Why does Homebrew seem to get me so buzzed? :)

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HB doesn't seem to hit me any harder than commercial beer, but the buzz is softer and I never get a hangover. My wife gets a buzz much faster on my HB than commercial stuff, and some of my friends do too. Maybe it's different for everyone.

-ben
 
Maybe hops is my problem. Like I said earlier, my HB hits me LESS than commercial. I hate bitter beer, and I'm not wild about hops in general; just a slight hop flavor and aroma does it for me. I tend to brew less hoppy beer styles (traditional German and Belgian), and tone down the bitterness even more by postponing the bittering hops a little. I figured HB ABV = commercial ABV, but apparently hops make a noticeable difference.
 
There is absolutely no difference between the beer you make and beer produced commercially. The same ingredients and processes are used. It's nothing more than a placebo effect and user bias.
 
krackin said:
Hops can be a mild sedative.
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I have heard that one too. Even read about a brew-master taking along a co-worker to get fresh hops so he does not fall asleep on the return trip. I will admit I get far more relaxed at night with one HB compared to one commercial craft brew.
 
forstmeister said:
There is absolutely no difference between the beer you make and beer produced commercially. The same ingredients and processes are used. It's nothing more than a placebo effect and user bias.
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How about filtering vs not filtering? (minor trub, hops, yeast in the beer)

Force-carbing vs bottle-carbing? (same as above)

Labeling regulations for ABV vs no requirements for home consumption? (earlier comment about labeling "no greater than" 5%, but could be less)

Just asking.
 
Keith66 said:
Labeling regulations for ABV vs no requirements for home consumption? (earlier comment about labeling "no greater than" 5%, but could be less)
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With due respect to the prior poster, this simply is not true. Haven't you heard that there is a class action lawsuit against some of the big boys because the alcohol content was slightly lower than what was on the label. The listed ABV does not have to be exact because you will have some variance from batch to batch, but it has to be within the ballpark. The suggestion that there will be a beer labeled as 6% that is only 4% of lower is ridiculous.
 
Is "buzzed" American for 'pissed' ie. drunk and inder the unfluence of alcofrol?

Homebrew does that. Usually due to the proximity of the jug in your fridge to your comfy chair or, in my case the lappy. Its a lot easier to get to than the pub or bar, erstwise your going to use it more.

cheers

Jonfp
 
Jonfp said:
Is "buzzed" American for 'pissed' ie. drunk and inder the unfluence of alcofrol?

Homebrew does that. Usually due to the proximity of the jug in your fridge to your comfy chair or, in my case the lappy. Its a lot easier to get to than the pub or bar, erstwise your going to use it more.

cheers

Jonfp
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Sure is. And in the US (at least) pissed is what happens when you need to make more room in your bladder for beer . . . ;)
 
NickTheGreat said:
Sure is. And in the US (at least) pissed is what happens when you need to make more room in your bladder for beer . . . ;)
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No. I disagree. Pissed is what happens when you drink Jack Daniels. Lol
 
yooper said:
well, when you go out and drink 5 beers, are those some 5 beers 5.75% abv (with the priming) over 4 hours?

Not me! When i go out, i rarely see a 6%ish beer in the typical restaurants/pubs we have around her. Coors, for example, clocks in at 5% or so and i rarely drink 5 of them in 4 hours. But at home, i'll keep having just a little more and many of my beers are ipas in the 6%ish range.

I'm making a real effort to make more beers in the 4-5% range so that i can enjoy them without getting buzzed.
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coors light?!?!? Come on yooper!!!
 
I definitely notice a difference, homebrew gets me buzzed quicker. Most of my friends say something about it too. Dunno what it is, I always thought is could be the freshness of the beer.
 
How big are your pours? I drink from a keg at home and have better pours than I often get in a bar. Therefore more beer per glass equals more beer drank equals more drunky.
 
forstmeister said:
There is absolutely no difference between the beer you make and beer produced commercially. The same ingredients and processes are used. It's nothing more than a placebo effect and user bias.
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I said the same thing, in effect. But we're in the minority! :D

Seriously, though- think about this from a physiologically/scientific standpoint and then see how silly it seems that people claim to get hammered more with the same amount of alcohol, in the same quantity, in the same time period with one type of beer than another. That makes no sense at all.

I do agree with the "less hangovers" effect- but that could be because at home I'm munching on something or drinking water and drinking unfiltered beer. But the % of alcohol, the amount of food in the stomach, the time it's consumed, medication interactions- those are the main reasons that alcohol can hit harder at some times than others.
 
Yooper said:
I said the same thing, in effect. But we're in the minority! :D Seriously, though- think about this from a physiologically/scientific standpoint and then see how silly it seems that people claim to get hammered more with the same amount of alcohol, in the same quantity, in the same time period with one type of beer than another. That makes no sense at all. I do agree with the "less hangovers" effect- but that could be because at home I'm munching on something or drinking water and drinking unfiltered beer. But the % of alcohol, the amount of food in the stomach, the time it's consumed, medication interactions- those are the main reasons that alcohol can hit harder at some times than others.
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Oh logically I agree there should be no effect. But damn if I don't feel a difference!! It very well could be placebo/mental, change in how much I eat/water. No clue. But I enjoy it!!
 
I'm leaning toward the hop theory. Seems the most "logical". On s side a side: thank the good lord for your local bar. Without them serving crap beer we wouldn't have Yooper and her wealth of knowledge. :)
 
I'm with the environment placebo theory, and also with the hop sedative theory. As far as alcohol goes, booze is booze is booze. People who think that tequila makes them go crazy drunk as opposed to wine, well you're most likely at a raging party or bar with friend if you're taking tequila shots! Right? As opposed to sipping a beer or glass of wine.
 
There are hops in all the commercial beer we are drinking! Many breweries use an insane amount that we wouldn't use in the beer.
 
rklinck said:
With due respect to the prior poster, this simply is not true. Haven't you heard that there is a class action lawsuit against some of the big boys because the alcohol content was slightly lower than what was on the label. The listed ABV does not have to be exact because you will have some variance from batch to batch, but it has to be within the ballpark. The suggestion that there will be a beer labeled as 6% that is only 4% of lower is ridiculous.
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Hadn't heard, good to know. And there are plenty of laws on the books that are more ridiculous than that suggestion, which was suggested by someone before me. Thanks for the info.
 
Very interesting thread. I'm with the OP in that I experience the same effects. 1 -3 HBs in the evening and I'm ready for bed! I sleep very well too. The next day I feel fine. No stomach issues or anything.
I'm bottling as well so extra ABV make sense. The brews I'm doing are around 5% so nothing crazy
 
Keith66 said:
Hadn't heard, good to know. And there are plenty of laws on the books that are more ridiculous than that suggestion, which was suggested by someone before me. Thanks for the info.
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According to the TTB, an alcohol content statement is optional under federal law but if one is madem federal law allows for a .3% tolerance. http://www.ttb.gov/beer/bam/chapter1.pdf

So a beer that is labeled 6% ABV will be at least 5.7% (or will be in violation of federal law).

While there are lots of crazy laws out there, you can feel pretty safe that there is not a law that allows clearly false or misleading labeling of food when it comes to things that are measured in hard numbers. (Now whether something is "organic" or "natural" is a whole other subject).
 
BeerGrylls said:
Awesome link, thanks for sharing. I learn something new every day. I guess hops have been found to contain dimethylvinyl carbinol, which is believed to be a sedative or hypnotic. This becomes more pronounced as the hops age. Interesting! :cross: Also, through similar research I've found that hops oils contain 5-15% caryophyllene, which is a agonist for the CB2 cannabinoid receptors. These aren't highly present in the brain, but rather in the body. That's why we can have plenty of hops and feel the "hop relaxation" without feeling like we've just smoked something. I guess there really may be something to this hop euphoria. For me, a good hoppy beer makes me relaxed. Funny enough, caryophyllene oxide is the compound that drug-sniffing dogs key in on. I guess it's wise not to walk through the airport with a bag of hops unless you fancy a deep cavity search.
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Now this would be good for a movie, I can see it now. A guy has a 6er of HB the night before and gets stopped by a drug dog at the airport the next day, and you know where the dog will be sniffing. Funny stuff.
 
Well done Pusycotte, what an enntertaining thread this has been ! I love this forum !
I just had a tough day, two bottles hoppy, one bottle malty, I dont need any more. Had I gone to the bar I would be buying beer for the next few hours !
 
Drinking 5 beers will give you a buzz...what a novel concept. I think you just had enough to drink and it gave you a buzz like it should. 5 beers should have damn near anyone buzzing if they're being honest. I'm sure a breathalyzer would tell a similar story.
Glad you're enjoying it though. In my personal "research" I drink tons of HB and tons of commercial brew. The alcohol % on the labels are close enough. Your hydrometer measurements could be off just as much as the commercial beers labeling is. No difference, just slightly more enjoyable due to the work involved and the resulting beer cache ...
my 2 cents.
 
GarageDweller said:
In my personal "research" ...
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LOL! I love that line.

In all honesty this was meant to be a fun thread. I still contend though that there is something quite different about the buzz. It's not scientific, It's not chemistry and hell it may not even be fact but it sure seems like some different dynamic is going on when I consume what I have brewed versus anything else. This is is corraborated by years of my own "Personal research".

:tank:
 
Psycotte said:
LOL! I love that line.

In all honesty this was meant to be a fun thread. I still contend though that there is something quite different about the buzz. It's not scientific, It's not chemistry and hell it may not even be fact but it sure seems like some different dynamic is going on when I consume what I have brewed versus anything else. This is is corraborated by years of my own "Personal research".

:tank:
Click to expand...

Well I tend to get more buzzed from an equal number of homebrews as I have in many bars, but it is because I am actually having more beer at home. I've found that many bars that have good beer serve you glasses that look like standard pints but are actually 12 ounces (I think there is a lawsuit here). I clued into this when I got a bottled beer and they brought me the same size glass and the beer went all the way to the top. But even for bars that serve true pints, I tend to drink a bit more because I mainly use Guinness glasses that are the bigger imperial pints.
 
rklinck said:
Well I tend to get more buzzed from an equal number of homebrews as I have in many bars, but it is because I am actually having more beer at home. I've found that many bars that have good beer serve you glasses that look like standard pints but are actually 12 ounces (I think there is a lawsuit here). I clued into this when I got a bottled beer and they brought me the same size glass and the beer went all the way to the top. But even for bars that serve true pints, I tend to drink a bit more because I mainly use Guinness glasses that are the bigger imperial pints.
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I just read this last week.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/07/bill-would-require-each-beer-pint-have-16-ounces/
 
garagedweller said:
drinking 5 beers will give you a buzz...what a novel concept. I think you just had enough to drink and it gave you a buzz like it should. 5 beers should have damn near anyone buzzing if they're being honest. I'm sure a breathalyzer would tell a similar story.
Glad you're enjoying it though. In my personal "research" i drink tons of hb and tons of commercial brew. The alcohol % on the labels are close enough. Your hydrometer measurements could be off just as much as the commercial beers labeling is. No difference, just slightly more enjoyable due to the work involved and the resulting beer cache ...
My 2 cents.
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+1 (even though I have the opposite experience from what's in this thread)
 
When you go out and have a few beers at the bar are you also eating at the same time? The effect of alcohol with dinner is much less than it is if you drink 3-4 homebrews at home before eating dinner.

I personally have been more drunk on homebrews than every before with store bought simply because when I make an excellent tasting 8% Imperial IPA it's hard to drink just 1 and since they are so much cheaper than the store bought equivalent I am not as stingy on having "just one more"
 
NickTheGreat said:
Then they'll stop calling them "pints" :D Start selling "glasses" or whatever they want to call them. ;)
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I don't mind buying smaller pours -- one local brew here in DC is almost always a smaller pour. I just want to know that I'm getting a smaller pour. Calling a 12 ounce glass a pint should be illegal because the word pint has a specific meaning.
 
rklinck said:
I don't mind buying smaller pours -- one local brew here in DC is almost always a smaller pour. I just want to know that I'm getting a smaller pour. Calling a 12 ounce glass a pint should be illegal because the word pint has a specific meaning.
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I like buying smaller size for less money... You can get more variety that way. Cheers to the establishments that do so.
 

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