Sounds crazy but does home brew give you a headache?

[jasno999]

Ok It knot it sounds crazy but it is true. I thought at first it was just me but I have noticed that almost every time I crack open a home brew and have a few gulps I start getting a headache.

I currently own a Mr. Beer kit. Please don't tell me how mr beer sucks cause tat is not the point of this post or my question...


I have only brewed two beers that are in the drinkign stage right now and both came out great taste wise. Ale and Wheat beer. But I can be fine and then 5 mns after takign a few sips I have a headache....


Does this happen to anybody else? COuld it be the yeast? Is this something that can happen when people drink un-processed home made beers???

 

[Beerrific]

No headaches here. Doing some reading on fusel alcohols that might be what you are looking for.

 

[DUCCCC]

I haven't experienced headaches, but it does give me awesome fart potential.

 

[Poindexter]

Yah, read up on fusels. I can put down way more home brew than commercial.

 

[SeaMonster]

I thought for the longest time I made a nasty batch that made me all feverish and achy. Turns out, I really just got a cold bug soon after imbibing a few.

Happened like three times. Almost threw the batch away. Really glad I didn't though.

 

[Pabst Blue Robot]

I had a similar issue with an early batch of wheat, and pinned it down to fusels. It had fermented and been stored in the mid 70's to high 80's.

 

[Evets]

Yeah, I've got a tripel that fermented about 78*. Two of those will give me a headache if I drink them too fast. It's still a good beer though, so I have only one per sitting along with other beers and I'm fine.

 

[Yooper]

I have the exact opposite experience. I can only drink a pitcher or two of commercial beer and I end up with a nasty hangover headache. I can put away homebrews for eternity and not have any effects at all. Well, except drunkeness. I was pretty ripped on homebrew last night, as a matter of fact (friends brought over homebrew yesterday, too, so we had a sampling party and got pretty toasted) and I was up and feeling great at 6:30 AM today.

With commercial beer and wine, I would have been hungover for sure.

What temperature did your Mr. Beer ferment at? Maybe that's part of it. Or did you use that alcohol booster with it?

 

[jasno999]

It was stored at around 71F the entire time it was fermenting. So I don't see how it could have been too hot. Granted I realize the internal temperature would have been hotter if the outside room temp was 71 but I am guessign it only went up about 2F.

My batch that is currently fermenting could have issues as well cause my electric heat got stuck and my room was around 75F for a day before I was able to get it un-stuck and the room was down to aroudn 70F.


I am really not sure what is goign on.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Not having homebrew gives me a headache.

 

[Beerrific]

It was stored at around 71F the entire time it was fermenting. So I don't see how it could have been too hot. Granted I realize the internal temperature would have been hotter if the outside room temp was 71 but I am guessign it only went up about 2F.

My batch that is currently fermenting could have issues as well cause my electric heat got stuck and my room was around 75F for a day before I was able to get it un-stuck and the room was down to aroudn 70F.


I am really not sure what is goign on.

Fermentation can produce temps more than 6 degrees above ambient. So, it is quite possible your fermentation would have reached 78F. I have a feeling this might be the problem.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I haven't experienced headaches, but it does give me awesome fart potential.

QFT!

Speaking from experience... if you have a sensitive GI tract, you don't want to drink a lot of green homebrew. Let it condition for a few weeks and chill it for a few days after that to get as much yeast out of suspension as possible. If you don't, a headache is the last thing you'll be worrying about

 

[beta pleated sheet]

Hombrew has never made me feel sick. I'd go so far as to say it even has healing properties.

Then again, I'm also one of those odd people whose sensitive GI tract is HELPED by drinking the sediment at the bottom of the bottle, so I'm probably not normal.

 

[Willy Boner]

Homebrew does not give me headaches, but being stuck in traffic in the middle of winter with wife and kid in car with the fart syndrome is f***ing hilarious!:rockin:

 

[mikeyc]

Apfelwein gives me a headache!!!! Should of listened to Edwort!!!

 

[cclloyd]

I find that I experience fewer ill after effects when imbibing the homebrews. Then again, if you drink 12+ of anything a headache / hangover is pretty much inevitable.

 

[abracadabra]

Just the opposite here! No headaches from homebrew.

Cheap commercial brew (Miller, Bud, Coors) gives me a headache often after only 1 beer.

A couple of time I accidentally drank too much homebrew and got drunk then sick. Thinking I was gonna feel like $hit the next day I was shocked to wake up the next day feeling great with no headache.

I agree with others that you are fermenting at to high a temp. The fermentation process generates it's own heat. So if your room temp is avg. 71 your wort could easily be 77-79*F.

The temp. you are shooting for should be 66-68*F.

Get one of those stick on thermometers they aren't real accurate but they'll put you in the ball park and let you know what's happening to the wort as it ferments.

 

[jasno999]

Thanks everybody

 

[TexLaw]

Fusels and acetaldehyde can cause those headaches. Both are fermentation products. Both can come from high fermentation temperatures, so your temperature could have something to do with it. Acetaldehyde also can result from unhealthy or underpitched yeast.

I know little about the Mr. Beer kits, but I quality and quantity of the yeast that come with them. If you want to keep brewing with Mr. Beer, you could try one of the good quality dry yeasts (e.g., SafeAle) and see if that helps your headache.


TL

 

[jasno999]

Fusels and acetaldehyde can cause those headaches. Both are fermentation products. Both can come from high fermentation temperatures, so your temperature could have something to do with it. Acetaldehyde also can result from unhealthy or underpitched yeast.

I know little about the Mr. Beer kits, but I quality and quantity of the yeast that come with them. If you want to keep brewing with Mr. Beer, you could try one of the good quality dry yeasts (e.g., SafeAle) and see if that helps your headache.


TL

Thanks that is good advice.