Keg beer headaches

[mrchicken]

This is out of left field but here goes.

Keg beer gives me a wicked headache after 1 glass so I have no desire to get into kegging my beer.

Anybody have a clue why draft/keg beer gives me a screaming headache when bottled beer of the same kind does not?

I was told
1. The cleaning solution used in commercial keg beer contains formaldehyde and that is giving me a headache.
2. The carbonic acid added to the keg beer is giving me the headache.
3. I am a panzy who cant hold his beer. ;-)
4. Drink wine. lol

 

[schatzke]

Does this only happen with commercial beers? Any difference between tasting rooms, bars, restaurants? Sounds like you don't keg but have you had other peoples homebrew off the tap?

 

[jschein]

This is out of left field but here goes.



Keg beer gives me a wicked headache after 1 glass so I have no desire to get into kegging my beer.



Anybody have a clue why draft/keg beer gives me a screaming headache when bottled beer of the same kind does not?



I was told

1. The cleaning solution used in commercial keg beer contains formaldehyde and that is giving me a headache.

2. The carbonic acid added to the keg beer is giving me the headache.

3. I am a panzy who cant hold his beer. ;-)

4. Drink wine. lol

Probably 3 and 4

 

[jschein]

Does this only happen with commercial beers? Any difference between tasting rooms, bars, restaurants? Sounds like you don't keg but have you had other peoples homebrew off the tap?

Theses are valid things to look at.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

There are alot of dirty beer lines out there, maybe you are sensitive to typical nasties that build up. Another factor, that I've have noticed is that the first pint of the day often tastes off. Bad taps, short glycol lines, staff who don't purge the first 8 oz or so, who knows but with pubs increasing carrying 20 to 40 beers on tap, you have a pretty good chance of getting the first beer of the day. In some cases, it might be the first beer pulled in days.

 

[shelly_belly]

How many times has this happened? It could have just been coincidental the first time and now it's stuck in your head.

 

[buzd]

If we are talking about commercial beers, I believe bottled beers are usually pasteurized and often keg beers are not. So maybe it's a senstivity to active yeast?

If we are talking homebrew only, then I have no idea.

 

[Subdivisions]

If we are talking about commercial beers, I believe bottled beers are usually pasteurized and often keg beers are not. So maybe it's a senstivity to active yeast?

If we are talking homebrew only, then I have no idea.

If it's homebrew then there will be much more chance that there is active yeast. Kegged beer from commercial breweries is usually filtered.

 

[mrchicken]

Sorry, This is with commercial beers.
There is a local microbrewery that is especially bad and it has happened with each of the 5 varieties of theirs I have tried. A lot of people love their beer but its like a spike through my eye when I drink it.

I can drink several home brews and not get a headache at all. German styled in bottle fermented/primed beer doesn't give me a headache, even with the sludge swirled up off the bottom.

 

[mjc999]

This is out of left field but here goes.



Keg beer gives me a wicked headache after 1 glass so I have no desire to get into kegging my beer.



Anybody have a clue why draft/keg beer gives me a screaming headache when bottled beer of the same kind does not?



I was told

1. The cleaning solution used in commercial keg beer contains formaldehyde and that is giving me a headache.

2. The carbonic acid added to the keg beer is giving me the headache.

3. I am a panzy who cant hold his beer. ;-)

4. Drink wine. lol

I've gotten the same thing from certain bars. For me it is a sinus type headache and it can come from as little as two pints.

I never get it from my own taps. I have always attributed it to dirty taps/lines. Sometimes I can predict it based on the taste of the beer. Has a slight stale taste/smell. I don't repeat visit those bars.

...and of course, I may just be a panzy like you.

 

[mrchicken]

mcj999 thanks! I was wondering if I was crazy.

IT happens most often with Craft or micro brews.
I was reading How to brew by John Palmer and it talks about Fusel Alcohols as a yeast fermentation by product. It is said to have a "sharp" taste.

It seems to me that most all micro brews have a "sharp" taste these days but its probably the trend of over hopped bitter beer.

 

[Homercidal]

My advice is to not worry about your home kegging system giving you a headache. There is hardly any difference between a keg system and a bottle system as far as the beer goes.

There are plenty of variables that may cause a particular brewery's kegged beer to give you a headache. Yeast strain, dirty lines, fermentation temps, cleaners, ambient air, etc.

If your bottled beer is fine, then there should be nothing different serving it from a keg. (Except you may be likely to drink more of it at a time...)

 

[brewcat]

mcj999 thanks! I was wondering if I was crazy.

IT happens most often with Craft or micro brews.
I was reading How to brew by John Palmer and it talks about Fusel Alcohols as a yeast fermentation by product. It is said to have a "sharp" taste.

It seems to me that most all micro brews have a "sharp" taste these days but its probably the trend of over hopped bitter beer.

Or they just have a poor fermentation process. As many that have popped up there is bound to be bad brewers.

 

[mrchicken]

brewcat. I wondered about that. Their beer is really popular and trendy in our area. I think all of them taste "off", too bitter, over hopped, and even their porter has a strong sharp after taste that I was attributing to over hopping. Maybe they have a flaw in their process that is letting some gremlins into their beer?

 

[helibrewer]

When I was at Davis I asked Charlie Bamforth what brewpub to go to in town for a good beer selection, he said "Any that serve in bottles" These multi-tap brewpubs are notorious for bad delivery maintenance.