Hefeweizen Might Be Causing Allergic Reaction

[DukeWashterbuckle]

So I have this hefeweizen that's been fermenting for maybe a week and a half. When I took a taste sample of it, my mouth had a slight burning/tingling sensation and it seemed to cause a mild asthmatic reaction. The only thing I know of that does this to me is sulphites. The gravity is pretty low right now (< 1.015), but I'm not sure if it's done fermenting. Anyway, I was wondering if hefeweizen yeasts (this particular one was Wyeast's Weihenstephaner) can produce sulphites and if they will age out with time.

 

[sjt112486]

Burning and tingling doesn't sound right...
Have you ever breathed in mold and had a reaction similar?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Legume]

I am a celiac (gluten intolerant) but was a homebrewer for many years before I was diagnosed with celiac disease... now I brew gluten free beer (very chalanging, but I am improving).
When I used to make hefeweizen (it used to be a favorite style of mine), I would have a similar reaction to them. This was years before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, but I stoped making them, just because I reacted so badly to them. At this time in my life I was still unknowingly eating bread, pasta, etc with few problems. It was only later after I was diagnosed that it occured to me why I might have had that reaction to home brewed hefeweisen. For some reason I would react more strongly to this style of beer than to any other gluten containing food. Now I am quite sensitive to gluten, and even micrograms of it are enough to make me sick.

I hope this is not the case for you, but it might be worth exploring.

good luck,

 

[flars]

Some yeasts do produce sulphur dioxide. Usually it is the lager yeasts which produce the most. CO2 production will scrub most of the the sulphur compounds from the beer. It is possible there is some relationship to what you are sensing.

 

[PintDrainer]

Burning and tingling sensation? Yeast?

I think there's a cream for that.

 

[Beernik]

Wyeast 3068 can be a sulphur producer. But as said before, it's sulphur dioxide (SO2) not sulphite (SO3^2-). So maybe you have a general sulphur sensitivity, not specifically sulphite.

I have sulphite sensitivity with my asthma and my wife has it with migraines. Hefeweizens don't bother either of us.

EDIT: I'm forgetting organic chemistry. Sulphur dioxide can partition to sulphite. I found this write up on sulphur in wine that might interest you.