beer for breastfeeding... yup.

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crysaeon

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So as a new dad of twins and an amateur ag homebrewer my wife read this

http://lactogenicdiet.blogspot.com/2011/10/beer-as-galactagogue-brief-history.html?m=1

And said "brew me a beer!" That being said I was thinking of brewing a southern English brown. It obviously has to be session able (3 abv give or take) and very malty. I have read I should be using a pretty high mash temp for this. Any ideas out there as far as malts that yield good malty body that I can mash and not raise my abv significantly? Any help is appreciated!
 
Sounds like you are looking for a traditional mild.

Generic starting point

5lb marris otter
1lb dark crystal (60-80L)
o.5 lb of your favorite "malty" specialty malts (special roast, biscuit, brown, amber, victory etc)
4oz chocolate (or to your preference)
IBU to around 20 with Goldings or Fuggles + 0.5 oz finishing

Mash high - 154ish
Pick your favorite english yeast to support the malt
 
crysaeon said:
So as a new dad of twins and an amateur ag homebrewer my wife read this http://lactogenicdiet.blogspot.com/2011/10/beer-as-galactagogue-brief-history.html?m=1 And said "brew me a beer!" That being said I was thinking of brewing a southern English brown. It obviously has to be session able (3 abv give or take) and very malty. I have read I should be using a pretty high mash temp for this. Any ideas out there as far as malts that yield good malty body that I can mash and not raise my abv significantly? Any help is appreciated!
Click to expand...

I like what you've got her reading - well played, sir! I've seen plenty of projects come out of new mom reading, but none as enjoyable as this one ...
 
Whatever it takes to keep the little ones on the boob. Formula is expensive and cuts into the beer hobby budget.

My wife is on the warpath for cloth diapers this time around. Can't say I'm sold on the practically but not dropping $$$ on case upon case of disposables would be awesome.

I sent my wife the link for that article. She is intrigued. Thanks man and congrats!
 
try a bitter or a session IPA if it's for hops. bitters are so simple it's not really worth posting a specfic recipe. maris otter to 1.040, up to 10% C40, maybe a pinch of biscuit. goldings or styrians to 25-30 IBU. mash low and thick 150F 1qt/LB for dryness.
 
Newborn Twins..... Congratulations Brother!:mug:
There's going to be a lot of "Dry Hopping" going on in someone's house for a while!
 
I wouldn't make an IPA or any other highly hopped beer for her - even if she likes them - without trying a commercial version out first. Just like spicy foods, any strong flavors can make it into the breast milk and some babies are very sensitive to them.
 
I doubt the flavor of hops would pass through the breast milk ,just make sure whatever you choose is low abv. Alcohol can dry up breast milk and may offset any benefit . You def want something hoppy, hops are what encourage milk production. If she can tolerate it some fennel or fenugreek are also very good for lactation but you could always add those in the serving glass
 
"I doubt the flavor of hops would pass through the breast milk"

Well, you'd be wrong. Much to my hophead wife's despair, our daughter reacted to IPA and an indian meal in roughly the same way.
 
Thanks for all of the great suggestions! She's not a big hops fan and I do agree that it can leech into the supply. I like the bitter route as well. Here is my current idea. Any tweaks or suggestions to additions or omissions would be great!

4# Maris
1# Red wheat
2# crystal 60L
8oz Chocolate

Mash 156 for 45 mash out at 168

.5oz goldings @ 60
.5 oz goldings @15
WLP 002 for yeast.

Thanks again all!
 
Hi. Wet blanket time. I'm sorry for this, and I'm not trying to impose my baby-rearing beliefs on you at all. Just giving you something to consider.

As cool as it seems that beer can promote lactation, there are natural, clinically proven galactagogues that don't have alcohol in them. Fenugreek is a good example. There is a tea you can get at most megamarts called Mother's Milk (made by Traditional Medicinals, includes fenugreek and other stuff) that is incredibly effective at increasing milk supply. Like seriously - my wife had to stop using it because it was TOO effective.

If the idea of beer as galactagogue still appeals to you, I think your pediatrician would agree that it's important for your wife to make sure she is not buzzed while nursing. Biologists agree that if you are feeling buzzed when breastfeeding, your baby could get a similar buzz. That might be OK, but it's something you should think about.

Sorry, I know this is a beer forum and we all love beer; and you were probably well aware of this already. But in case someone else sees this thread and thinks to themselves "Well, I'm breastfeeding; sounds like I should start drinking!" I thought it would be a good idea for this post to be in here as well.

If you guys need to increase milk supply, I can't recommend Mother's Milk enough. It is crazy effective. But the beer sounds cool too, and it sounds like you're going about it right with the low-alcohol brew. If you go through with the experiment, keep us posted on how the little ones react to it.
 
Chocotaco you are right. We are also using some other things as well. The idea is she is a beer lover and to have a drink every now and again (like one every other night or so.) We did talk this over with our pediatrician (who is one of the best in the area) and she is also intrigued by the idea. Keeping it sessionable (3 or less) and keeping it malty is key to keeping the positive effects while negating the negative ones.
 
billl said:
"I doubt the flavor of hops would pass through the breast milk"

Well, you'd be wrong. Much to my hophead wife's despair, our daughter reacted to IPA and an indian meal in roughly the same way.
Click to expand...

Lol this is a joke right :cross:
 
"Lol this is a joke right"

Nope. 100% serious. Any strong flavors a woman eats can end up in breast milk.
 
billl said:
"Lol this is a joke right"

Nope. 100% serious. Any strong flavors a woman eats can end up in breast milk.
Click to expand...

Confirmed with anecdotes. The most powerful scientific force.

Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact.

Side note: she eats it anyway because chocolate is awesome. Can't argue with that.
 
"Confirmed with anecdotes. The most powerful scientific force.

Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact.

Side note: she eats it anyway because chocolate is awesome. Can't argue with that."

You are pretty sure of yourself for someone so wrong.

I assume you know that if a woman smokes tons of crack or drops acid or eats some mushrooms, that is going straight to the baby, right? If a woman drinks tons of alcohol, that is going straight to the baby, right? The simple fact is that EVERY compound/chemical that can dissolve in water that is injested by a person will cross over the membrane in your intestine and enter the bloodstream. Everything in the bloodstream ends up in the breast milk. If you have any doubt that babies react to the mothers diet, go ask an OBGYN.
 
billl said:
"Confirmed with anecdotes. The most powerful scientific force.

Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact.

Side note: she eats it anyway because chocolate is awesome. Can't argue with that."

You are pretty sure of yourself for someone so wrong.

I assume you know that if a woman smokes tons of crack or drops acid or eats some mushrooms, that is going straight to the baby, right? If a woman drinks tons of alcohol, that is going straight to the baby, right? The simple fact is that EVERY compound/chemical that can dissolve in water that is injested by a person will cross over the membrane in your intestine and enter the bloodstream. Everything in the bloodstream ends up in the breast milk. If you have any doubt that babies react to the mothers diet, go ask an OBGYN.
Click to expand...

No doubt it can happen but not to the extreme extent you are stating here with every compound ingested. I don't doubt you that your baby is sensitive to your wife's diet but I wouldn't say its a sure thing. My daughter has zero sensitivities to anything swmbo eats including hoppy beers, spicy food etc. Of course all babies are different but there is an amount of filtering that goes on which is why certain levels of some substances including medications, pain pills etc are permitted to nursing mothers .
 
billl said:
"Confirmed with anecdotes. The most powerful scientific force.

Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact.

Side note: she eats it anyway because chocolate is awesome. Can't argue with that."

You are pretty sure of yourself for someone so wrong.

I assume you know that if a woman smokes tons of crack or drops acid or eats some mushrooms, that is going straight to the baby, right? If a woman drinks tons of alcohol, that is going straight to the baby, right? The simple fact is that EVERY compound/chemical that can dissolve in water that is injested by a person will cross over the membrane in your intestine and enter the bloodstream. Everything in the bloodstream ends up in the breast milk. If you have any doubt that babies react to the mothers diet, go ask an OBGYN.
Click to expand...

Um, maybe it was because I was being a little tongue-in-cheek, but I think you missed the fact that I was agreeing with you. My own anecdotal evidence supports your assertion, is what I was trying to say.
 
billl said:
"Confirmed with anecdotes. The most powerful scientific force.

Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact.

Side note: she eats it anyway because chocolate is awesome. Can't argue with that."

You are pretty sure of yourself for someone so wrong.

I assume you know that if a woman smokes tons of crack or drops acid or eats some mushrooms, that is going straight to the baby, right? If a woman drinks tons of alcohol, that is going straight to the baby, right? The simple fact is that EVERY compound/chemical that can dissolve in water that is ingested by a person will cross over the membrane in your intestine and enter the bloodstream. Everything in the bloodstream ends up in the breast milk. If you have any doubt that babies react to the mothers diet, go ask an OBGYN.
Click to expand...

There's certainly evidence that most things consumed by the mother end up at some level in breast milk. But it's another question whether low levels of those substances (be it curry, caffeine or alcohol) are harmful to the baby. I'm reminded of the debate about women drinking during pregnancy -- lots of evidence that excessive drinking can lead to extreme problems, no evidence that a glass of wine or beer now and again has any impact at all. This doesn't mean that a future study won't show impacts, but I think people can get a little over-zealous in their desire to protect the children and forget that dietary/lifestyle restrictions that aren't based on sound science impact the mother's quality of life without good cause.

On a lighter note, historically (at least in Europe and then America) men, women and children were routinely imbibing beer and hard cider as a staple part of their diets, and I don't know that pregnant women or nursing mothers would have been excluded from that. Our ancestors did all kinds of stupid things that we probably shouldn't carry on with, of course, but you'd think if the effects of low level alcohol consumption on breast milk quality were severe, someone might have noticed during this centuries-long mass experiment.
 
"Um, maybe it was because I was being a little tongue-in-cheek, but I think you missed the fact that I was agreeing with you."

sorry thought the first post was just sarcastic - but obviously something got lost in translation. :)

Oh - and for others, I'm not stating any of these things are harmful to a baby - at least in the concentrations we are talking about. But some babies can certainly taste some of this stuff in the milk and you definitely get a reaction from them. It's well worth testing it out before you commit. If your kid doesn't mind - great! However, knowing you can get a reaction from this type of thing could save you weeks of sleepless nights trying to figure out whats going on.
 
billl said:
"I doubt the flavor of hops would pass through the breast milk"

Well, you'd be wrong. Much to my hophead wife's despair, our daughter reacted to IPA and an indian meal in roughly the same way.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to beat this issue. But are you trying to say that an IPA and Indian food somehow correlate with their flavors or ingredients? and that the consumption of one leads to the same reaction as the other? I am sorry brother, but because indian is in the name of both, doesn't mean that they are in the slightest way similar. Basically, Indians weren't drinking IPA's with their curry, just an FYI....
 
Babies are sensitive man, they get perturbed by all kinds of sh*t. That being said, forget the session abv, make her a DIPA, and let the tiny amount of booze that makes it to the milk settle that baby out.
 
i feel kind of weird entering my 2 cents here but here goes.

theoretically speaking, her body generates milk 24 hours a day. why not just brew what she likes? as long as she is moderate about it or takes days off to use a pump, i don't see how there would be an issue. could have drinking days and milking days.

like i said it's weird but to me it makes sense.
 
i'm sorry. i don't have any kids nor do i have experience with breast feeding.

try a bitter. that's my go to right now since i have one setup and ready to go this weekend. just waiting on the starter to settle out. but that should get you hops, low alcohol, and as a hophead myself I find them pleasant beers though a bit too session-able.
 
My daughter was born 3 months ago and beer did seem to healp with her breast feeding but for some odd reason gatorade seems to healp as well. She had tried the mothers milk tea and said it was nasty. Anyway I like the idea of formulating a beer for breast feeding. And I was thinking maybe the fenugreek could be brewed in to it. This may add a good flavor to it as well I have heared it is used To flavor imitation maple syrup! Anyone have any more ideas ?
 
Why imitation? I don't know but most maple syrup you buy is imitation unles you are one to buy the ten do lor bottle of the real deal. My point is that Fenugreek the ingredient used to flavor the imitation maple syrup has breastfeeding benefits! And all I was saying is that it just may not taste to bad to add it.

I did some more searching on HBT and found this. I think its the answer for anyone who reads this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/lactation-ale-412938/
 
I have a lot of opinions about why this isn't the best idea. But I don't want to tell you or your wife how to do your thing and I'm sure you and your kids will be fine in any case so I'll just shut up. Right after this!

I gotta say, to me fenugreek beer sounds even more disgusting than Mother's Milk tea (and yes I've tasted it...). I don't personally buy the thing about beer being a galactagogue, but if your wife is into it then why not just drink the milk tea and chase it with a *tasty* beer instead of some weirdo foot-spiced "medicinal" beer? Beer is to be enjoyed, not tolerated - that's my opinion.

And please ask your pediatrician whether they agree with the beer-for-breastfeeding angle. I am not saying it's harmful, but I really don't believe that beer is a galactagogue regardless of what the ancient Egyptians believed. They believed a lot of ridiculous things. I'm not a doctor so I can't dismiss it outright (though I am smart enough to be skeptical of "studies" that don't account for other factors) but I have one more thought about it and then I'll shut up: If you feel weird about asking your pediatrician what s/he thinks, maybe it's because deep down you know this is a little bit ridiculous.

To sum up: Medicine is medicine and beer is beer. Both are awesome in their own ways. There's no rational reason to conflate them.

Regarding Imitation Maple Syrup: it tastes nothing like fenugreek, even if that is a component of the flavoring. If you want the idea of fenugreek flavor, think Indian lentil soup. Nothing wrong with that, but it wouldn't exactly go well in a beer (BTW, the Mother's Milk tea is mainly fenugreek so that's what it tastes like.)

Man, I hate it when people post stuff like this to me when I have a fun crazy idea. Sorry to be the party pooper but SCIENCE demands it!
 
"Wife eats chocolate, 3-month old gets the grumps. It's a fact."
What you eat gets reflected in your body fluids. (Sorry don't mean to deflect the subject/be gross). I've been told that consumption of different foods makes a certain body fluid taste different (sweeter/sour, etc). My pee smells different if I eat asparagus. If adults can notice it I'm sure an infant's body can notice it. No clinical proof to back it up, but just sayin'.
 
It sounds like the real issue here is that we have to be mindful of managing Junior's lupulin threshold shift.

The first baby beer should be something like a bitter, with detectable but subtle hops, just to get the kid used to the idea. Ramp up to a pale around three months; this should be about when the bitter runs out, if she's having one every two or three days, and you keep her company once in a while. Go for a light-but-still-to-style IPA at six months or so, then a full-blown West Coast hop-bomb at nine months.

Just think of how many years of unenlightened BMC-swilling you'll be saving these kids!
 
I wish my wife were a beer drinker. When our kids were babies, she would choke down a beer every so often to increase the milk supply. I, on the other hand, would happily slurp down multiple beers - happy in the knowledge that I had a designated driver!
 
My wife is expecting soon so i will do a test to see if this works. I suspect barleywine will work the best so we will start with that.
 
Yup works. Her boobs are bigger than ever and he is packing on the weight.

Plus, the new baby boy sleeps better than our first child ever did
 
chocotaco said:
Hi. Wet blanket time. I'm sorry for this, and I'm not trying to impose my baby-rearing beliefs on you at all. Just giving you something to consider.

As cool as it seems that beer can promote lactation, there are natural, clinically proven galactagogues that don't have alcohol in them. Fenugreek is a good example. There is a tea you can get at most megamarts called Mother's Milk (made by Traditional Medicinals, includes fenugreek and other stuff) that is incredibly effective at increasing milk supply. Like seriously - my wife had to stop using it because it was TOO effective.

If the idea of beer as galactagogue still appeals to you, I think your pediatrician would agree that it's important for your wife to make sure she is not buzzed while nursing. Biologists agree that if you are feeling buzzed when breastfeeding, your baby could get a similar buzz. That might be OK, but it's something you should think about.

Sorry, I know this is a beer forum and we all love beer; and you were probably well aware of this already. But in case someone else sees this thread and thinks to themselves "Well, I'm breastfeeding; sounds like I should start drinking!" I thought it would be a good idea for this post to be in here as well.

If you guys need to increase milk supply, I can't recommend Mother's Milk enough. It is crazy effective. But the beer sounds cool too, and it sounds like you're going about it right with the low-alcohol brew. If you go through with the experiment, keep us posted on how the little ones react to it.
Click to expand...

Mothers Milk and fenugreek do not work for all nursing mothers.
 
crysaeon said:
So as a new dad of twins and an amateur ag homebrewer my wife read this

http://lactogenicdiet.blogspot.com/2011/10/beer-as-galactagogue-brief-history.html?m=1

And said "brew me a beer!" That being said I was thinking of brewing a southern English brown. It obviously has to be session able (3 abv give or take) and very malty. I have read I should be using a pretty high mash temp for this. Any ideas out there as far as malts that yield good malty body that I can mash and not raise my abv significantly? Any help is appreciated!
Click to expand...

Congrats on the Twins man!
 
i remember before we had our first, we went to one of those baby classes through the hospital. about what to expect from the delivery and all that. this was in durango, colorado. one of our fellow classmates was a brewer at i-forget-which local brewery, but he brought in a few growlers of dark beers. this spurred a discussion about the benefits of drinking a bit of dark beer while breast feeding. i think literally while breastfeeding, so that some of the alcohol is processed before the next feeding.
 
jakenbacon said:
Lol this is a joke right :cross:
Click to expand...

Absolutely not a joke. My wife nurses our 3 month old and she can't eat onion because it gives the baby terrible gas pains and constipation.
 

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