Beer Allergy or?

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BayRaider510

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Hey guys, so I've had some kind of reaction to beer for as long as I remember. It's mostly a very sore throat with a flushed face. For the longest time I thought it was a hops allergy as I can take 5+ shots and never have a sore/swollen throat. Most beers however, my throat gets sore very quickly. The reason I thought it was a hops allergy is because beers with like 40+ IBUs, it only takes half a beer and my throat literally feels swollen. Which sucks because Pale Ales were my favorite type until I decided to cut them out years ago.

I can drink as many light beers as I want usually and not experience a sore throat. Those are usually around 7-8 IBUs each I think. However, I also get a sore throat after about two blue moons which are only 9 IBUs? So maybe it's not a hops allergy afterall?

I can also usually drink low IBU German beers like hefeweizens just fine as long as it's not more than two or three.

Any thoughts? I've had a bunch of allergy tests done in my life but never yeast or hops, doctor won't seem to test me for those. Not allergic to barley/malt.

Thank you for any insight.
 
Allergy to flaked corn or rice adjuncts?

Tested negative for a corn allergy, never been tested for rice but I eat rice all the time.

Is there possibly an ingredients in blue moon that is also in most IPA's/High IBU beers? Is being allergic to a specific hop possible?

For an IPA with 70+ IBUs, it only takes about a quarter of the beer and my throat is swollen and my face is flushed and burns like crazy. Still convinced it's something to do with hops, but it doesn't make sense I react so bad to blue moon as well.
 
If your doctor won't/refuses to test you for allergic reactions to yeast and hops it may be time to consult an Allergy Specialist.
 
I have the feeling that I may be too, as some beers give me sneezing fits every once in a while, though not as bad to be considered a problem.

Allergy test is scratching your skin with the allergen present..
You only need some hops.
Boil a cup or two of water with a few pallets, let cool.
Put a drop on your skin and scratch away, no need to break your skin.
Just a few scratches like when you get a mosquito bite.
that must be enough for a reaction to show.


Disclaimer. That's what I would do, as I'm kind of adventurous. I presume that it is relatively safe as you are only touching your skin and not drinking it in the amounts you say you have.

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Hefeweizens are typically loaded with yeast so if that doesn't bother you I bet it's hops, more specifically, one of the hop components and/or varieties.

Blue Moon has Simcoe, Cascade, Citra, and Huell Melon (which is hardly in any other beer). So maybe it's the Simcoe, Cascade or Citra, which are very common in American pale ales and IPAs and rare in American and German lagers and Hefeweizens.

What I would do is brew up a bunch of single malt/single hop beers and start testing :) The safer alternative would be to see an allergy specialist.
 
The impromptu allergy test is actually a great idea, as you are very unlikely to go into shock that way.

I'd try a completely adjunct free low IBU beer. Like buy a real German Munich Helles, and try that. Typically the style is like 16-22 IBU of very clean Noble hops and if you get the good stuff they don't put any adjuncts in it. It's about as clean of a beer as you can get.

Hope you sort it out. If you got stuck only drinking clean low IBU lagers it isn't the end of the world, they can be quite good and are a challenge to brew correctly. Very fun actually. Best of luck.

The comment about wine is good too as wine yeast are pretty aggressive compared to ale and lager yeasts and will be present in most wines. So if you do get a reaction to wine, it would point to a yeast allergy.
 
Probably a dumb question but.. where do I get hops? Not a home brewer. I'd like to try specific hops one by one with the skin suggestion.
 
Check Google for home brew supply in your area. I bet the guys at your local shop would give you a hop pellet of each type for free...for sure if you bring a beer or two to share with them.
 
wheat allergies will give you a bloating stomach, hop allergies will give you a red face and neck, I have both problems, try waiting a week and drinking a session beer or a SAM Adams Boston lager type, no ipa's or pale ales

Definitely sounds like a hop allergy as suspected then, my face is literally pitch red and burns like crazy whenever I drink a beer with a lot of hops.

And my location is Northern California.
 
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