# Preservatives In Commercial Beer...



## Pollux (23/6/09)

I seem to have stumbled across a rather interesting "allergic" reaction to something in commercial beer. I have always had shocking acne from when I was a teenager, never really shock it as I hit my mid twenties, then I started AG brewing...

Since then I have had times where I have had a few commercial beers, either while out for a meal or occasionally grabbing a 6pack of something on the way home when I had realised I had failed to prestock the fridge...

There seems to be a direct link between when I drink commercial beer and when my acne flares up again, and I know it isn't a volume of beer in general issue as I can drink large amounts of HB and have near perfect skin, but after having one pint and one schooner with lunch yesterday I have suddenly flared up again....


So, as a community of beer drinkers, has anyone else found something similar? Or am I simply a freak of nature?


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## chappo1970 (23/6/09)

Pollux said:


> ...am I simply a freak of nature?



I guess you have your answer? :lol: 

Nah there is seriously something to it. I suffer from having an allergic reaction to preservatives so much so at one stage I had about 4000 times the norm of hestamines running around my body making my body attack itself. Wasn't nice at all. Took the Doctors quite some time to nail it but once it was my recovery was almost instant. I now take great precautions and hence brew my own beer, make bread (although our local bakery make me a special loaf every second day), grow my own veg etc, etc. I love a red wine and occasionally bow to my master which I pay for so I make it a good one.

I reckon theres something and should have it checked it out.

Cheers

Chappo


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## Screwtop (23/6/09)

Pollux said:


> I seem to have stumbled across a rather interesting "allergic" reaction to something in commercial beer. I have always had shocking acne from when I was a teenager, never really shock it as I hit my mid twenties, then I started AG brewing...
> 
> Since then I have had times where I have had a few commercial beers, either while out for a meal or occasionally grabbing a 6pack of something on the way home when I had realised I had failed to prestock the fridge...
> 
> ...


It's sensitive blokes like you that give a bad name to Propylparaben, Methyl para-hydroxybenzoate, Sulphur dioxide, Sodium sulphite, Sodium hydrogen sulphite, Calcium hydrogen sulphite, Potassium hydrogen sulphite, and Nisin :lol:

Also Ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate and Calcium hydrogen sulphite but these are banned in Australia.

Screwy


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## /// (23/6/09)

I thought CO2 and Alcohol and a run thru a pasturiser were preservative enough.

Scotty


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## bum (23/6/09)

I get a headache every time I drink a CUB beer (while drinking, not the next day). Haven't noticed any change to my skin though.


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## mwd (23/6/09)

not been drinking Chinese beer have you?

They reckon that it has formaldehyde in it to increase shelf life and pickle your insides.

They used to say the same for all African beers too. It didn't matter if you drank one or many always left you with a killer headache on the morning after.

Same for all Keg beers served in the Middle East has some undisclosed preservative to stop it going rancid in 45+C outside temperatures.


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## Pollux (23/6/09)

Nope.

I drink JSAA at the local pub and drink either Squires seasonal releases or monteiths range if I buy a bottle.....


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## Count Vorlauf (23/6/09)

Methylparaben and sulphur dioxide, among other preservatives, cause an allergic reaction or rash in people with sensitive skin. Perhaps this could make it more prone to break out?

Stick with homebrew and craft brewed beer!



Pollux said:


> I seem to have stumbled across a rather interesting "allergic" reaction to something in commercial beer. I have always had shocking acne from when I was a teenager, never really shock it as I hit my mid twenties, then I started AG brewing...
> 
> Since then I have had times where I have had a few commercial beers, either while out for a meal or occasionally grabbing a 6pack of something on the way home when I had realised I had failed to prestock the fridge...
> 
> ...


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## Bizier (23/6/09)

I know that it is not the same, but I get constricted breathing and huge red blotches every now and then when I change my drinking, like if I switch beer to rum or even if I drink a single homebrew quicker than the usual sipping. This is highly annoying as the drinking pattern usually indicates I am having a good (if short lasting) time. I attribute this directly to ethanol though I am not certain.


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## Thirsty Boy (23/6/09)

Preservatives need to be listed on food products - which ones are listed on commercial beers?

Although - many commercial beers do have an enzyme added to prevent chill haze. It could maybe be that??


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## Offline (23/6/09)

I always wonder why commercial beer doesnt need to have an ingredients list on the label. My only guess is that the ingredients get changed during the fermentation process. Even coke has an ingredients list


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## Online Brewing Supplies (23/6/09)

Sulphur dioxide does me in, problems breathing etc. Had "Blue nun" once when they cut it with anti freeze, broke out in gigantic welts all over my body.Hence my aversion to chemical beer additions.  
Once bitten twice shy.
GB


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## Pennywise (24/6/09)

Bizier said:


> I know that it is not the same, but I get constricted breathing and huge red blotches every now and then when I change my drinking, like if I switch beer to rum or even if I drink a single homebrew quicker than the usual sipping. This is highly annoying as the drinking pattern usually indicates I am having a good (if short lasting) time. I attribute this directly to ethanol though I am not certain.




:icon_offtopic: The same thing happens to me, I thought it was high blood pressure. Have you had yours checked? I know mine is way high, I thought it was just getting a little higher at those times.


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## petesbrew (24/6/09)

One of my mates went through a phase of getting some pretty bad headaches & feeling shocking after even one beer.
He swapped over to ciders for a while, then weaned himself back on the beer by drinking Coopers.


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## Mantis (24/6/09)

I burp and bubble like one of Butters airlocks on commercial beer.  
Not so with the home brew.


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## michael_or (24/6/09)

I switched to coopers a few years back. Suddenly I stopped getting hangovers and just like you, my acne went away!
Thats what started me on the home brew path. Now if I even smell 'Carlton Draught' or 'New' I get a huge head-ace and my sinuses block up.

A few months back, I was out with some mates, got a bit drunk and accidently finished a jug of 'CD' that was at our table. The next day I had pimples for the first time in years!

So i guess its not just you mate! Or maybe were both 'freaks'.

mic


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## Pollux (24/6/09)

Right, so I guess next time we go to the local for lunch I am drinking Coopers.....


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## Thirsty Boy (24/6/09)

do you get the same reaction with imported German beers? Or for that matter the Tooheys "natural" range? and can you drink wines without the issue?

Because that information will narrow things down considerably for you - there are very few preservatives in Australian beer, despite all the common "wisdom" so often displayed on this site. The additives that _are_ in some of the beers aren't in a German beer (purity law etc etc) and apparently not in a lot of the Tooheys stuff now either.

So you might be able to narrow things down a little more.

And you might want to be careful about which Coopers beer you drink - as near as I can tell its only the Ales that are preservative/chemical free. They don't seem to be making that claim about their lagers and stouts.


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## Scruffy (25/6/09)

I reckon it's the girls you're with...


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## newguy (26/6/09)

If I drink one of the major Canadian commercial brands (Labatt, Molson, etc) I get major heartburn within an hour. Same for the big American brewers (Bud, Miller, Coors, etc). All malt north american micros don't affect me at all, neither do German or British imports. I had a XXXX about a year ago (the label said it was actually brewed in Australia) and it gave me heartburn too.


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