not eating will lead to 15 lb weight loss in less than two months unless you starve yourself and workout religiously to burn calories on top of it. I would really like to know what a professional thinks.

 

[VTBrewer]

Ok....this is getting stupid.

Some of us here are doctors. I'm not one. This is a life altering if not life threatening deal. It should NOT be on this board. Go see your doctor.

 

[Suex]

I'm thinking gluten allergy as well, the test is simple now, they just do a blood test.... And don't worry you can brew gluten free beer... I have a few friends with this allergy, you would be surprised at how easy it is to cope with, go get tested.

 

[Suex]

Sorry, double post....