How to test if my kegged beer has any yeast.

[EAB]

Recently been diagnosed with Vestibular Migraine disorder and one of the triggers that can set me off to 12 -24 hrs non-stop hell of vertigo (spinning dizziness) is yeast. Unfortunately that has meant that since last year i stopped drinking or brewing (i did finally drink an ipa 2 weeks but im being very cautious). However now i want to resume my homebrewing but i want to filter my beer to the point where there is absolutely no yeast left. I don't bottle my beer so i don't need the yeast for carbonation. Does any body know of a way to test my beer to see how much yeast is left? Ideally Im looking for test strips kind of like the ones you use for pool a to test water.

 

[ESBrewer]

Decent light microscope and a hemocytometer. This is a rather reliable way to see how many cells there are and even if the microscope will initially cost some $$, in the long run it will be more affordable than any chemical assay. Plus it will be useful for other brewing and nonbrewing purposes.

I just wonder how do they know that yeast is the trigger for your symptoms. There could be so many things. If it is some proteins released from cells like it says below, it will be difficult to detect at home.

 

[Vale71]

There are no simple tests to determine if there is any yeast material left. I'm afraid absence of whole cells might not be enough for you as yeast autolysis will release yeast proteins that are not removed through filtration. It's actually those proteins that set off your reaction and depending on the exact nature of your condition the amount you might be able to tolerate could be very close to zero. Before embarking upon the non-trivial task of setting up a sterile filtration system I would recommend carefullty trying some commercial, filtered beers to see if you can tolerate their consumption at all.

 

[Qhrumphf]

If you wanna get to zero (if that's even possible which I doubt) you'll wanna use a 0.5 micron filter (or smaller than that). But if you've got hazy beer otherwise, then you might wanna stage through a bigger filter first.

Plating it out to see what grows is probably your best way to tell how much is left. Other methods that might be used in labs probably won't be practical or affordable for home use. I don't think test strips are an option.

However you don't need zero yeast or you're in trouble. You'd basically never eat fresh fruit again in your life. Yeast is everywhere.

 

[Qhrumphf]

It's actually those proteins that set off your reaction and depending on the exact nature of your condition the amount you might be able to tolerate could be very close to zero.

If that's the case, then yeah, filtering ain't gonna help.

 

[Vale71]

If you wanna get to zero (if that's even possible which I doubt) you'll wanna use a 0.5 micron filter (or smaller than that). But if you've got hazy beer otherwise, then you might wanna stage through a bigger filter first.

Plating it out to see what grows is probably your best way to tell how much is left. Other methods that might be used in labs probably won't be practical or affordable for home use. I don't think test strips are an option.

However you don't need zero yeast or you're in trouble. You'd basically never eat fresh fruit again in your life. Yeast is everywhere.

If you filter at that level than plating is not going to give you significant results. To test at that level you're going to need something like this which is very difficult to use at home as you need a somewhat sterile environment to avoid false positives.
I'm not a doctor but I've been acquainted with several people over the years who had a yeast intolerance and their doctors had forbidden them from drinking even commercial, filtered beer as the residue in those beers was enough to set off a reaction in their body. Unfiltered beers of course were even more strictly forbidden as for them they were the equivalent of a small nuke.

 

[Qhrumphf]

If you filter at that level than plating is not going to give you significant results. To test at that level you're going to need something like this which is very difficult to use at home as you need a somewhat sterile environment to avoid false positives.
I'm not a doctor but I've been acquainted with several people over the years who had a yeast intolerance and their doctors had forbidden them from drinking even commercial, filtered beer as the residue in those beers was enough to set off a reaction in their body. Unfiltered beers of course were even more strictly forbidden as for them they were the equivalent of a small nuke.

If the tolerance is truly that close to zero then I figure it'll be enough to avoid beer altogether as you suggest, as well as other drastic lifestyle changes that I am not envious of. Otherwise filtration to the level that plating or microscope/hemocytometer shows no significant result is probably good enough.

 

[archthered]

Like Vale71 said if the yeast are your trigger they may trigger you alive or dead, I'd recommend discussing this the the doctors