Drinking beer early???

[Canuck137]

Ok, so I was a bad boy and I drank a few of my recent beers at the 5 day mark after bottling them.

I had three beers and they were actually really good although a bit cloudy. Tastes just like a German Wheat beer. Anyway, the hangover I got off three beers is pretty bad! Like a splitting headache. Now, I did this with my last batch too, I drank 3-4 beers at the 5 day mark, and got a killer hangover. Believe it or not the instructions in my original kit say you can drink your beers at the 5 day mark... At the 2 week mark (Which I know is the appropriate time to wait) and beyond I get no hangover from 3-4 beers.

It's a coopers wheat kit, but I used dry wheat malt extract, Danstar wheat yeast, 1 oz or coriander, 1 ounce of orange peel, dry hopped 1 ounce centennial hopps... not that any of that matters. Or does it?

Sooooo, my question finally is why the hangover on young beers so bad? Is it that the yeast isn't settled yet? Maybe I'm drinking extra sugar? Just curious about it in a scientific way haha. Cheers!

 

[1977Brewer]

It's the unfermented sugar, I bet. I don't get headaches from green beer, just frequent trips to the reading room.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Not sure if it even is a matter of what is in it. What is the ABV? Drink more water

 

[Hello]

Wheat beers will be cloudy.
I'm not sure why your hangover would be better or worse at 5 days or 2 weeks. That is odd.

 

[porterpounder]

I thought by the title you were referring to breakfast beer. Breakfast beer is amazing. As for your hangover, I have no idea.

 

[drfrankc]

I'll use a bit of my medical knowledge and take a WAG. It is most likely the level of sulfites, which are both know to cause headaches and are a byproduct of fermentation.

 

[Canuck137]

I'll use a bit of my medical knowledge and take a WAG. It is most likely the level of sulfites, which are both know to cause headaches and are a byproduct of fermentation.

Interesting, I thought I was drinking the unsettled yeast, or extra sugar not used yet to prime the brew.

It's happened twice with my last two brews so I don't think its random.

I know I should wait 2 wks but I like giving it a go just to see at 5 days.

Now I'm wondering if I have a mild sulfite sensitivity? I will add that the young beers give me a flushed face and a bit more of a "rush" than a 3 week old beer. So do these sulfites get consumed and lessened with aged beer I guess?

 

[unionrdr]

Sulfur compounds come from some yeasts, like Euro ones, as a byproduct of fermentation. They dissipate with age. It could be that, or if your initial ferment temps were too high, maybe fusel alcohols? 3 weeks @ 70F is the normal carb/condition time. But some of mine, like the ESB, can be ready in about 2 weeks. Just better by 3-4.

 

[PrinceOfThePoint]

If you got a splitting headache from three homebrews, you probably have beers with a lot of heavy fusel alcohols as a result of fermenting too warm. As far as the hangover effect disappearing after 2 weeks, I just don't believe it... It's gotta be one or the other

 

[LandoLincoln]

Reminds me of the joke:

"I went to the doctor and I said, 'my elbow hurts when I put my arms over my head' and he said, 'well, then don't do that.'"

There are some compounds that the yeasts clean up after sufficient conditioning. One or more of these compounds cause problems with your system. So let them do their job.

 

[kombat]

I'm going with acetaldehyde. It'll age out (at least to a degree), and it's a notorious hangover culprit.

 

[WileECoyote]

Canuck137, I have a easy fix so you don't get headaches from 3 beers again.

Don't drink Green beer ! Green beer sucks anyway !

lol and Cheers

 

[PlexVector]

To rule out sulfides see what happens when you drink the equivalent of a red wine like a Cabernet.

 

[unionrdr]

This is also why, after FG is reached, I give the beer 3-7 days to clean up any by-products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty. By the time the bottles are ready to drink after fridge time, the beer is definitely better. Exorcising more patience will likely cure the problem.

 

[jethro55]

Allergies to the carb process might be a factor. By products and active yeast...

 

[Canuck137]

Seems like it could be a variety of things. I dont really drink "green" beer often, I just try a few at the 5 day mark, I guess just to see bc I cant wait, out of curiosity.

After that I wait another 10 days and drink the remaining 21 liters, of the initial 23. When I drink them at the 2 wk mark I dont experience the same symptoms. The beer does not ferment at a high temp, its a steady 21 Celsius (Room temp) in here and I check the temp often.

BUT I do lay a strand of those small Christmas lights over the beer after I bottle it for 72 hours. I saw this on youtube as a way to hurry bottle carbonation and conditioning, after 72 hours I take the lights off and put them in the cupboard. Approximate temp when the Christmas lights are on them is 26 Celsius... That might have been a bad piece of youtube advice. It does not seem to negatively effect the beer in the long term tho.

This was more curiosity than a serious problem really. Interesting none the less