Health Risks?

[Kev75]

Dear All

Not wanting to put a dampener on anyone's day, but a friend asked me a question yesterday about homebrewing and AG brewing, asking if there were any health issues that might develop from drinking AG brews. I replied that I couldn't think of any and that I hadn't ever heard of anything within the books, forums etc but it got me to thinking. I pointed out the obvious about too much of anything taken to high levels will result in possible health problems and that the obvious thing of having beer on tap might tempt you into drinking too many beers, something that I'm sure we've all done at some stage. I then started wondering about conditions like diabetes. Does anyone have any info or experience of diabetes and home brewed ale? Not wanting to pry but it was something that I had never thought about before.

Best Regards

Kev

Brewing:
Trappist Tripple
Theakston Old Peculiar

Conditioning:
Bavarian Style Pilsner

Drinking:
Sam B's Sneaker B@st@rd

[mark]

Nice first post

Seriously though.....like you said; if you use anything to excess then you are going to have problems. I don't see anyone here advocating excessive drinking.

If anything, I would say that home brewing AG beers is far healthier than store bought or mass produced beer.
It is a natural product afterall, but you the brewer are in control of what goes in there......no nasty preservatives etc etc.

My 2p FWIW.

[mysterio]

having beer on tap might tempt you into drinking too many beers, something that I'm sure we've all done at some stage

It's a serious point, certainly i've lost count of the times were i've said 'just one more... and another..' And my consumption has certainly went up since I started brewing.

You have to seriously ask yourself whether you have the self control to stop at one or two. Knowing that I have to get up for a job the next morning is enough for me, but as a student who can stay up late and have lie-ins, that isn't very often.

I can say with complete honesty though, that my tendency to 'binge drink', or go out on the town and get absolutely slaughtered is virtually nil now that I've started all-grain brewing and developing a respect for beer. So, my drinking habits are now more little and often, rather than occasional and heavy. A 'heavy' drinking session, for me, is something like 4 pints of a low/moderate gravity ale. I rarely go beyond that because the intoxication becomes unpleasant. Most nights i'll have a pint and a half of some 4% ale.

As for the suggestion in your post that HB is somehow more damaging to your health than commercial beer, what nonsense! It's a product that people have been making for thousands of years in their own homes, only relatively recently has the process been outsourced to mega-corporations who put god knows what in their beer. It really pisses me off when people turn their noses up at AG homebrew because they think it's made in the bath or something and is probably riddled with botulism.

Beer in moderation won't give you diabetes. Lots of sweet soft drinks will, along with junk food like pizza/mcdonalds etc. Eat a healthy balanced diet along with your beer and you'll be fine. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies, meat, unprocessed food etc. And take some exercise!

Don't quote me on this but I'm sure i've read moderate alcohol consumption has a favourable effect on insulin sensitivity. It's obesity, and high amounts of simple sugars like glucose/fructose which are the real killers.

[farmhousekeg]

I tend to think that AG homebrew is certainly a "healthier" product than mass produced beers, most likely because of all the additives etc which the big brewers use. I have noticed that I have no headache in the morning on the rare occasion (like my daughters birthday last night) when I have more than 3 bottles of my beer (5 last night). On a weekend I'll typically have 3 bottles on a Friday and Saturday and one or 2 on a Sunday. An occasional one during the week but not that often. So I think I am consuming about 10 a week maximum on average and am therefore within the recommended limit of 21 units. My beers are usually around the 3.8 - 4.5% mark, apart from Celebration which I only drink as a treat and then 2 in a session.

My son and his friends, who have occasionally binged on beer I donated to them, have also commented the next day about their total lack of a headache/hangover after drinking my beer as opposed to the usual crap they pour down their necks.

So my conclusion is home brewed, AG beer in moderation is a kind of health food - now, where on earth did I put that pint down?

Cheers..................

[Capped]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24373&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 15#p270357

Have a read of this, Kev75! (Hope the link works - first attempt). As for me nowadays,I never exceed 2pints a day....

[farmhousekeg]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24373&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 15#p270357

Have a read of this, Kev75! (Hope the link works - first attempt). As for me nowadays,I never exceed 2pints a day....

Jeez................ that's one hell of a story and a caution to all of us! Thanks Capped.

[Scooby]

I tend to think that AG homebrew is certainly a "healthier" product than mass produced beers, most likely because of all the additives etc which the big brewers use.

I'm not sure what additives big brewers put in there beer that makes it less healthy than home brewed beer?


As has been pointed out it's the alcohol within that is the health risk and that's in all beer. Personally I'm not sure that drinking 1 or 2 pints a night (Oh... and I share a bottle of wine with the wife at the weekend and er... I like a Malt by the fire on Sunday) is any less harmful to the body than going out on Saturday and sinking 15 pints, at least the body can rid itself of the stuff the rest of the week, but we can kid ourselves we're drinking responsibly

Unlike fresh food stuff poultry, meat, eggs, fish, which could harbour bacteria and be eaten without knowing, by the time you come to drink a beer that is infected you'll know and there is little chance of you drinking it, so as far as that goes the health risk is zero.

[Dr. Dextrin]

I'd guess that excessive alcohol consumption would be the main risk, rather than anything dodgey in the home brew - so long as you don't stray too far off the established ingredients and methods, anyway.

I find that brewing my own helps me regulate my alcohol intake quite well. I no longer drink those bottles of ridiculously strong ale that got bought because they were on special offer at the supermarket. I also tend to drink beer rather than wine. Unlike drinking in the pub, I know exactly how much alcohol I've drunk, because I know how much I brewed and I can keep the strength down to match my drinking habits. So, for instance, I can brew a clone of something I like but make it a bit less strong, so I can have the extra pint now and then.

I also agree that a well-brewed beer made at home is likely to give you less of a hangover. I find it's usually a lot less of a laxative than the stuff you buy in pubs, too!

For me, I think the biggest health risk is that I scald myself with a boiler full of wort while brewing or get brained by SWMBO for not cleaning up the kitchen.

[farmhousekeg]

I tend to think that AG homebrew is certainly a "healthier" product than mass produced beers, most likely because of all the additives etc which the big brewers use.

I'm not sure what additives big brewers put in there beer that makes it less healthy than home brewed beer?

I'm no expert but I was thinking of preservatives or sulphites (which definitely contribute to a hangover).

[mysterio]

From BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4942262.stm

TYPICAL BEER ADDITIVES
Betaglucanase
Ammonia caramel
Rhoiso-alpha acids
Sulphur dioxide
Protease
Amyloglucosidase
Propylene glycol alginate
Silicone

[delboy]

Beer in moderation won't give you diabetes. Lots of sweet soft drinks will, along with junk food like pizza/mcdonalds etc. Eat a healthy balanced diet along with your beer and you'll be fine. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies, meat, unprocessed food etc. And take some exercise!

Don't quote me on this but I'm sure i've read moderate alcohol consumption has a favourable effect on insulin sensitivity. It's obesity, and high amounts of simple sugars like glucose/fructose which are the real killers.

Just like to interject on the behalf of simple sugars (these guys get a poor deal ), its a common misconception that sugars are the cause of diabetes (its obestity and genetics primarily). Diabetics have to regulate their sugar intake of course but thats a symptom of their condition and not in itself a causitive factor, there is no evidience that simple sugars cause it, anyway back to the thread

Is homebrew damaging to the health, short answer, yes, but what would you expect it does after all contain ethanol and various other compounds. Is it any more damaging that commercial beer, almost certainly not and it doesn't contain 'unknown' ingredients such as those posted above by mysty.

[Scooby]

From BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4942262.stm

TYPICAL BEER ADDITIVES
Betaglucanase
Ammonia caramel
Rhoiso-alpha acids
Sulphur dioxide
Protease
Amyloglucosidase
Propylene glycol alginate
Silicone

As the link says all are food safe and used in many other edible products. Do you know what they are? Many home brewers use them in their beer.

I've seen mention of gravy browning and hop extract on Jims and we all put sodium met in our water.... all on the list.

[dopejack]

[quote]TYPICAL BEER ADDITIVES
Betaglucanase
Ammonia caramel
Rhoiso-alpha acids
Sulphur dioxide
Protease
Amyloglucosidase
Propylene glycol alginate
Silicone[/quote

...if I can get hold of all these, and I've got some Fuggles and a few Kilos of pale, any recipe ideas...?

[Scooby]

TYPICAL BEER ADDITIVES
Betaglucanase
Ammonia caramel
Rhoiso-alpha acids
Sulphur dioxide
Protease
Amyloglucosidase
Propylene glycol alginate
Silicone[/quote

...if I can get hold of all these, and I've got some Fuggles and a few Kilos of pale, any recipe ideas...?

H&G sell most of them

[Whorst]

There are no known pathogens in beer that can harm you. There's plenty of alcohol though in a West Coast IPA that can do a number on your head. The really good ones don't drink like strong beers.