What about my beer is making me feel like I have a head cold?

[stmicbarr]

The next morning after having at least 2-3 homebrews, I don't feel hungover but I definitely feel like I am getting a head cold. Homebrew never did this to me before, and commercial beer doesn't make me feel that way, so what do you think it could be??

Here are some background details...

I first noticed this about three batches ago, which would have been about the 3rd batch on a lot of new equipment.

I recirculate through a homemade parallel copper counterflow chiller to get down to pitching temp. I have a homemade copper whirlpool arm that I also use. I wonder if I'm not cleaning them well enough and there is either gunk accumulating that I don't see or verdigris forming. Could this be the cause?

I had also started saving some of the hot waste water from the chiller for cleaning everything up. The PVC on the chiller isn't food grade, and I wonder if the heated water is stripping chemicals out. Could this be the cause?

I can't think of anything else, and Internet sleuthing isn't turning anything up. Fermentations have been great. I use ported Big Mouth Bubblers. I use silicone tubing and triclovers for all connections. I soldered triclover fittings to my stainless steel chugger pump head with silver solder. I flush my tap lines with star san after a keg kicks.

Anyone else have a similar experience or have any suspicions?

 

[Thorsbrew]

Point of a counterflow chiller (at least to me) is so you can visually inspect (and clean with a brush) the copper tubes. Can you not do that with yours?

As for the PVC not being food grade...the wort travels through the copper not the pvc so i dont see how that would affect anything.

 

[MaryB]

You didn't say what your favorite brew style was but hops have that affect on some people. IPA's plug me up bad, English bitters I am fine with...

 

[Murphys_Law]

I haven't felt like that with home brew but beers like Fat Tire will usually jack me up like that. I feel like I need to take an antihistamine or something after drinking one.

 

[augiedoggy]

One very common reason this could be happening is if your letting your fermenter get too warm creating fusels in your alcohol. How are you controlling your fermentation temps once it gets going? when its taken off the yeast will raise the temps to well over ambient room temps. I forget what the magic temp is but I want to say 75 or 77 degrees or higher creates them.
My girlfriend is very sensitive to them and I made the mistake of doing this when making her a hard cider... just half a glass would give her a headache.

 

[stmicbarr]

I think the counterflow chiller concern is more for verdigris, the gunk concern is more for the whirlpool arm.

The waste water flows through the PVC, which is what I was collecting to clean up the equipment, so my concern was a residue left from that.

I've noticed this feeling with a double IPA, a Saison, and a Munich Helles. All different yeasts, all different hops.

So for the fermenter getting too hot...I have a chest freezer and heat wrap plugged into a temp controller. I varied the starting temp for each of the 3 batches, but the one commonality was that I ramped about 1 degree a day after I noticed fermentation dropping off, and I only increased a max 5 degrees above the starting temp.