# So Why Does Homebrew Never Give Hangovers?



## Fents (6/9/07)

Me and my mates smashed 3/4's of a keg last night and i woke up feeling fresher than the fresh prince of belair! :beerbang: 

Why so?

No preservitives?

Didnt drink enough? (def had double vision going on trying to type a txt message)...

Do you all find the same thing?


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## Steve (6/9/07)

Fents said:


> Didnt drink enough? (def had double vision going on trying to type a txt message)...



If you can remember where your phone is, never mind how to turn it on you obviously didnt drink enough 

Seriously though....I also feel like a fresh prince the morning after drinking my HB. So much so I have another!


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## Inge (6/9/07)

Definitely agree, I'd put it down to the lack of nasty chemicals and a higher level of freshness in general.


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## NickB (6/9/07)

I have to say that I still get the occasional hang-over after home brew. This may not be helped by the fact that I often decide to drink on an empty stomach.

If I do get a hang-over, it's always far les severe than those from the commercial stuff.

Hey, maybe I'm just soft though....!


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## MHB (6/9/07)

Lots of factors contribute, but it's largely down to the Vitamin B, yeast is a good source of B and you're body needs it to process alcohol.

So suck up that sediment

MHB


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## Fents (6/9/07)

Some say preservitives are the cause in megaswill...

But when i google it, it says there are a few causes :

The root cause of all hangovers is, of course, drinking alcohol. If you drink enough and end up with a hangover, it means you've ingested more alcohol than your body can metabolize efficiently. The toxins in alcohol build up in your body and make you feel sick. A chief culprit is a chemical called acetaldehyde. This is an alcohol by-product that research suggests may cause the worst of your hangover symptoms. 

then this : 

Congeners are another cause of hangovers. These are impurities created during the fermentation process in some types of alcohol. Low quality wines and many dark liquors tend to have high levels of congeners. The rule of thumb is the darker your drink, the worse the hangover.


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## Paul H (6/9/07)

I too still continue to get hangovers, although I believe mine are due to more the level of consumption rather than the type of beer I'm drinking. <_<


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## Inge (6/9/07)

MHB said:


> Lots of factors contribute, but it's largely down to the Vitamin B, yeast is a good source of B and you're body needs it to process alcohol.
> 
> So suck up that sediment
> 
> MHB



I didn't even think about that, how interesting!


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## Gulpa (6/9/07)

> The rule of thumb is the darker your drink, the worse the hangover.



This guy has obviously never drunk tequila.


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## warrenlw63 (6/9/07)

I'll go off on a Tangent. I reckon excessive cane or sugar (fusels)... I've had some bigger home made Belgians that make me wish I was dead the next day.

Let's not forget most swill contains around 25% or so sugar too. :blink: 

Fents.. There be a sane limit. Drink enough of your own stuff and you'll still suffer.  

Warren -


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## Keifer (6/9/07)

I can easily drink more HB than i used to be able of new/vb/shit.
Im convinced me + preservatives = very bad hangonver.
Me + lots of HB = dry headache only.
Me + normal amount of HB = happy days

Drink some water, and dont go to bed after just finishing a beer.

Also i found that this wheat beer is the best yet for not having hangovers, yeast plays a significant role too.


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## amita (6/9/07)

hi guys and girls,the same observation and wonder for me,home brew equals less hangover!!!its only an issue after bottle number six and it still is less then a nite in the pub on commercial stuff.
I found that when I brewed kits only and used brew enhancer it was the only time for me to have a headache, I stopped using that and am a happy HB drinker(and so are the mates)


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## fraser_john (6/9/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> I've had some bigger home made Belgians that make me wish I was dead the next day.



Yes, same. Big Belgians with lots of candy sugar and higher esters really make my head hurt.


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## TasChris (6/9/07)

I to agree that hangovers tend to be less with HB, however this tends to off set by the clensing effect of the yeast in home brew.


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## Enerjex (6/9/07)

as mentioned before i've read that sugar in megaswill contributes nicely to the hangover, also i'd love to know what other shit is in some of them. it's strange that beer doesn't have to show ingredients whereas all other food, including juice etc does. i believe there would be other preservatives that would contribute to making you feel worse the next day. interesting about the vitamin B in the yeast though


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## devo (6/9/07)

Myth, I've put this hang over theory to the test many times and found that if you hit it hard enough your gonna get hung over regardless of whether it's a HB or not.


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## Jazzafish (6/9/07)

I had an Amarillo honey ale with about 20% honey... smashed me one morning after 10 or so schooners!

I normally wake up ok though. I find too that sugar and higher ferment temps have encouraged hangovers.


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## Keifer (6/9/07)

Devo, you cant bust a myth coz one person tried it lol
Many people are allergic to all sorts of preservatives, sulphites etc that you would not find in a HB.

But yeah defo agree on alcohol can cause dehydration, which in turn can cause headaches.


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## Fents (6/9/07)

devo said:


> Myth, I've put this hang over theory to the test many times and found that if you hit it hard enough your gonna get hung over regardless of whether it's a HB or not.



fair play and i agree BUT i reckon thats cause alcohol is a diarhetic (spelling?) so therefore the more alcohol your drink, the more you piss and the less water you loose out of your body therefore dehydrating you.

Obv if i got through the best part of a keg by MYSELF i'd be rotten in the morning regardless but im talking if i drink 10-12 stubbies of homebrew i'd still feel fresh. Unless your a massive drinker i'd say 10-12 stubbies of CUB would be enough to give a decent hangover.


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## devo (6/9/07)

Keifer said:


> Devo, you cant bust a myth coz one person tried it lol
> Many people are allergic to all sorts of preservatives, sulphites etc that you would not find in a HB.
> 
> But yeah defo agree on alcohol can cause dehydration, which in turn can cause headaches.



Don't forget alcohol poisoning.


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## warrenlw63 (6/9/07)

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
 Friedrich Nietzsche

Warren -


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## brettprevans (6/9/07)

im going with a combo of all these.

IMO: sugar, preservitives and other ingredients (ie to make dark liquors) = hangover. 

If I drink cheap megaswill = massive hangover. If I drink say becks (good old recechbolt) = v small hangover

If I drink HB = well im yet to have a massive session in recent times but even after 4-5 longnecks of HB im fresh as a daisey.


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## Kingy (6/9/07)

ive never had a headache in my life,when i think ive got one it goes away.

saying this i still get hangovers but they are more like dehydrateovers. Where i cant even stand up bcoz im going to pass out and get light headed and stuff. (reminds me when i was younger on the following days after a rave party) but with the home brew it is no where as bad. 
Well basically i dont get them from HB. Ive found that if i stop drinking 12 hours before i have to do something sober. eg. work or shopping with the missus im generally ok.This rarely stops me tho.

I always have a can of kilkenny when hungedover and im usually sorted.Well after a few more of them anyway, after i get the taste.Ill just worry about it tomorrow.Then ill sort it out :beerbang:


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## Cortez The Killer (6/9/07)

I've found that it's possible to get a hangover with HB occasionally

It doesn't happen very often 

But I managed to find a way! :beerbang: 

Cheers


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## Sammus (6/9/07)

hangovers are mainly dehydration and vitamin b deficiency. no matter how drunk I am if i skull a litre of water and have a berocca before crashing ill wake up feeling 90%. do the same again in the morning to make it 100


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## browndog (6/9/07)

I've been to enough case swaps now and seen (and been) the hard men that stayed up till two, looking very seedy indeed after drinking quality home brew all night. I've also seen them (aka Frogman) get straight back into it in the morning like they have just turned up for a big one. 

cheers

Browndog


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## Muggus (6/9/07)

I think the whole "you can't get a hangover from homebrew" claim is a bit of an urban myth. 
I've had many a killer hangover from drinking nothing but my own homebrew, along with a mate of mine, and the vast majority of my brews contain no adjucts of any sort. Although I don't recall any "homebrew hangovers" being nearly as nasty as the result of a night on commercial beer, spirits, mixed drinks, etc.
A hangover seems to be such a personal thing though...some people can drink until they passout and wake up as fresh as a daisy, whilst others can have a couple of beers and wake up to living hell.


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## Millet Man (6/9/07)

Fents said:


> The root cause of all hangovers is, of course, drinking alcohol. If you drink enough and end up with a hangover, it means you've ingested more alcohol than your body can metabolize efficiently. The toxins in alcohol build up in your body and make you feel sick. A chief culprit is a chemical called acetaldehyde. This is an alcohol by-product that research suggests may cause the worst of your hangover symptoms.



Stretching my memory but last year at the Ballarat Uni brewing course we did taste testing and I recall VB had a distinct green apple (acetaldehyde ??? correct me if i'm wrong) aroma which would account for part of it's hangover artillery according to Fents quote.

Cheers, Andrew.


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## bconnery (6/9/07)

My take on this is that you most definitely can get a hangover from HB but...

a) It takes a lot more effort. 

B) They never seem quite as bad. 



I have been to several of the case swaps browndog mentions and the next day, Xmas 06 particularly, I have felt fairly tender, but not death warmed up like I have felt on much much smaller nights on commercial beer.


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## Trent (6/9/07)

I usually escape hangovers to a certain extent on HB, but after drinking megaswill at a wedding on the weekend, was not well at all in the morning. I get really bad hangovers from nearly all megaswill, but if it has anything to do with acetaldhyde, then I pity all the Bluetongue Lager drinkers out there - that stuff tastes like a granny smith!
Anyway, if ya drink megaswill, though, ya probably deserve what ya got coming. And Warren, what the hell are ya doing turning big belgians into session beers ya mad bugger!?!
Trent


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## warrenlw63 (6/9/07)

Trent said:


> And Warren, what the hell are ya doing turning big belgians into session beers ya mad bugger!?!
> Trent



Always seems a good idea at the time... Honest! :lol: 

Warren -


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## Keith the Beer Guy (7/9/07)

Howdy all,

An excellent resource for finding answers to questions like these is Google Scholar.

Just keep in mind that words or phrases like 'possibly', 'probably' and 'some researchers' _usually _ mean that the "answer" is open to debate.

Happy searching,

Keith


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## Weizguy (7/9/07)

Sammus said:


> hangovers are mainly dehydration and vitamin b deficiency. no matter how drunk I am if i skull a litre of water and have a berocca before crashing ill wake up feeling 90%. do the same again in the morning to make it 100


Sam,

If U can seriously consume and retain a full litre of water after a session of "beering", you haven't really had a session.

Seth


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## Sammus (7/9/07)

Les the Weizguy said:


> Sam,
> 
> If U can seriously consume and retain a full litre of water after a session of "beering", you haven't really had a session.
> 
> Seth



Lol who said I had to retain it? :lol:


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## Adamt (7/9/07)

After a car ride/walk/whatever home, I'm usually ready for a decent slash. Out goes at least 1 litre, then I top myself up with water.

I think of it as a digestive batch sparge... without the vorlauf! :blink:


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## warrenlw63 (7/9/07)

Adamt said:


> After a car ride/walk/whatever home, I'm usually ready for a decent slash. Out goes at least 1 litre, then I top myself up with water.
> 
> I think of it as a digestive batch sparge... without the vorlauf! :blink:



:lol: Hook up your March and a ballvalve. You could be a HERPS. Heating Element Recirculating Pissing System.

Warren -


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## 0M39A (7/9/07)

my standard hangover prevention is lots of water before bed, and a pint of water next to me, as i usually wake up a few hours before i plan to with hellish drys. skull that, hour or two more sleep and im fine.

but i tend to agree with everyone though, homebrew is far far far nicer on the head than megaswill. honestly dont remember the last time i had a hangover to be honest, and i doubt it was with homebrew.

i think its more to do with the sugar levels and the fermentation temperatures (ie. less fusel alcohols)

[edit]

vegimite/promite on toast the next morning if you arent feeling 100% always does the trick for me as well


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## mfdes (7/9/07)

Funny the general perception that homebrew leads to less hangovers. I think homebrew can be said to have improve vastly from what it was a few years ago.
It used to be the complete opposite. I remember my first experiences of homebrew leading to the worst hangovers I can remember, even though I was not drinking that excessively. I think the main reason for this is that your average homebrewer (numerically speaking) has never read a book or forum on homebrewing, brews from a can and kilo of sugar, and does it according to the can instructions. 24-27 degree fermentations lead to huge levels of fusel alcohols (one of the worst offenders other than ethanol). Thus bad hangovers.

I think this thread should be more like "So Why Does *My* Homebrew Never Give Hangovers" :beer: 

MFS


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## sinkas (7/9/07)

I dont beleive for a second there is any justifiable reason or evidence to suggest homebrew not causing hangovers in any different form to Industrial lagers.
The hangover is quite simply due to both the alcohol and sugar intake form said drinks, as well as on a big night, the sleep deprivation, change in routine. Unless one ahs a particlaur allergy to @[email protected] in the beer, I thik the whole concept is a load of twaddle.

Nevertheless, I am begining to believe that the higher in IBU' S,and hop content to easier it is to get a hang over.
All the jerkyboys at litle creatures saying how its so good "cos its got no preservatives", its up there with my dismay at the term "Handcrafted ales"


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## sinkas (7/9/07)

JUst to clarify alittle,
I woudl like to say that I do think beers with alot of acetylaldehyde would seem to promote hangovers, or at least execerbate/amplify them.
To me the Billabong Porter unforutnaltey made here in WA, "tastes like a hangover" its surley 75%alcetylaldehyde


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## Zizzle (7/9/07)

sinkas said:


> I dont beleive for a second there is any justifiable reason or evidence to suggest homebrew not causing hangovers in any different form to Industrial lagers. ...
> 
> All the jerkyboys at litle creatures saying how its so good "cos its got no preservatives", its up there with my dismay at the term "Handcrafted ales"



In the past I have had a single stubby of megaswill give me a headache.

At a recent bucks party & wedding I went to, the groom bought a heap of LCPA. Lightest hangovers I have ever had. Better than any homebrew I've had sessions on, let alone any megaswill.

You can call bullsh!t all you want, everyone is different and I know what works for me. I have my own anecdotal evidence.


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## domonsura (7/9/07)

I still get a hangover............but I think that's related to the amount I drink, rather than what. What's more, I (vaguely) remember mornings after Stamtisch at Grumpys where all I'd had had to drink was homebrew, and you can't tell me I don't have a hangover while I'm hugging the big white bowl in the morning, scowling at the light of day and wincing at every loud noise........
So I for one can drop my vote in the "no hangover? What a lot of cobblers" box. 
Do I mind getting a bit of a reminder in the morning? not really, it tells me I had a good time......:lol:


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## tangent (7/9/07)

if i hit my beers hard i just wake up drunk.
rarely get the colossal kill me now kinda hangovers like the old days sessions in the pub.


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## beernography (7/9/07)

I haven't had more than a couple of glasses of homebrew. get rotten hangovers from overconsumption of just about any alcohol these days, but I heard HB can give ladies a yeast infection in the clacker, is that true?


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## Steve (7/9/07)

beernography said:


> I haven't had more than a couple of glasses of homebrew. get rotten hangovers from overconsumption of just about any alcohol these days, but I heard HB can give ladies a yeast infection in the clacker, is that true?




:lol: I dont know? How long have you been drinking HB? :lol:


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## bugwan (7/9/07)

beernography said:


> ... I heard HB can give ladies a yeast infection in the clacker, is that true?



Funniest quote I've seen for a long time. Classic!


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## beernography (8/9/07)

I just bottled my first K&K brew yesterday. Hope to have many years of HB drinking before me!


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## deckedoutdaz (8/9/07)

beernography, you will have years of drinking before you, and get used to all of us, once you are in here you never get out, NEVER!


HEHEHEHE....HA HA HA HA


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## bonj (8/9/07)

deckedoutdaz said:


> once you are in here you never get out, NEVER!


Unless you get banned... :unsure:


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## Tony (8/9/07)

Welcom to the Hotel California..........



Im not an alcaholic...... im a brewahoilic.

and on subject..... i havnt had a hangover on HB ever.

I have been smashed........ sluring and falling over and no hangover. tired the next day... probably still pickled but didnt feel sick at all.

Home Brew rocks 

cheers


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## microbe (8/9/07)

Hangovers are definitely one of those mystery creatures that doesn't have one pure cause but a myriad of influences that can add up to feeling like death warmed up the day after the night before.

Personally I would say that dehydration is one of the biggest factors but preservatives, fusel alcohol, amount consumed, regular drinking level, not only how much but _what_ you've eaten prior to drinking and what it is that you're actually drinking are all part of the puzzle.

As for HB being hangover free I think it might address one or two of the above mentioned factors but overdo it and you're sure to pay.

:beer:

Cheers,

microbe


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## Tony (8/9/07)

microbe said:


> preservatives, fusel alcohol, amount consumed, regular drinking level,



posibly...... but questionable
definatly a factor. brew cooler and slower
i consume heaps so major factor.......... tollerance factor!

all true but i think the fusils are a big one

I mad a belgian that won awards but was fiemented hot and gave me a bit of a headache. nothink like a night on the new though

cheers


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## microbe (9/9/07)

Tony said:


> posibly...... but questionable
> definatly a factor. brew cooler and slower
> i consume heaps so major factor.......... tollerance factor!
> 
> ...


Exactly my point Tony,

it's questionable and debatable about what all of the factors are and until someone in a lab-coat can do a definitive study we're stuck with debate and anecdote "HB never gives me hangovers" - "never mix your drinks - thats a hangover for sure" - " I can't drink red wine - it gives me a hangover" and the list goes on....

cheers,

microbe


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## skippy (9/9/07)

alcetylaldehyde - a fascinating chemical structure responsible for many a headache and not just for organic chemistry students trying to draw the structure!


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## InCider (9/9/07)

Tony said:


> nothink like a night on the new though
> 
> cheers



Tooheys New is bad News. It's kryptonite for me. When I was still a swiller, I used to avoid it like the plague!

InCider.


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## mfdes (9/9/07)

This whole think with preservatives in commercial beer being one of the causes of hangovers... it kind of smacks of conspiracy theory. 
I think the only preservative you are likely to encouter regularly is SO2, and since many beginner homebrewers still sanitise with metabisulphite, they'll also have SO2 in the finished product.

Most if not all studies into hangover causes have shown them to be usually just three: dehydration, hypoglycaemia, and increased acetaldehyde concentration in your bloodstream.

Just my opinion.

MFS


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## skippy (9/9/07)

agreed mfdes - acetaldehyde will do it, as will sodium/potassium metabisulfite (preservative reVox)

and maybe yeast nutrient - Di ammonium phosphate)...or anything over 10 pints and a nagging missus!


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## reVoxAHB (9/9/07)

mfdes said:


> Most if not all studies into hangover causes have shown them to be usually just three: dehydration, hypoglycaemia, and increased acetaldehyde concentration in your bloodstream.
> 
> Just my opinion.
> 
> MFS





skippy said:


> agreed mfdes - acetaldehyde will do it, as will sodium or potassium metabisulfite...and anything over 10 pints and a nagging missus!



Alright there rocket-scientists, how do we work your hypothesis into common speak, to prevent hangovers?

dehydration = drink a volume of water for every volume of beer consumned during session and follow with as much water as one can stomach at the end of evening? I would assume quality of water is important?

hypoglycaemia = a vitamin B tablet before session/bed or juicing of fresh orange or ?

acetaldehyde concentrated = you got me there. don't be genetically prone to this enzyme?

sodium = cut back on the salt (dietary)?

potassium metabisulfite = just don't use it on a HB scale?

Not poking fun, poking for everyday solutions for everyday  excesive  drinkers.

reVox


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## Fents (9/9/07)

well sat arvo / night i ended up drinking about 13 stubbies of carlton draught over about 9 hours watching footy at a mates who dosnt drink homebrew...blamsphemy yes but thats another thread.

woke on yoday feeling shithouse. did the same thing when i started this thread on homebrew and felt fine, thats all the proof i need.


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## paterson2929 (9/9/07)

InCider said:


> Tooheys New is bad News. It's kryptonite for me. When I was still a swiller, I used to avoid it like the plague!
> 
> InCider.


Have to agree I don't drink much Tooheys New but a few years ago i went hard on it,
The next day it felt like my head was getting ripped open by a crow bar, one of the worst headaches in my life.


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## Keifer (10/9/07)

Yeah people who say its anything other than stuff in a commercial brew are conspiracy theorists, where's the emoticon for go have a toss?


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## mfdes (10/9/07)

Sorry about the techspeak.

Dehydration is not enough water in the system. But not just before you go to bed. You'll notice if you skull a big drink of water (as often recommended), it'll go straight into your bladder. That's because so much water drunk at once essentially thins your blood and your kidneys are going to get rid of it (into your bladder) pretty much straight away. Keep in mind you're going to spend several hours while you're asleep digesting that alcohol and using enormous amounts of water to do so. Water that's gone into your bladder is out of the loop. You'll just pee it out and it can't be reabsorbed. So a big drink next to the bed from which you take sips once in a while might work, but you're going to probably be dead to the world (and not up to sipping water) if you've had enough to drink 
That is essentially why dehydration is hard to avoid. It happens while you're passed out, and after the big water you skulled has already entered your bladder.

Hypoglycaemia is not enough sugar in your bloodstream. Was once thought to be one of the main causes, now I'm not sure that it's more than just a contributor. Vitamin B won't help, unless you coat it in sugar... 'a little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down... 

Acetaldehyde is an intermediate product in the breakdown of alcohol by your liver. Essentially a protein (enzyme) in your liver will do the first step of breaking down alcohol and make acetaldehyde as a by-product. A second protein will break down acetaldehyde, which is toxic, into acetone, which is less so. Problem is the first step is carried out faster than the second, and the concentration of acetaldehyde in your blood can get high enough to make you feel like crap until the second step is finished. You'll often notice when a person's had a big night their bedroom smells like acetone in the morning. Acetone is volatile and evaporates through your lungs, hence the smell.

Cheers,

MFS


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