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

[forstmeister]

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.

 

[BreezyBrew]

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.

Pretty sure I have tried lol.

 

[Keith66]

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.

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.

 

[Keith66]

No. I disagree. Pissed is what happens when you drink Jack Daniels. Lol

I thought "pissed" is what you got when you run out of homebrew.

 

[WSB-MBC]

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

 

[rklinck]

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.

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).

 

[Keith66]

Agreed. Thanks again.

 

[n8tivebrew]

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.

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.

 

[fartinmartin]

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 !

 

[Psycotte]

It has been both fun and somewhat eye opening. I've enjoyed all the responses.

 

[GarageDweller]

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.

 

[Psycotte]

In my personal "research" ...

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".

 

[rklinck]

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".

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.

 

[Psycotte]

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.

I just read this last week.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/07/bill-would-require-each-beer-pint-have-16-ounces/

 

[Keith66]

Pusycotte

Is that an insult or a typo?

 

[Keith66]

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.

+1 (even though I have the opposite experience from what's in this thread)

 

[Jayhem]

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]

I just read this last week.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/07/bill-would-require-each-beer-pint-have-16-ounces/

Then they'll stop calling them "pints"

Start selling "glasses" or whatever they want to call them.

 

[rklinck]

Then they'll stop calling them "pints" Start selling "glasses" or whatever they want to call them.

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.

 

[BreezyBrew]

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.

I like buying smaller size for less money... You can get more variety that way. Cheers to the establishments that do so.

 

[fartinmartin]

Is that an insult or a typo?

LOL ha ha typo
Sorry
That's the home brew

 

[n8tivebrew]

Getting back on topic, I find that a 32oz bottle of my 8 point cider gets me feeling just right just about the same as a sixer. The next day feeling is different then store beer, sort of fuzzy feeling.

 

[WALRUS]

Guys. Its filtering. ABV, hop euphoria, freshness, taste, bigger pours, surroundings and mood aside, how many homebrewers actually filter their product? The vast majority leave it just clear enough or even cloudy. Most breweries/ wineries microfilter sediment and yeast out of their product for consistency and Joe consumer who might think he is patient zero after realizing his half empty bottle isn't crystal clear.

The above factors come into play as well but I believe filtering to be the most important. The less filtered/ cleared a beverage is, the greater the volume of and categories of chemicals are present. Your liver and gut have to deal with these in addition to the alcohol. As another forum post put it - 'Like digesting a glass of water vs a 4-course meal.' A drink laden with many other chemicals besides alcohol gets into your gut and is absorbed. Alcohol is a relatively tiny molecule and if your gut and then liver were busy with an onslaught of phytonutrients and sediments, it could easily pass through the intestinal wall/ linger in bloodstream longer than usual.

ipe:
Just a theory!

 

[The_Bishop]

This post was 3 years old... You saw that, right?

 

[day_trippr]

So? He felt he had something to contribute, and clearly the topic doesn't deserve a new thread...

Cheers!

 

[mbruneaux]

A good post is a good post, no matter how old.

I notice the same medicinal effects drinking home brew. I brew "Chair Ales" like 10% Belgians and after one 20oz bottle I'm feeling the affects. I'm 300lbs (260 lbs of it muscle) and when I didn't know any better and drank crap beer I could drink them like water with minimal affect and wake up in the morning with a terrible head ache and digestive issues. Home brew doesn't give me any ill affects, even when drinking "too much" . Not to mention the great feeling of drinking something I made after years of trial and error. I even almost gave up a couple of times.

 

[KRASHED]

I don't get more buzzed but I sure fart a lot more.

 

[brewbama]

I don't get more buzzed but I sure fart a lot more.

Do you let the yeast drop out prior to drinking? I found the same issue went away after cold crashing and fining.

 

[mbruneaux]

I don't get more buzzed but I sure fart a lot more.

Another health benefit

 

[WALRUS]

This post was 3 years old... You saw that, right?

I ONLY use Google to search for home brewing related answers. Forum posts I click on may be as old as the forum itself, but they may still hold the answer to my query. Others will read what we're writing in the future. That's how forums work.