Beer burning my tonsils out! help!

[Micko71]

hi guys,


ive just had about 4 beers out of my latest keg and my throat is burning like tonsilitis. its freaking me out.

the beer:
what i usually do, double brew fermented in a 50 l coopers 'a' type pub keg
2 x muntons export pils
usual lme
usual dextrose
usual pils grain
usual maltodextrin
2/3rds CASCADE HOPS PACKET??? usually i use bugger all but it fell in. dunno size of packet maybe 100 gm?

the gear:
brewed as usual into 50l keg
racked as usual into another 50l keg and cold crashed 8 days @ 5 c
racked into 3rd keg, force carbed , 5 mins soda stream style- shaken, not stirred. this keg was washed and sterilised with star san and left sealed with foam for 8 days. so had liquid in the bottom , some shot out as i connected coupler so must have been a bit?? forgot to drain it and re sanitize with fresh stuff.

questions:

could it be the hop overkill? it tastes UNREAL, no where near as hoppy as a 150 lashes but very fruity.

could it be slurry - the star san has eaten away at the keg and im drinking stainless steel in my beer? making my throat burn?

or could it be just too much star san residue in my beer and the acid burning my throat. ??

doctors, scientists, fellow beer-men and naked ladys, HELP!

cheers Mick

lol

 

[barls]

usual amounts doesn't help those of us that don't brew it

 

[Charst]

Sounds like you need your tonsils removed Micko. Stat!

It'd have to have been a lot of starsan to effect your throat like that.

 

[Killer Brew]

Hot alcohol taste or caustic burning feeling?

 

[manticle]

Maybe you have tonsilitis?

 

[Killer Brew]

Didn't drink this by mistake did you?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-29/mouthwash-royal-adelaide-hospital-infections/7555528

 

[Micko71]

usual amounts doesn't help those of us that don't brew it

hey barls, what i meant was, what i usually do so i dont think thats the issue, it usually works out fine.

Hot alcohol taste or caustic burning feeling?

hey KB, not hot alcohol, im usually around 4.2 ish, i would've felt the kick if it was alcohol i reckon. its def a burning feeling, caustic? yea maybe. not melting my throat but just like tonsilitis. havnt had that for 30 odd years so it'd be funny if i got it after 2 or 3 beers? definately the beer cause it got worse when i knocked a couple down quickly.

 

[Grott]

I'd say the first couple of beers you had may have sucked up a high percentage of the star San. If that's the case your beers should be ok now. Once throat "cools" try another one.
Cheers

 

[Micko71]

I'd say the first couple of beers you had may have sucked up a high percentage of the star San. If that's the case your beers should be ok now. Once throat "cools" try another one.
Cheers

thanks mate, makes sense, however i racked into the spear, then gassed through it as well, with the 40 psi at 5 mins of rocking the keg method. im guessing it was all distributed into the beer. do too many hops burn your throat? ive only just started using them so i know nothing about amounts.

 

[peteru]

If pain persists, see a doctor.

When you do, bring him a pint.

 

[Micko71]

If pain persists, see a doctor.

When you do, bring him a pint.

haha sure. i really like your joining date Peteru, best day of the year! lol

 

[Grott]

I'm no expert on hops but wouldn't think 100gms in 50 litres would be so powerful to burn. If it is the star San then I'd say it's clear now, if you still get the burns then............? Maybe concentration of hop residue?

 

[Micko71]

I'm no expert on hops but wouldn't think 100gms in 50 litres would be so powerful to burn. If it is the star San then I'd say it's clear now, if you still get the burns then............? Maybe concentration of hop residue?

no worries. i threw the hops in free to swim around, hence the double rack job to clear it up. ill give the throat a rest and go to bed. the wifes champers is knocking me stupid.. no wonder she gets hammered.. haha see if it happens again tomorrow arv.. cheers.

 

[MHB]

If I ate a meat pie and spent the next couple of days throwing up, I would suspect there might be something wrong with that pie - de dammed if I would be going back for more just to make sure.

Considering some of the hop levels in beers I have had, it's unlikely that there is enough in the beer to cause chemical burns - allergic reactions I cant comment on, for that you need a specialist

Chemical contamination is a possibility (grot - Star San or anything water soluble would be mixed through), there would need to be a lot of any of the common brewing chemicals in in there to burn. That's not to say you haven't half filled your kegs with toxic waste (wasn't there to see what you did).

If my beer was making my tonsils burn I would tip it out and be a lot more careful next time.
Mark

 

[Micko71]

If I ate a meat pie and spent the next couple of days throwing up, I would suspect there might be something wrong with that pie - de dammed if I would be going back for more just to make sure.

Considering some of the hop levels in beers I have had, it's unlikely that there is enough in the beer to cause chemical burns - allergic reactions I cant comment on, for that you need a specialist

Chemical contamination is a possibility (grot - Star San or anything water soluble would be mixed through), there would need to be a lot of any of the common brewing chemicals in in there to burn. That's not to say you haven't half filled your kegs with toxic waste (wasn't there to see what you did).

If my beer was making my tonsils burn I would tip it out and be a lot more careful next time.
Mark

Yep. It's looking that way. My final keg had a "sterilised" sticker I put on it a week or so ago. I wonder if I just forgot to rinse the pbw and sterilise it. It doesn't smell soapy/chlorine. It smells and tastes great. Not happy jan.

 

[Benn]

You must've brewed with Phillip Island tap water?

 

[klangers]

A burn can be caused by:

• Hot or cold
• Acidic or caustic
• Highly reactive chemicals (eg chlorine)
• Radiation

We can eliminate everything but the second and third point. That said, you'll definitely notice the taste of something like chlorine. Since hops are acidic and caustic is alkaline, I'd say that if you are ACTUALLY getting burnt, it's probably because the beer is unusually acidic. High carbonation will exacerbate this.

A burning sensation is not necessarily the result of actual burning and hence is far more complicated to say what causes it. Obviously all the points above as well as other things like neurotoxins (bluebottles), mild electric shocks etc can cause burning sensations.

 

[Grott]

I'd still be giving it another taste as I suspect the "burning tonsils' may not be the beer.

("it smells and tastes great")

 

[Micko71]

Right. I'll get a couple mates over tonite and have a controlled test !

Thanks guys.

 

[peteru]

I see what's going on here... What does not kill you makes you stronger! Right? Combine that with "free beer" and that keg will get finished. Hopefully you will still have some mates left standing at the end of it.