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Homebrew CAN be dangerous.

After having a homebrew I got incredibly sick. The symptoms were really nasty.

I spent a fortune irationally on brewing equipment.
I filled my house up with glass steel and grain tubs.
I was unable to go out with anyone at least one day a week.
Oh and at least once a week (usually the day after I don't go out) I wake up with a bit of a headache.

Tell your friend to grab a 6 before coming over unless he too wants this terrible disease!
 
I wish I could get my friends to stop drinking my homebrew.. or atleast start paying for some ingredients.. :D
 
In the 3rd trimester it is generally OK for up to a glass of wine or a beer, a friend of mine was ready to have a half a homebrew when she realized they were not pasteurized and said it wouldn't be safe for her. Is there any truth to this?
 
I have a friend who has had allergic reactions from homebrew in the past. Her husband is one of my brew buddies, and she can drink the beer we make just fine. Apparently, I am a much more careful brewer than the guy who made the beer she had a reaction too, who just kind of threw it all together.
 
In the 3rd trimester it is generally OK for up to a glass of wine or a beer, a friend of mine was ready to have a half a homebrew when she realized they were not pasteurized and said it wouldn't be safe for her. Is there any truth to this?

My wife is a public health researcher, and this is absolutely not true. All of the latest research shows that at any and all stages in development, alcohol is detrimental to development. A half beer may not be enough to raise cause measurable harm, but the literature shows that it will almost definitely cause *some* harm. The studies have enough data now that they're able to track a half glass of wine to an IQ point or two, and it's showing that no amount of alcohol is safe.
 
My wife is a public health researcher, and this is absolutely not true. All of the latest research shows that at any and all stages in development, alcohol is detrimental to development. A half beer may not be enough to raise cause measurable harm, but the literature shows that it will almost definitely cause *some* harm. The studies have enough data now that they're able to track a half glass of wine to an IQ point or two, and it's showing that no amount of alcohol is safe.


I would agree that at higher levels alcohol is not a good idea, but I doubt an IQ test can be accurate to within 1 point and prove 100% causality. I also highly doubt a controlled study was performed that prescribes varying levels of alcohol to pregnant women.


A quick search found this:
It has been proven that IQ test scores can vary by as much as 15 points based on certain factors which include:

* Applicant’s mood.
* The time of day.
* Applicant’s biochemistry.
* Applicant’s level of anxiety while taking the test.
* Emotions can also have a profound impact on IQ test scores

Can I see the studies you refer to? Per the poster child for no drinking during pregnancy:
Dr. Susan D. Rich said:
There are no scientific studies
 
I don't know what kaiser423 is referring to, but I do know this:

The only amount of alcohol we know to be safe during pregnancy is zero.
 
I don't know what kaiser423 is referring to, but I do know this:

The only amount of alcohol we know to be safe during pregnancy is zero.

And the only amount of alcohol we know to be safe to a human is also zero, yet here we all are...
 
That video that Revvy posted with the colonial times guy, I've seen his demonstration at a local Beerfest in Hershey, PA. The way this guy made beer with the equipment he had looked like a teppid pool of swine flu. He is still living and the 2 years I've gone to it...he was doing the same thing.
 
P.S. the beerfest this year was a HOT april sunday afternoon and this guy was sweating bullets....I'm assuming he is still alive!
 
And the only amount of alcohol we know to be safe to a human is also zero, yet here we all are...

That's just a silly statement.

No, we have absolute mountains of information telling us that that what you just said is false. We have practically every man alive since before the Egyptians, and have thousands of studies tracking hundreds of thousands of people throughout their whole lives telling us that, generally, alcohol is pretty safe after you get past a certain age.

I'm the last person to be a nanny about anything, but from the last set of studies that I've read about alcohol and fetus developments, I've been a) impressed with the amount of data, and quality of the study and b) scared at just how small of effects they can track.

However, after reading the studies, I still have no problem letting pregnant women knock back a glass of wine after the first two months, or a beer here or there. The kid will most likely be perfectly healthy.

But the statement that it's generally considered to have no effects on a fetus, is at this point, quite debunked, and all I feel is that you should put as truthful information as possible as you can out there and let people figure it out. Just doing some public service, or something :cross:
 
But the statement that it's generally considered to have no effects on a fetus, is at this point, quite debunked, and all I feel is that you should put as truthful information as possible as you can out there and let people figure it out.

I would hardly say it is debunked, there are strong points on both sides of the argument, you just happen to have a vested interest in one side. ;) Is there a clinical trial that shows direct causality between 1 drink and fetal development problems?
 
The REAL danger of homebrew

lkjh.jpg
 
I think the specific issue the poster of the pregnancy question was not whether a small amount of alcohol during the final trimester was bad, but whether or not unpasteurized alcohol was bad.

Rather than debating pregnancy and alcohol, does anyone actually have anything substantial to offer on the original premise of the question?

No, well I'll take a stab at it....

Looking at google, it appears that they only reason unpasturized things are to be avoided is because of the risk of things that otherwise cannot exist in beer/alcohol.

(see my original post about no pathogens being able to live in beer.)

Unpasteurized Milk: Unpasteurized milk may contain bacteria called listeria, which can cause miscarriage. Listeria has the ability to cross the placenta and may infect the baby leading to infection or blood poisoning, which can be life-threatening. Make sure that any milk you drink is pasteurized.

Drinking unpasteurized juice has been associated with foodborne disease caused by E. coli 0157H7 or Salmonella species that can make people seriously ill. Especially vulnerable are the young, the elderly, and people whose immune systems are compromised by a disease or immunosuppressive medication.

None of those things can exist in beer....I'm not advocating anything, but it appears that the reasons unpasturized foods/beverages are a no-no, are because of the risk of pathogens, that for the reasons I have already posted, cannot live in beer.

It should be noted that, in the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries, doctors often prescribed Milk Stouts to pregnant and lactating women to aid in the production of milk for breast feeding their babies (or perhaps just to sooth their frazzled nerves).

I think I might have some of those old adds lying around.
 
I would hardly say it is debunked, there are strong points on both sides of the argument, you just happen to have a vested interest in one side. ;) Is there a clinical trial that shows direct causality between 1 drink and fetal development problems?

We know for a fact alcohol is very bad for the fetus. We just haven't found a threshold for safety. As far as I know, the strongest point on your side is a lack of data, which is not very compelling. If you have something stronger then please share.
 
I think the specific issue the poster of the pregnancy question was not whether a small amount of alcohol during the final trimester was bad, but whether or not unpasteurized alcohol was bad.

Rather than debating pregnancy and alcohol, does anyone actually have anything substantial to offer on the original premise of the question?

No, well I'll take a stab at it....

Looking at google, it appears that they only reason unpasturized things are to be avoided is because of the risk of things that otherwise cannot exist in beer/alcohol.

(see my original post about no pathogens being able to live in beer.)





None of those things can exist in beer....I'm not advocating anything, but it appears that the reasons unpasturized foods/beverages are a no-no, are because of the risk of pathogens, that for the reasons I have already posted, cannot live in beer.

It should be noted that, in the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries, doctors often prescribed Milk Stouts to pregnant and lactating women to aid in the production of milk for breast feeding their babies (or perhaps just to sooth their frazzled nerves).

I think I might have some of those old adds lying around.

I agree. I don't think unpasteurized beer would be any worse than pasteurized.

Edit: Pregnancy and alcohol is still an important thing to discuss, albeit a bit off topic from the original point of this thread.
 
We know for a fact alcohol is very bad for the fetus. We just haven't found a threshold for safety. As far as I know, the strongest point on your side is a lack of data, which is not very compelling. If you have something stronger then please share.

You cite no data that shows a single drink will directly cause harm either. This only proves that it is speculation or bias that leads one to make their conclusion.

Revvy - thanks for some science as opposed to speculation.
 
My homebrew did make me go blind. I boosted the alcohol in this Ale to around 12% and after several pints I couldn't find my way out of my bathroom. Woke up in the bathtub.
 
You cite no data that shows a single drink will directly cause harm either. This only proves that it is speculation or bias that leads one to make their conclusion.

Revvy - thanks for some science as opposed to speculation.

I never intended to imply that a single drink will cause harm. We just do not know it to be safe. Currently the only way to know with 100% certainty that there will be no detrimental effect of alcohol is to abstain completely. That is all I have been saying and I don't think we are in disagreement.

This fact, combined with the fact that we know alcohol as a substance is harmful, leads me to my opinion that the best course of action would be to abstain. I agree it is unlikely that there would be detriment from a single drink later in pregnancy. However, I don't think the pleasure from a single drink is enough to outweigh that small chance. It is my opinion and not a fact, but it is not based on speculation or unwarranted bias.

edit: I should add that I won't judge someone for having said drink. I just wouldn't do it myself.
 
Looking at google, it appears that they only reason unpasturized things are to be avoided is because of the risk of things that otherwise cannot exist in beer/alcohol.

Si Senor. I don't see why an unpasteurized beer would be any more harmful. I can understand unpasteurized products in general, but beer's a special case. Of couse, beer is always special to me :tank:

:off:
On the other derail, both sides have good points, and the large majority of the evidence suggests that a drink or two here and there during pregnancy won't affect anything. So give it a go, I have no problem with my wife slowly drinking a beer or a glass of wine while pregnant. But at BAC's consistent with a single drink, it has been shown can block the binding of certain proteins in the fetus. Is it likely to really cause a problem? Probably not, us humans are incredibly resilient. But is it putting additional (however small) stress on the fetus? Most likely. But for all the care taken by some people to make sure their yeasts never get stressed in order to avoid off-flavors, you'd think that they might consider the same for the wee-ones. We have enough off-flavor people around here anyways :fro:
 
I've heard tale of a mama beer, papa beer and baby beer that invaded this chick named Goldie Locks house. They ate all of her food, slept in her bed and didn't clean up after themselves. The nerve of those beers....
 
About the closest a home brewed alcohol can get to being harmful is if it is infected (mainly with one of the Clostridium), and you ignored the fact it smelled and tasted very foul. It would not kill you, but you could get sick. But to do that would require you were totally oblivious to the smell of the beer.
 
About the closest a home brewed alcohol can get to being harmful is if it is infected (mainly with one of the Clostridium), and you ignored the fact it smelled and tasted very foul. It would not kill you, but you could get sick. But to do that would require you were totally oblivious to the smell of the beer.

This beer thread wont die so why would you from drinking beer? There is NO known pathogens that can live in beer. There is NO exception to that rule that I am aware of.
 
This beer thread wont die so why would you from drinking beer? There is NO known pathogens that can live in beer. There is NO exception to that rule that I am aware of.

It does not have to live in the beer. All it has to do is lived (as in past tense) when it was brewing. The germs leave the toxins behind them, the same as they yeasts do. Yeast is not alcohol, alcohol is what the yeast makes. Pathogens do not make you sick, it is what they leave behind that does.

Were the fact that no pathogens could live in beer we would not have alcohol. We would not have any infections in beer. We would not have any vinegar. There are plenty of things that can live in low levels of alcohol. Luckily they are not things that can kill you. But to suppose that nothing can live in beer is pure fantasy.
 
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