Cancer & Beer 2019 - A new to brew perspectecive

Cancer & Beer 2019 - A new to brew perspective

Brewing and learning about brewing is a very welcome distraction and awesome hobby.

Let me say cancer sucks. It affects one personally, whether it’s through an acquaintance, friend, loved one, family member or simply yourself.

I haven’t been given an expire on date yet but I have been dealing with it for a number of years. During chemotherapy I still enjoyed beer but it wasn’t the same and I wish I knew how to brew back then so I would have had something more to my liking and state of being.

At that time the carbonation level in commercial bottled beer I found quite annoying. But I had a kegerator and for the most part after initial tapping I could control the carbonation and bring out flavour that was lost.

What has prompted me to write in this forum is to share my current and future experiences with this hobby and to make it as healthy as possible. [Because I am going to brew it anyway]

As far as hobbies go, I think brewing beer [ingredient wise] is the cheapest hobby ever! And also promises very enjoyable results.

I have read articles, “against”, drinking beer [far too little detail and fact with respect to correlation in specific beer types or even acknowledgements of beer types/processes] merely generalizations.

What I say:

- Moderation, too much of anything is detrimental in some aspect
- If you’re going to do it then make it as:

o Non-negatively impactful to others as possible
o Healthy as possible.​

- Denying one’s self of pleasure is torture and is more detrimental to wellbeing than any disease or sickness​

I have read articles, “for”, drinking beer and regardless of the plausible benefits there is a lack of empirical evidence. What I say:

- Where are the beer recipes for health?
- Which beer recipes have the best bang for your health? [ if they are on this site I couldn’t find them]​

My oldest daughter helped me make my first batch of beer. The awesome part of that was I didn’t have to tell her too, she asked me if she could help! Because she was interested. WOW, any dad would be beside himself, having an easy shared interest with their child. The sheer volume of knowledge and perspective shared in the brewing process is an amazing thing. Thank you beer!

To my daughters' credit she enjoys learning as much as I do and it was fun for her.

I had been toying with the idea of making beer for a few years but thought the cost was too great in dollars and time [wow was I ever wrong].

- Prep and brew time 2.5 hours [2.5 hours with my daughter learning something new, priceless]
- 3 used carboys, hydrometer, syphon, air locks, cleaning brush = ~35 bucks + cost of ingredients

o A local brew place sells their used carboys for 15 dollars so I bought one, and I also found used equipment online. There is so much used equipment on line it goes for pennies on the dollar, I had no idea.
o Reward = 60+ litres of hopefully good beer [ if it’s not good the first time it will be the next…]​

Home brewing is the cheapest hobby I have ever encountered and its benefits are highly tangible.

So if you are looking for a hobby or killing time due to cancer, please help me figure things out.

A few interesting things I have read: [ I read them on the internet so if they are wrong and/or you can back them up let me know]

- One study showed that a tablespoon of beer is all it takes to release dopamine in the human brain

o Which can help a person feel more relaxed and
o Therefore more able to fall asleep.

§ No wonder I like amber lager, I’m self-medicating, lol lol lol​

- RDWHAHB – that’s awesome- if I ever get a tattoo that would be in the top ten
- It is well established that alcohol use and abuse is associated with a wide variety of cancers, and the number of these associations continues to grow.

o At the same time, it now is becoming clear that alcohol can have a preventative effect for certain cancers.
o Also, despite the potential beneficial effects of alcohol in the prevention of some cancers, it is important to remember that the detrimental effect of chronic alcohol abuse cannot be disregarded.​

- Czech Republic, a nation of beer drinkers, study showed the lowest risk of heart attacks in men who drank almost daily or daily, consuming between 7 to 16 pints of beer a week. [nice!]
- Hops contain xanthohumol, Wahoooo
- Patent filed for innovative brewing - Infusing beer with health benefits

o live counts of probiotics are more effective in delivering health effects than eating those with inactive probiotics.
o … ideal recipe that achieves the optimal count of live probiotics in the beer.
o … I am confident that the probiotic gut-friendly beer will be well-received by beer drinkers, as they can now enjoy their beers and be healthy."​

- Ancient Beer: 13,000-Year-Old
- Overall, the study found alcohol increases the stroke risk by about one-third for every four additional drinks per day. The researchers found no protective effects for moderate drinking.
- From what I have read, the less alcohol you drink some believe the better it is for you

o What I say:

§ Death by accident
§ Death by war
§ Death by cancer
§ Death by beer
§ Which is more likely to come first??
§ Globally which is more plausible?
§ Nuff said!​

- My ten year old perspective, YOLO
- Please note I try to eat healthy and make an effort to do so

o However there are limits… you always need to hydrate​

If you are still reading, thanks for reading.

My writing was inspired by the lack of closure in the forums, not that it can be had.

It is tough because I have read the posts of some who said they had cancer and then I looked at how long it’s been since they last posted… I raise my amber lager glass of beer and say cheers.

One guy had written he was brewing and spending time with his girlfriend. That to me showed how important the hobby was to him and how it helped him make the best of his time...

Their writings, advice, thoughts and good beers will go on as long as this site exists.

Back to the need of my post.

What I would like help with:

- 2 beer recipes at minimum [if they exist on this forum forgive me I tried to search...]

o Amber Lager for health [amber lager is my favourite]
o Beer for health [we already know copious amounts of alcohol is bad]

§ but let’s have a recipe and call it

· 5% ABV - Health Beer recipe – or the best it can be for health
· 4% ABV - Health Beer recipe – or the best it can be for health
· 3% ABV - Health Beer recipe – or the best it can be for health​

- Herms system for the beginner

o Please be straight up and say

§ This is the minimum and this is what worked me…
§ Or say what HERMS means to you

· There’s an aussie guy who put an on demand hot water thing in his
· This totally inspired me and I found free parts from commercial coffee makers to help, I’m still in the build phase…​

§ Or say HERMS isn’t as good as doing this “fill in with your words”​

- Hops: how to incorporate the beneficial acids, oils, flavonoids with the least loss at 60° C or less:

o As a total newb how do I incorporate the hops….. for max benefits:​

[My knowledge is basic please give it to me at the pop-up book level (insert smiley face)]

§ In extract brewing from a can and with lme
§ Or maybe in any type brewing
§ [forgive me I’m new] but I think as a newb it’s a very good question

· For health how do I incorporate hops for any type of brewing?​

Here’s something funny; I call my daughters sweeties so when I had to explain sweet wort to them and how I think of it when I say it, they just role their eyes at me. But hey I likes my beer and it comes from sweet sweet wort.

Have a good night.

 

For recipes, I suggest you brew whatever you like to drink. There's not any major different in healthiness from one beer to another.
FYI with the exception of certain sour beers, none are probiotic.

In my opinion, a HERMS is needlessly complex for a beginner. I suggest you try a no-sparge BIAB or get a cooler and convert it to a mash tun.

Hops added early in the boil are for bittering. Hops added late in the boil or any time after that (e.g. whirlpool, dry hops) are for flavor.

Cheers

 

To make a proper amber lager requires better temperature control as lagers are usually fermented cooler than ales. If you have a way to control the temperature of the fermenting beer, go for the lager. Otherwise, choose a clean fermenting ale yeast and go with that.

I often make a low alcohol beer (3% ABV) so I can have a drink without feeling impaired if I need to drive machinery. Other times I may want a higher alcohol beer to "unwind" from a more difficult day. I have storage space so I can have many types of beer in bottles to choose from.

I'll echo RPh guy that for starting with all grain, BIAB is the easy way to go and produces beer equally as good as any other system. Starting with LME or DME (or a combination) is easier but not a lot and not much faster. It does take away the uncertainty of how efficient your conversion and extraction of the sugars will be were you to go to all grain as someone else has taken care of that part.

Hops serve multiple purposes such as bitterness to offset the sweetness of the beer, preservation, and flavor/aroma. Added at the beginning of the boil, most of the flavor/aroma is boiled off and the hop acids isomerize to create bitterness. Late in the boil there isn't a lot of time to boil off the flavor or to isomerize the acids. After the beer is cooled, hops add no bitterness at all but leave the beer with a wonderful aroma which varies with the variety of hops used.

One of the best things an aspiring brewer can do is to read. There is a huge amount of information available in How to Brew which John Palmer has graciously provided free to read at www.howtobrew.com but it is better to buy one of the newer editions for the updated information. Once you have read this book 2 or 3 times, wander through the various forums here on HomeBrewTalk and ask specific questions if you don't find the answer.

 

While I completely agree with Rph Guy regarding the HERMS being complex for a beginner, I must say building mine was some darn good fun and using it brings out pride. It was difficult as when I started to build, I had no idea where to start, mainly with the PID temp control. But, I figured it out, wired my own box, built my HERMS using a SS immersion chiller cut and fitted into a lid of a 3 gal pot and fitted said pot with a element. It works amazingly well and was such a fun build. Good luck to you with everything.

 

Try sour beer style like Berliner Weisse. Low alcohol (3%) and probiotic.
You can try the easier way with no sparge BIAB and 10% of Acidulated malt.

50% wheat malt
40% pilsner malt
10% acidulated malt

1/2 oz of any high AA hop (Magnum, Columbus)

US-05

This beer is very easy for drink and healthy.

 

Sorry, not probiotic.

 

If you like amber lagers, but don't have lagering capabilities, then perhaps an Irish Red ale might be the thing for you. There's a ton of good Irish Red recipes out there. Or if you like an amber, more hoppy style, then IMO you can't do better than Denny's Waldo Lake Amber recipe.

 

Now I know you had a discussion some time ago about what constitutes probiotic or not, but to be honest, I don't remember. Is the definition just that a probiotic contains certain defined species of bacteria? Or can it be more general to containing any beneficial microorganism. For example, all non-filtered beer contains live yeast, which is beneficial to our GI tract and is a good source of B vitamins. Those sour beers that contain live lactic acid bacteria, which is beneficial, are they not probiotic? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

S. cerevisiae is not "probiotic" because it does NOT survive in our GI tract. It is nutritional at best, and probably not even that, given the small residual quantity in most beer consumed.

S. boulardii is the only probiotic yeast. Several genera of bacteria are probiotic including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
Probiotic beer would need live Lactobacillus, which means a short-term mixed fermentation sour.

Pretty easy to make:

• Make unhopped wort. Chill as normal.
• Pitch yeast and any product with Lactobacillus plantarum.
• Ferment at 65°F or higher.
• Optional/recommended: add hops via dry hop or hop tea after souring.

Cheers

 

Surely you're not disbelieving those reports of spontaneous fermentation in people's GI tract giving them an excuse when they get pulled over for OUI?
By the way- GREAT explanation above!

 

"Auto-brewery syndrome" is a real thing, but extremely rare.

 

Cancer cells ferment. Normal cells respirate. Normal cells can metabolize fats. Cancer cells cannot! Cancer cells need 2 things to survive: carbohydrates and glutamine. Without it they whither.

If I had cancer and I had some chance I would immediately go on keto diet with intermittent fasting. I would seek out Drs that understand and treat cancer as the metabolic disease that it is. Sadly this is not in the standard practice of care and most cancer Drs wont even know what you’re talking about when you bring this up.
Finding a prescription to block glutamine would likely also be challenging.

Id certainly be willing to stop drinking beer to try and survive.

OP i hope you live a long a prosperous life.

 

Pro biotic or not... now that my home brew is tasting better, i drink more. My swmbo has noticed a rather large increase in my, er, shall we say gaseous discharges.
That's gotta be the yeast left over from my fresh unfiltered unfined beer right?!?!

To the OP @Chek:
I am sorry about the cancer. My best wishes to you and your family. I was touched by the memories you are making with your daughter. I am sure she will treasure thoose memories forever. I think all of us have at least a loved on who have battled it.
Brew on and best wishes! Welcome to the forum!

 

Hi
RPh_Guy
RM-MN
JaymzMF
JimRausch
505-Brewer
Nate R,

I want to say thank you for reading and thank you for responding. I will put all my replies in one reply. I enjoyed all your responses and input. At the end I have a question.

To RPh_Guy:
Thank you for the advice I appreciate it. For my first extract brew I dry hopped. Tried a glass so I can see what it’s like. In another week I will try it again. And I have been toying with the idea of BIAB, picked up a Lager extract yesterday but after that one I will more than likely try the BIAB as I work toward gaining experience.

To RM-MN:
Thank you as well for the advice. I ordered a temperature controller and I have an old small fridge which I will take apart and make a Lagering incubator. Currently my basement is sitting at 16.8 C, and it should get cooler soon so that will help. My first extract brew is about 4% abv, from my calculations. I have let it sit another week and I will see it changed at all. But I did drink some and survived so I will consider it a success. It seems sweet and malty but it wasn’t carbonated and hasn’t matured. I have read so much I think I'm on information overload. But this still seems like the best hobby ever!

To JaymzMF:
Thank you for sharing your experience. I too am having a great deal of fun in the learning and the problem solving processes of brewing. I am quite proud that my first brew is drinkable, [I’m laughing], I haven't let anyone else try it yet so if I doesn't make my friends sick then it was truly a success.

My daughter wanted to help me put the first brew into a keg, so I certainly enjoyed the fact she is interested. Overtime I will attempt to build a herms. If I don't try to brew the lager extract I have ust bough then I will do a BIAB. I Don't have a big enough pot as yet. But I am looking for one. What Voltage and Watt element did you use?

To Ninoid:
Thank you, I will try this for sure. It will be my fourth or fifth brew. I have no idea what acidulated malt is but google is my friend. I will post my results after I find the ingredients and brew it. I can't wait to make one of my buddies try and tell him that he is drinking healthy beer! He will be lost at probiotic, so I guess the humour will be lost on him. [just read the reply for your post saying it’s not probiotic, oh well…]

I guess I will have some research to do. But I will still try your recipe. Thank you. [I make my own purple cabbage sauerkraut with garlic, which is pre & pro biotic and I will have that with my beer]

To JimRausch
Thank you for the info. I have looked at a few different types of Irish Red ale, at the supply store. But because I know next to nothing I didn't buy any yet. I will do and Irish red for my sixth brew because I am making a list, however it will more than likely be extract. I looked up Denny's Waldo Lake Amber recipe, and being all grain I'm not at that level yet but now that you have recommended it, I will make it as soon as I get to that brewing level. I will post my results and thank you.

To 505-Brewer
Thank you for the knowledge, I appreciate it and will give it serious thought. I work every day to understand cancer better. I have spent the last 3.5 years not enjoying life so, for me; I will not stop having a beer. My quality of life is very low. My family knows how unhappy I am, and at this point [for me] if brewing beer and drinking beer improves the day then I will choose that. I do educate my family on the right things to do, however quality of life is equally important. I teach my family life is short no matter how many years we might live and happiness has to be a part of that. Do not misunderstand me, I don't want this and I would like it to all go away, but if I'm making my family unhappy because I am unhappy then as a dad I need to do something different. This new hobby of mine is helping. Please don't let me discourage you on your input, because I want it, in a day or a year what you wrote could cause me to have an epiphany and will help me find a new way for positive change. Thank you and I truly appreciate your input.

To Nate R
Thank you for the kind words and I appreciate it. Now I am really curious, does homebrew beer make you fart?

Though empirical evidence I will share my new to brew perspective. [you should see me laughing my ass off right now thank you].

I will do a blind test, lol lol lol, my daughters aren't big drinkers nor have I heard them sound off after a couple beers, lol lol lol, but when we all try the carbonated beer next weekend I will let you know the results of the test. I'm still laughing thank you.

The Big Question:
- What do you think would happen if I threw my pre/pro biotic sauerkraut in the carboy with the fermenting wort?????

- I really like my sauerkraut and some people rave about it, but how sour or not would the beer be? [at this point I would be scared to waste 20 odd litres of beer on that Xbeeramient.​

 

Hops inhibit the bacteria, so a hopped beer likely won't contain much beneficial bacteria.

If you want probiotic beer, use this method:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/fast-souring-modern-methods.670176/
It's easy and you can do it with extract or all grain.
Cheers

 

thank you

 

Welcome and best of luck. Thanks for sharing your story. Technically beer is a solution!