BobbiLynn
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2012
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I know it seems like I've been having a lot of problems with my brews lately, but I have been trying new things, changing my techniques plus brewing a lot lately. When I used to just brew the same old extract kits over and over, I never had any problems, but it got boring.
So I switched to all grain about a month and a half ago, been brewing like crazy. Also have been very eager to give them a try to see how they compare to extract kits with some steeped grains. So not fermenting long enough, bottling too soon. And seems like they are taking forever to clear up so I've started racking to secondaries to speed things along. This has given me access the very young beer(racking in just 5-7 days in some cases). And of course I must "taste" it. Not sure at what point tasting it becomes drinking it. Since I've been home alone most of the time, wasn't really worried about the, um, flatulence. Figured that was the worst it could do to me.
But then I got this sore throat about a week ago, felt swollen and even a little difficult to breath at one point. Completely lost my voice. I know I should have gone straight to the doctor, or maybe even to the ER, but just took benadryl and ibuprofen instead. It seemed like the sore throat was related to the beer, so laid off the beer for a couple days, sore throat seemed to be getting better. Then got back to trying out my latest brews, and "tasting" the half-fermented ones, no problems for a couple days. Then after a day of heavy "tasting", sore throat was back with a vengeance and my whole mouth and tongue even felt sore and a little swollen. Looked in the mirror last night and noticed a bunch of little red bumps in my mouth. So I figured this morning, I'd go straight to the doctor, even if I had to go to the walk-in clinic and wait.
But I didn't make it to morning and ended up in the ER. Got to the point where I felt like I could barely breath. I told them I thought I might be allergic to beer. Which was my worst fear. They swabbed my mouth and back in my throat area. Turns out I had oral candidiasis and they suspected also esophageal candidiasis. More commonly known as thrush. Since I am otherwise perfectly healthy, besides being under a great deal of stress lately, they think it was directly related to the drinking the yeasty beer. So they sent me home with some pills to take for 14 days and told no beer, no wine, no bread until after treatment is complete. They said the pills should clear it right up but keep taking them for the whole 14 days. Oh, and no more yeasty beer, ever.
So, no more tasting for me until the beer is completely finished. Also going to at least double the times in the fermenters and bottles. And looks like it'll be a while before I'll be doing any beer drinking. This really sucks, but won't stop me from brewing.
I don't know how much yeasty beer it is okay to drink, but I do know that "quite a bit" can be way too much. From now on for me, I'm going to completely stay away from tasting unfinished beer. I'll get to taste it when it's finished, patience. According to the ER doctor, drinking too much yeasty beer can cause thrush and he thinks that's exactly how I got it. Also said it can be dangerous when it gets in your esophagus. So let my experience be a warning.
So I switched to all grain about a month and a half ago, been brewing like crazy. Also have been very eager to give them a try to see how they compare to extract kits with some steeped grains. So not fermenting long enough, bottling too soon. And seems like they are taking forever to clear up so I've started racking to secondaries to speed things along. This has given me access the very young beer(racking in just 5-7 days in some cases). And of course I must "taste" it. Not sure at what point tasting it becomes drinking it. Since I've been home alone most of the time, wasn't really worried about the, um, flatulence. Figured that was the worst it could do to me.
But then I got this sore throat about a week ago, felt swollen and even a little difficult to breath at one point. Completely lost my voice. I know I should have gone straight to the doctor, or maybe even to the ER, but just took benadryl and ibuprofen instead. It seemed like the sore throat was related to the beer, so laid off the beer for a couple days, sore throat seemed to be getting better. Then got back to trying out my latest brews, and "tasting" the half-fermented ones, no problems for a couple days. Then after a day of heavy "tasting", sore throat was back with a vengeance and my whole mouth and tongue even felt sore and a little swollen. Looked in the mirror last night and noticed a bunch of little red bumps in my mouth. So I figured this morning, I'd go straight to the doctor, even if I had to go to the walk-in clinic and wait.
But I didn't make it to morning and ended up in the ER. Got to the point where I felt like I could barely breath. I told them I thought I might be allergic to beer. Which was my worst fear. They swabbed my mouth and back in my throat area. Turns out I had oral candidiasis and they suspected also esophageal candidiasis. More commonly known as thrush. Since I am otherwise perfectly healthy, besides being under a great deal of stress lately, they think it was directly related to the drinking the yeasty beer. So they sent me home with some pills to take for 14 days and told no beer, no wine, no bread until after treatment is complete. They said the pills should clear it right up but keep taking them for the whole 14 days. Oh, and no more yeasty beer, ever.
So, no more tasting for me until the beer is completely finished. Also going to at least double the times in the fermenters and bottles. And looks like it'll be a while before I'll be doing any beer drinking. This really sucks, but won't stop me from brewing.
I don't know how much yeasty beer it is okay to drink, but I do know that "quite a bit" can be way too much. From now on for me, I'm going to completely stay away from tasting unfinished beer. I'll get to taste it when it's finished, patience. According to the ER doctor, drinking too much yeasty beer can cause thrush and he thinks that's exactly how I got it. Also said it can be dangerous when it gets in your esophagus. So let my experience be a warning.