Likely to be a few knowledgeable folks on here.

I seem to have developed an unfortunate reaction to ale – stomach cramps / wind / ibs etc… noticed it getting worse over the last few years so have been avoiding drinking ale, as much as I like it. A couple of weeks ago I had a lovely pint of golden ale, 4 hours later I had nasty stomach cramps felt terrible. The thing is I seem to be okay with a few pints of lager (which I drink maybe once a month)

Is there a difference in the ingredients, or could it be something to do with the fermentation process?

Trying to narrow down what it is so I can avoid it in food, working theory is it might be barley…

I’m wondering if you can get the equivalent of a skin prick allergy test for intolerances?

What sort of “golden ale”?

if it’s real ale, unfiltered and unpasteurised, then it will have active yeast particles in it.

Not like mass produced lager, which is filtered and pasteurised, which doesn’t have any living yeast in it.

It could be the yeast.

I’ve had bad reactions after wheat based beers or with wheat in. Had put it down to just getting pissed, but there seems to be a correlation to those types of beers. Yet I don’t appear to be wheat intolerant eating bread etc.

Well, I think so, though I’ve been going on and off through the cramps/wind/IBS kind of stuff, but I’ve tried cutting out wheat food stuff and no difference. I get it regardless of beer, lager or wine. Weirdly my issue seems to go away if I’m on holiday, except for the wheat beer though I steer clear of that now. I eat wheat based foods on holiday no problem. The food is different though to what I’d eat at home. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a combination of the food and drink. I do tend to pair things at home, but on holiday it’s generally beer of the ale kind with any food.

Anyway, is wheat in beer more yeasty?

ale is what lager drinkers drink once they grow up…………. ;o)

Malt types, yeast and probably a couple of other things.
https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale#page-2

Some days I get a funny reaction to some Pilsner brews but not constantly – again some variations in recipe and styles there

In terms of “Ale” it’s sucha wide range you can have a massivly different balance in ingredients in there and it can be anywhere from the bland mass brew to something quite radical.

ale is what lager drinkers drink once they grow up…………. ;o)

Larger is what ale drinkers drink when they find the good ones, there are a couple of brewdogs worth a look along with a lot of german beer

Could be a developing gluten intolerance. This happened to a friend and they have to be very careful with what they drink. Some brewers do gluten free beers which seem to work (Brew dog do a nice one, and even our local (very) micro brewery does one). Some normal beers are OK (Otter Amber being one) but most lead to unfortunate consequences.

You could try a specific gluten free beer and see what effect it has.

I’ve no idea if largers differ though.

Different yeast strains.
Ales generally have more higher kilned malts.

Lagers go through more clarification which pulls more proteins out of suspension.

Wheat beers are high in suspended proteins, hence the cloudiness

That could be the issue?

Lager being pasteurised will contain no live yeast. Try a pint of keg (gas-pressure and pasteurised) bitter and see if that has the same effect as hand-pulled bitter, which contains living yeasts.

A second problem is that as you age you produce less of the enzymes you need to digest carbohydrates, meaning you begin to suffer bloating and wind.

Wheat, gluten or yeast would be the obvious guesses. British breweries often use small amount of wheat.

Try a german non-wheat beer, cos that will only contain water, barley malt, hops and yeast.  then try a german kölsch beer if you can find one, cos that’s the same ingredients but is an ale with ale yeast (and I guess closest thing to a golden ale although made in a lager kind of way I think).

Then try a gluten free beer which may either be ace or revolting.

But only a doctor can give a proper diagnosis.

I find ale gives me the squits and larger gives me a bad head.

I reckon its yeast.

I get similar symptoms with beer and breads. Avoiding them I feel much better. Korean lager like Hite has even less effect than Budweiser.

Our local brewer says it’s the toxins getting flushed out.

Is your landlord keeping his pipes clean!?
I can drink both, but for some reason, if I mix them up I feel a lot drunker.

Have you considered other alternatives?

this thread needs singletrackmind… he’ll know 🙂

interesting stuff, it was from a local micro brewery. I’m tempted to go back and try another pint to see if I can replicate the effects. Most of the time I’m rough the next day, this time it was consumed at lunch and I was ropy before tea.

luckily I’m okay on Gin and red wine…#

I’ve also spotted similar (but much weaker) effects with hot cross buns – are they made different to standard bread (which I seem ok with, but don’t eat much)

Is there a reliable test for gluten intolerance? Is it a visit to the GP?

Age. Over about 40 your body starts to produce less of those digestive enzymes.

As you age you produce less stomach acid. What type of food did you have with the ale?

It’s not stomach acid, it’s digestive enzymes and other age-related changes in the physiology of the stomach and gut.

I was about to ask if it was bottle or draft however you’ve answer that above. I.e. checking that you didn’t inadvertently drink the sediment from a bottle conditioned ale.

Hmm, so carbs are the problem as you get older…. can anyone recommend a low carb beer?

Age. Over about 40 your body starts to produce less of those digestive enzymes

Why is it all the old geezers drink real ale then?

It’s interesting this as a bunch us drink in our local microbrewery every week, some of the guys reported “digestive distress” the following day subsequently giving up the purvey, and some like me, drink the same beer with no issues.

I tend towards brown drinks FWIW.

Hi
Move aside and let the professional through .
Ok, so we have ruled out an intolerannce to alcohol itself if you are OK with wine and spirits
So it will be either Yeast or Gluten, or very very possibly fish
Yeast , Real Ale is crammed with live yeast cells , thousands of the little blighters in every ml (millilitre ) and they are possibly causing you an issue with inflation , quickly followed by deflation. Which is not uncommon. It is a shame as you are going to have to search out either filtered craft keg beer which is becoming more widespread, and /or filtered Lager

Or you have developed a Gluten intolerance which you can check at home with a bowl full of pasta , a few slices of bread etc,

Or you are having a reaction to Isinglass , which is the macerated swim bladders of fish from SE Asia and is used to coagulate the yeast and it falls ( mostly ) out of susp ension in a lump intertwined with the Isinglass, however this is extreamly rare and as itusually settled in the bottom of the cask it does not have to be listed as an allergen

Mainstream big boys Lager is mostly 2x or 3x filtered before pastuerising to stop living stuff from reproducing . The final filtration is usually tight enough to remove 100% of yeast cells So if you are OK after drinking Carling then its a yeast thing

You could do a simple experiment. Buy 1 or 2 BCA’s Bottled Conditioned Ales, store them inverted for a week after properly shaking them , then pour into a glass, yeasy bottoms ( which will now be at the top , and everything . Farty Pants= Yeast intolerance as the yeast in a BCA should be alive and kicking .

Told ya 😁

Age. Over about 40 your body starts to produce less of those digestive enzymes

Why is it all the old geezers drink real ale then?

That’s why the oldies fart like an untied balloon💨

larger gives me a bad head

Maybe smaller would not.

Try a gluten free beer . Made with spelt instead , or as well as , barley. The allowance for gluten free beer is very broad so it will still contain some gluten , just slot less