worry wort Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Has anyone read anything regarding the health impact home brew has compared to commercial beers? I've always considered HB to be a healthier option due to the lack of chemicals that go into it, but that's more what I want to believe than probably fact, and that even when I've given HB a total hammering the worst I've been is a bit heady the next day, not sick as a dog and incapacitated. Any thoughts or preferably facts on this? WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 It doesn't matter what I drink if I hammer it, the next day is the same for me. If I drink a heap of water before I sleep then I'm fine other than a bit tired/spaced out, but if I forget that then I feel like shit. Headache, sometimes vomiting. I always try to drink the water as a result. As for the wider health impact it wouldn't be any different to commercial beers. They obviously all contain alcohol, and varying amounts of carbs. I used to get a lot of head colds, but when I started brewing my own beer they largely stopped happening. Could be coincidence of course but I rarely get them even in flu season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 The biggest impact would be the potential to drink more ... depending on personality type having a virtually endless supply of beer in the fridge could be a huge issue ... it is not for me but I know of one person, my son, who simply could not have beer on tap at home .... and another, another son's father in-law, had to sell all his keg gear because he put on loads of weight ... as he put it "think about it, it is just too easy, the beer is really good and it is cold and on tap I found it dangerous, just a couple after work i said, just one more I said...and that happened every night ... I found i could not walk past the keg without pulling a beer " ... so for some having a fresh cold beer on tap 24/7 would be a huge danger .... so the danger is more an individual one and the rhetorical questions is : can one control their drinking ... the same goes for is you use glass or PET ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Hearing you WW & same. Good question. Some Commercial Beers have all sorts of hidden ingredients (unnatural stuff like sulphites, isinglass, antifreeze, colouring, flavours) opposed to Home Brew which is probably more akin to the German Purity Beer Law of simply water, hops & malt plus yeast. I know I am sticking with my HB. Better tasting too. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Pirate Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 1 minute ago, YeastyBoy said: Hearing you WW & same. Good question. Some Commercial Beers have all sorts of hidden ingredients (unnatural stuff like sulphites, isinglass, antifreeze, colouring, flavours Anti freeze ? Isinglass is natural, sulphites are generally not used in beer and very few beers use flavour additives other than malt or hops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, YeastyBoy said: I know I am sticking with my HB. Better tasting too. I know i am not the best brewer on the planet but all my beers are good and some are bloody rippers ... yesterday I had my first commercial tap beer for months and months ... was driving so had a couple of schooners of "Great Northern crisp 3.5%" ... nice colour good head retention but as they say "taste like watered down cats piss" ... I am so spoilt HB it is ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 6 minutes ago, Mark D Pirate said: Anti freeze ? Isinglass is natural, sulphites are generally not used in beer and very few beers use flavour additives other than malt or hops Yeap, some Brewers use small quantities of propylene glycol as a sweetener. Your average Vegan/Vegie is unaware they are consuming fish bladders (isinglass) when drinking some beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 5 hours ago, worry wort said: Has anyone read anything regarding the health impact home brew has compared to commercial beers? I've always considered HB to be a healthier option due to the lack of chemicals that go into it, but that's more what I want to believe than probably fact, and that even when I've given HB a total hammering the worst I've been is a bit heady the next day, not sick as a dog and incapacitated. Any thoughts or preferably facts on this? WW I can't back this with facts but anecdotally my hangover symptoms don't seem as severe when I (over)drink HB compared to commercial beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 5 hours ago, worry wort said: preferably facts on this? WW Have a look at Food Babes Blog/Website. Google Vani Hari Food Blogger and you will find a bunch of articles on Beer & the crud in commercial beers. The Times Article is revealing. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 1 minute ago, YeastyBoy said: Food Babes Blog/Website. Google Vani Hari Food Blogger ... she is a charlatan .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 1 minute ago, MartyG1525230263 said: ... she is a charlatan .... A really cute charlatan in my view. Yes, she has a book to sell and that is how she feeds herself. She is up front on that score. She is one of a number of critics taking it up to commercial brewers/food industry to fully disclose ingredients in our food. That's a bloody good thing. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Baron Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 35 minutes ago, MUZZY said: I can't back this with facts but anecdotally my hangover symptoms don't seem as severe when I (over)drink HB compared to commercial beer. This is the same for me. Last year I had 6 beers at a pub and had a massive headache and was pissed as after the 6 and I spewed. Now I have quite a few of my homebrews and I rarely get a headache and might feel slightly dodgy in the morning but after a couple of hours being up and about I feel good as gold again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Food babe is nonsense. Hardly any breweries use isinglass anymore, why would they need to when they have state of the art filtering systems? I have no problem with having full disclosure of ingredients and additives, but when they try to make out like every single one is some kind of evil, life threatening super poison then I lose any interest. I'd rather get my information from reputable sources than a blog known to post misinformation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 The GMO debate & it's need for use in beer is probably the one with the most interest to me. The argument against the use of GMO in all forms of food etc. due to potential health risks is pretty strong these days. There's also a number of hidden ingredients used by some commercial breweries that many people aren't aware of. https://www.organics.org/8-beers-that-you-should-stop-drinking-immediately/ That linked article is a bit over the top, but you get the general idea from some of the ingredients listed that most wouldn't be aware of. Home brewing allows you the brewer to control what goes in your beer, rather than having it dictated to you by commercial interests. If you want to add preservatives, you can. If you want to follow the guidelines of the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot), you can. What you do & what you follow is really up to you. Having that control as a home brewer over the ingredients & processes is the key (IMHO). Just my 2 cents. Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 5 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said: The biggest impact would be the potential to drink more ... depending on personality type having a virtually endless supply of beer in the fridge could be a huge issue ... it is not for me but I know of one person, my son, who simply could not have beer on tap at home .... and another, another son's father in-law, had to sell all his keg gear because he put on loads of weight ... as he put it "think about it, it is just too easy, the beer is really good and it is cold and on tap I found it dangerous, just a couple after work i said, just one more I said...and that happened every night ... I found i could not walk past the keg without pulling a beer " ... so for some having a fresh cold beer on tap 24/7 would be a huge danger .... so the danger is more an individual one and the rhetorical questions is : can one control their drinking ... the same goes for is you use glass or PET ... Yeah i agree for some blokes it could be a friggin dangerous hobby. Its always there and as you say its just too easy especially in summer. I typically try to limit the beers to the weekends (friday night is part of the weekend) but have been failing miserably in the heat of this summer in sydney. Id anticipate i have been a 5 or 6 day a week drinker with an average of 2 during the weekdays. Saying that most heavy drinkers/alcoholics i know would not have the interest or patience to do it themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Beer Baron said: This is the same for me. Last year I had 6 beers at a pub and had a massive headache and was pissed as after the 6 and I spewed.... Surely you must have had a pre-existing ailment, BB. 34 minutes ago, Beerlust said: ...There's also a number of hidden ingredients used by some commercial breweries that many people aren't aware of.... https://www.organics.org/8-beers-that-you-should-stop-drinking-immediately/ That linked article is a bit over the top, but you get the general idea from some of the ingredients listed that most wouldn't be aware of.... ...What you do & what you follow is really up to you. ... Just my 2 cents. Lusty. You should see my hand shake when I put "plastic dust" - Polyclar, in my grog, for clarity. Currently doing experiments for taste v clarity, as I cogitate continuance. Just doesn't seem "fittin", does it? Now, fish guts - Issingglass - I just could not stomach! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Polyclar is also used for pill coatings. I think a big part of the problem is people either don't understand science and/or think everything with a big sciency sounding name is toxic because of scaremongering blogs and other rubbish posted online by morons like David Wolfe. They'd rather believe that shit because they think industry and the scientific community are all part of some massive conspiracy to harm our health, and they fear what they don't or wilfully refuse to understand. Certainly, some things are toxic in very small amounts, and there are things put in food and drink that to me don't seem necessary to be added, but at the end of the day the alcohol in beer has the potential to do far more damage to health than anything else that might be in it. I don't subscribe to the anti GMO propaganda either. Without it we wouldn't be able to maintain the food supply. Anything is toxic in the right dose, even water. And everything that exists on earth is a chemical. I guess with dad being a former industrial chemist, it's helped me understand it better, and it is something I find very interesting, hence my fall down the rabbit hole of brewing chemistry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worthog Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 And between the pill coatings and the clarified beer I am ingesting a shed load of plastic dust, but do I look particularly worried? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 23 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said: Polyclar is also used for pill coatings. I think a big part of the problem is people either don't understand science and/or think everything with a big sciency sounding name is toxic because of scaremongering blogs and other rubbish posted online by morons like David Wolfe. They'd rather believe that shit because they think industry and the scientific community are all part of some massive conspiracy to harm our health, and they fear what they don't or wilfully refuse to understand. Certainly, some things are toxic in very small amounts, and there are things put in food and drink that to me don't seem necessary to be added, but at the end of the day the alcohol in beer has the potential to do far more damage to health than anything else that might be in it. I don't subscribe to the anti GMO propaganda either. Without it we wouldn't be able to maintain the food supply. Anything is toxic in the right dose, even water. And everything that exists on earth is a chemical. I guess with dad being a former industrial chemist, it's helped me understand it better, and it is something I find very interesting, hence my fall down the rabbit hole of brewing chemistry wonderful response agree 100% ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 17 minutes ago, Worthog said: And between the pill coatings and the clarified beer I am ingesting a shed load of plastic dust, but do I look particularly worried? Cheers When i was born my life expectancy was 67 years old .... today my life expectancy is 81 and if I reach 70 it changes to 85 ... yep all those carcinogens are doing western populations a great deal of harm ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 2 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said: When i was born my life expectancy was 67 years old .... today my life expectancy is 81 and if I reach 70 it changes to 85 ... yep all those carcinogens are doing western populations a great deal of harm ... The tin foil hat nutters would probably say that's a conspiracy to treat illness for longer so "big pharma" makes more money off everyone before they kick the bucket. I thought the whole point of a business was to make money to stay in business. These clowns really annoy me, because all these "money making" medications have kept my dad alive and living pretty happily for the last 30 odd years. Without them I'd never have really known him at all. I'm sure it's a pain having to take them every day but like he'd say, the alternative is pretty shitty. Those idiots can go jump off a cliff as far as I'm concerned, and take their dumb beliefs with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 9 hours ago, YeastyBoy said: A really cute charlatan in my view. Yes, she has a book to sell and that is how she feeds herself. She is up front on that score. She is one of a number of critics taking it up to commercial brewers/food industry to fully disclose ingredients in our food. That's a bloody good thing. Cheers Mate she's a Big Food basher with a book to sell. Just because organic is 'natural' doesn't mean everything about being natural it is good for you, or safe. Our local standards authorities actually maintain safety as their main job. They are not in the pockets of the Food Industry, although they have made some crap policies, like the health star rating. This was a poor compromise to get industry compliance, that has been widely criticised from day 1. Poor policy isn't the same thing as conspiracy. On the wider Big Food argument, I'm with Marty. People's basic ignorance (which is fully understandable BTW) allow monorail salesmen to whip up anxiety pretty easily for some. Also, you need to be aware of the research and legislation you're listening to. We are not governed by the FDA, our legislation codes are local - FSANZ. Here beer manufacturers are NOT exempted from listing any preservatives, colours, flavours or allergens - if they have used them, as they are valid health and safety choices for some people. This must be listed on the product, or made available on websites etc in the case of tap beers. Given hardly an brewers list these, it's likely they don't use them. If they are, they are breaking the law. In fact many big brewers prefer to use reverse marketing, such as stating No Preservatives, or Low Carb, to infer heath benefits, or imply that others who aren't saying this on their labels, are using them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 12 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said: The tin foil hat nutters would probably say that's a conspiracy to treat illness for longer so "big pharma" makes more money off everyone before they kick the bucket. I thought the whole point of a business was to make money to stay in business. These clowns really annoy me, because all these "money making" medications have kept my dad alive and living pretty happily for the last 30 odd years. Without them I'd never have really known him at all. I'm sure it's a pain having to take them every day but like he'd say, the alternative is pretty shitty. Those idiots can go jump off a cliff as far as I'm concerned, and take their dumb beliefs with them. Without getting on my high horse there are 2 things that annoy me and either show stupidity, naivety or both ... don't eat anything with chemicals I can't pronoun what the hell is that chemical nomenclature is hard I find it hard to get my mouth around Deoxyribonucleic acid ... and using chemical free stuff .. everything, like the universe, is made from chemicals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Worthog said: And between the pill coatings and the clarified beer I am ingesting a shed load of plastic dust, but do I look particularly worried? Cheers Well actually in the beer you're not because it settles out harmlessly into the trub and isn't transferred to bottles or kegs it's why I like to use it in the fermenter instead of the kegs. The stuff is harmless in those amounts anyway but a glass of beer with little bits of powder in the bottom doesn't look as good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 The whole GMO argument is inferred to be about about 'chemicals'. That's the basic misunderstanding about what GMO is. It takes a given genetic trait of a substance and isolates, alters or uses it to get it to do things more like that desired trait - like grow faster. This has been happening for decades with the creation of new varieties of Apple, Pear, tomato, potato etc -- you know, healthy stuff... There's also cross-breeding of cattle, sheep, pigs etc for the same ends. - that's GMO too. That blogger takes that chemical angle when talking about the corn syrup used in beer. It's a special kind of motivation that makes a person investigate the source of every ingredient in something, so they can bring GMO into it. What bearded vegan hipster walking their labradoodle to the cafe for their soy and allergen-free latte and gluten-free organic carrot cake, gets that though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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