What kind of brew for someone with gout?

[donovanmaxwell]

So I have a buddy that suffers from gout and would to have a beer occasionally without a flare up. Is there anything I can do to make a beer he could enjoy? Gluten-free maybe? I told him I would check into it for him, but I don't know enough about beer chemistry at that level.

 

[shetc]

Is he taking meds for the gout?

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Daily. But he has a flare up if he has a beer. He does Ok with wine and liquors, though.

 

[iaefebs]

Never heard of gluten free to avoid gout. Hydration to reduce uric acid is supposed to help. Drink lot's of water. I wonder if something like a cherry beer would help? Cherries are supposed to help reduce gout flare ups.

 

[Creek]

My Dad was recently diagnosed with gout so I've been looking into this as well. The doctor told my Dad to lay off or at least significantly decrease his beer consumption and said that specifically craft, hoppy beers seem to be the worst offenders. In my research, I've not really found anything to back that statement up, but I'd assume the Doc isn't just making it up.

The problem is that we don't fully understand exactly what the perpetrator is - alcohol in itself can promote gout in two ways:

1. Alcohol impedes removal of uric acid in the body. Alcohol is metabolized into lactic acid in the body. The lactic acid then competes with uric acid in the kidneys for elimination through urine; thus, greater levels of uric acid remain in the body.

2. Alcohol contributes to uric acid levels in the body. Alcohol raises the amount of ATP that is converted into AMP-a good foundation for uric acid.

But, beer seems to be the worse offender with wine not showing any significant association and hard liquor showing a significant but less dramatic association than beer

Some researchers postulate that non-alcoholic ingredients in beer, like purines, play a factor in the risk for gout. This is widely debatable though, as purines have also been shown to decrease the risk of gout. Most researchers feel that the link lies in the lifestyle of the beer drinkers-those who choose to drink beer may be more likely to be less active or eat risky food than those who drink wine.

So the long story short, is that we don't really know. According to my dad's doctor, Hoppy IPA's (his favorite) are the worst, but again, I haven't really come across much else to support this.

 

[Vetter]

I use to get flair ups with gout atleast once every few months. I found that foods such as Asparagus, Mushrooms, and red meat was the biggest culprit for these, because they were high in Purins, which your body converts to uric acid. The only issue I had with alcohol, was the dehydration factor, so I also drink plenty of water while I drink beer, this actually seems to help flush out my system.
I currently take Allopurinol, which decreases your bodies uric acid production, I haven't had a flair up in over three years. I find for myself, staying hydrated is the biggest help in reducing gout problems.

 

[VladOfTrub]

Reduce protein. Try using malt with lower protein content, make lighter beer with less body and see if it helps. I use to suffer with gout and over the years learned what induces it. In my case, stress was the biggest culprit. I still get flare ups once in awhile, generally, after times of being stressed out. I limit intake of high octane, hopped up beer, red wine, food high in purines and shellfish. I drink a lot of water to help out the kidneys. It may be purely coincidental that I had the first attack during the year I began homrbrewing. Back then, most everything I made and drank was high octane, powder/syrup ale. I was heavy into red wines and Manhattans during the time period. Along with oyster and Sushi binges. Everything in moderation these days.

 

[shetc]

See the comments about purines in beer:

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20040415/beer-spirits-increase-gout-risk?page=3

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Thanks guys! I'll check out that link later today once I have a little time to absorb the I info.

He has completely cut out red meat and some other foods as he knows they set it off. He said wheats and high proteins cause problems too. So at the moment I'm thinking a low ABV brew, maybe use corn/sugar to make up a good percentage of the grist, and lightly hopped?

I'm going to research a little more this afternoon after the day's activities are over.

 

[Steve1975]

Check out this post on alcohol and particularly about beer, http://goutandyou.com/gout-and-alcohol/ the author states that many beers have high fructose corn syrup and other chemicals that cause gout. He recommends organic beer brewed locally with organic ingredients. One big brand beer that you can trust is Heineken or Amstel Light both brewed without any high fructose corn syrup or chemicals.

 

[skw]

I remember reading yeast is a source of purine. Try to get it as clear as possible, if you can't filter, at least cold crash and use clarifying agents.

source: http://ask.metafilter.com/123154/Are-microbrews-causing-my-gout

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Thanks guys. I came across the same info last night. I've been planning on a really low ABV brew anyhow. Looks like I'll need to go through extra effort to clear it. It seems the yeast are far more trouble than any of the ingredients, in terms of purines.

 

[beeber]

Make him a cherry ale. Cherry juice is good for gout.