Yeast Allergy

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BeeRad77

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I have a brewers yeast allergy and am wondering if anybody else has had experience with this. My reaction ranges from chest cramps to mild anaphylaxis to full on anaphylaxis.

I have noticed I always have problems with any beer brewed by Pyramid and sporadically have problems with brown ale and belgium beers. From my own brewing I have noticed that European yeast strains seem to be a trigger, and American yeast strains seem to be ok. Anything in common between all of these that I am not noticing?

Was thinking of starting to filter my beer, any idea if that helps with yeast allergies?

Thanks.
 
I would imagine if you perform a .5 micron filtration or less that it should remove all the yeast... that said I would consult your allergist first to figure out what your allergen threshold might be in ppm, then decide on a filtering technique from there.
 
Yeah you would think I would be, but I eat bread all the time without any problem. I am allergic to a ton of other stuff, though. Peanuts, legumes, citrus fruits, and apples. Not hops, wheat, barley or anything else that normally goes into beer.
 
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but the yeast in bread is dead after being baked while beer yeast is still living. That may have something to do with why you can eat bread. Guessing, tho. I really have no clue.
 
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but the yeast in bread is dead after being baked while beer yeast is still living. That may have something to do with why you can eat bread. Guessing, tho. I really have no clue.

Your immune system can't differentiate between dead yeast and live yeast. In fact, even if baking blew up the yeast into tiny bits (I don't know that it does, but it might) it would still elicit a reaction because antibodies go after very small, specific bits of various allergens.
 
That would be difficult to tell because bread has both gluten and yeast, as does beer. I'm guessing the OP knows exactly what allergy he has.

I think filtering would be your best bet, but I have no data to show that bits of lysed yeast don't make it through the filter, nor do I have any idea if there's a specific epitope responsible for yeast allergies.
 
I think the first thing to do would be to isolate which types/styles/brands of commercial beers elicit reactions, and which don't and taking all of them to an allergist so he could test or observe the reactions with you. THEN look at the characteristics (which we can help you with) that differentiate the beers that affect you and the beers that don't. Such as yeast strain, whether it's pasteruized or not, whether it's filtered or not.

Then for example we can see that you are not affected by lagers that are pasteruized and filtered and brewed with x lager yeast strain, but at the opposite end are greatly affected by Unfiltered, unpasteurized hefeweizen made with x ale strain.

If this makes sense to you.

We can help with the identification of the characteristics, but you really need a good allergist, preferably one who is a beer geek or brewer, because they can understand the subtle differences that most no beer persons don't grasp.
 
Your immune system can't differentiate between dead yeast and live yeast. In fact, even if baking blew up the yeast into tiny bits (I don't know that it does, but it might) it would still elicit a reaction because antibodies go after very small, specific bits of various allergens.

i have an allergic reaction to some fruits, but only raw, never when cooked. i don't know the first thing about yeast allergies, but molecules change when heated, epitopes can be permanently masked as proteins denature or otherwise change structure, so i don't think it's crazy if there's a difference between cooked and raw.
 
i have an allergic reaction to some fruits, but only raw, never when cooked. i don't know the first thing about yeast allergies, but molecules change when heated, epitopes can be permanently masked as proteins denature or otherwise change structure, so i don't think it's crazy if there's a difference between cooked and raw.

I can't digest mayonnaise, but I have no problem with the components of it, ie, olive oil and eggs. But emulsify them together, and I might as well just live in the bathroom.

It can be really bad since most every "secret sauce" or whatever on tons of foods are mayonnaise based.
 
my curse is lactose
ice cream is a killer, but I love it and avoid it ...
yogurt is another ... I really love it, but it certainly doesn't like me ...
cheese is another one - not as bad as the others since the lactose in cheese is mostly broken down, the harder cheeses are easier on me than the soft cheeses.
Don't like milk ... so no problem there.
 
Additionally, there is no such thing as mild anaphylaxis as it is immunoglobulin E mediated and is hence not dose dependent; you will have a life threatening reaction with each exposure. It is more likely that you're anaphlactOID reactions which are caused by the relaease of histimine from exposed cells (namely basophils and mast cells).
 
It could also be a component in hops that you're reacting to, or any of the other various adjuncts that land in beer. Hops are as varied in styles as yeast strains are, and they all have varying levels of components.

I'd go to a DO. They'll be more informative on this, I suspect.
 
my curse is lactose
ice cream is a killer, but I love it and avoid it ...
yogurt is another ... I really love it, but it certainly doesn't like me ...
cheese is another one - not as bad as the others since the lactose in cheese is mostly broken down, the harder cheeses are easier on me than the soft cheeses.
Don't like milk ... so no problem there.

What about lactose additions in beer?
I have lactose ssues too, but like the sweeter beers and most of those recipes call for lactose.
 
I think if you went to an Allergist he/she would test you against known food allergies to find the likely culprit ingredient. As far as the whole bread/yeast argument, things are a little different when cooked-as was already said the heat can change some of the proteins. I know with egg allergy some people are allergic to egg both cooked and raw, but some with more mild allergy can tolerate cooked egg. Egg is more complicated too as it is a common allergy for kids that they can actually grow out of. It is pretty unlikely that your allergy stems from different strains of yeast, if true allergy the money would more likely be in one of the other ingredients from the different breweries.
 
My sister has a number of food allergies, including wheat and brewer's yeast. She went to an allergist/homeopathic type guy a number of years ago who gave her a long list of what she couldn't eat (including all kinds of things, like pepper!), stripped down her diet to unseasoned meat and raw veggies, and then built up her tolerances slowly. Even now she can only eat dairy a few times a week. I don't think she will ever be able to eat eggs or mushrooms.

She hasn't had a beer (or traditional bread) in years! But she is able to drink wine and spirits. We decided to do an experiment doing a G-F beer (sorghum) with dry yeast, to see if she might be able to drink that.

If so, then we figure it is the wheat and barley in beer that she's allergic to.
If not, then it really is the sacc yeast.

I won't see her til the holidays, unfortunately, but can post back with the results.

I know that her reaction to wheat is relatively mild -- she just gets a little flushed and uncomfortable. If there were any real danger of a full-on reaction, we obviously couldn't attempt this.
 
If it's the yeast try pasteurization. Heat your finished beer to the proper temperature for the proper amount of time. Then keg it and force carb..
Might lose some flavor but it may be a solution.

bosco
 
I can't digest mayonnaise, but I have no problem with the components of it, ie, olive oil and eggs. But emulsify them together, and I might as well just live in the bathroom.

It can be really bad since most every "secret sauce" or whatever on tons of foods are mayonnaise based.

Feel ya there, man. I actually like mayo, and have no problem with eggs or olive oil, but a tiny bit of mayo on a sammich, and I'm done. Not an 'allergy', just an odd gut.
As for 'yeast allergies', I'm no expert, but wouldn't someone with an actual allergy to yeasts be afflicted with symptoms quite a bit since the little buggers are absolutely everywhere? I'm not disputing the OP's body's reaction to certain beers, or even specific yeasts, but my guess is there's something more to it. My wife's good friend's husband can't drink beer, it makes him physically ill, but it's not an allergy to gluten, yeast, hops or anything in beer. He can drink wine and spirits, he can eat bread, he can take supplements like Valerian Root Extract that has hops extract in it, but beer makes him ill. Like those of us who can eat eggs and olive oil, but suffer at the first taste of mayo, I'm guessing his reaction to beer is from a conglomeration of ingredients. Since the OP said that only certain beers, or brands of beer cause his/her reaction, maybe it's something similar.
 
I know this is an old thread but here is my personal experience. When i brew with safale s-04 for the first two pints or so my neck on the sides and my cheeks turn absolutely bright blazing red. After a couple beers it goes away. Tired hands beers also sometimes do this to me. I suppose i have a mild allergy to english yeast. No other beers illicit this response. Other friends that have come over and had my homebrew have also had this. Not all but a few of them. Any american yeast and we're all good. Just my two cents. Would love to hear some feedback
 
Just started searching for info on yeast allergy. SHMBO decided to (finally) try my homebrew and LIKED IT! Problem is that she has developed an allergy to beer and wine for a few years now. Soooo, noting that she has no problem with distilled spirits, my hypothesis is a yeast allergy. I'm no chemist but it seems like a place to start with trying to bring the joy of homebrew to my loving wife. what size filter? 1 Micron?

Wondering if there is there another link between beer and wine and not liquor? Allergist insists she's not allergic to cats - but when the cat died, she got a lot better; so an unscientific, anecdotal diagnosis will probably be best! :)
 
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