possible allergic reaction to a beer

[cluckk]

My wife is having some serious allergic reaction--hives, itching, redness, stuffiness. The only thing I can think of is a bottle of Dupont's Biere de Miel we shared before supper. The beer is malt, hops, honey and yeast. None of these have caused a problem in the past and she loves my beer. I thought maybe the amount of suspended yeast was to much and she had a reaction, but she's had heffes before without a problem. One thing, just before dinner she poured the dregs of the bottle into her glass--after I had carefully not done that.

Has anyone else had such a problem? It's taken about an hour and the reaction is clearing.

 

[Revvy]

You would think if she had a sensitivity at all it would happen to a greater and lesser extent no matter what beer she had, dependenat on the amount of yeast preasent, plus my understanding is that if someone has a yeast allergy they also have it when eating bread. What else was on the menue?

 

[cluckk]

That is the problem. We were having my homemade enchiladas--all stuff we've had many times. The only thing not common for us to have was this one beer. It also has honey, but she's never had a reaction to it either.

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

I see you are in San Antonio and maybe you guys don't have the pollen we have, but spring has sprung here in the south east. It's bad.

Do you think it might just be something blooming in the air?

 

[Pratzie]

I wonder if it was something in the honey. I've never been allergic to anything until about 6 months ago. I brought a bag of granola clusters to work and had a reaction. Broke out in hives, ears swelled and got real red, throat went scratchy and started to swell. Thankfully a co worker ran and grabbed some benadryl.

After looking at the contents, i've had everything that was in it, from the nuts and oats to grains. There was honey in it and when i checked with my doctors office a few weeks later, they said it was possible there could have been something in the honey that i was allergic too. There really wasn't any way to determine what type of honey was used or what part of the country it came from but they said it was a possiblilty. Not sure if that was it or if they were clueless and told me that just to blow smoke.

 

[cluckk]

I've read that some react to the pollen of the plant the honey is made from. It could be the unknown source of the honey.

 

[cluckk]

I see you are in San Antonio and maybe you guys don't have the pollen we have, but spring has sprung here in the south east. It's bad.

Do you think it might just be something blooming in the air?

Actually this is a horrible place for pollen. Mountain Cedar is overpowering. However, by the way it came on and then cleared off it wasn't anything atmospheric.

 

[lurker18]

It could be the area the beer is brewed in. I get reactions to beer brewed in a certain part of BC. That is the only time I ever get reactions, I think it may be something in the water, I can have the same brand from other breweries and not get the reaction.

 

[Schlomo]

This happens to me, but a little different. I have alot of allergies, one of which is Yeast, both brewers and bakers. It affects me while I drink as i get "Red face" or "flush face" really quickly. People often mistake me for being wasted because of this, but it is not the case. It affects me the most in the morning the next day, as a hangover can last 24 hours of nausea and headaches. I am usually never recovered for a full 24 hours from the last night drinking, but this is very rare as i dont drink enough for this to happen very often.

I've been tested for allergies receintly, and for me its brewers yeast that gets me. As for my homebrew, i tend to make sure i give my beers a nice long cold crash as well as doing my best to not siphon up any of the yeast that have already fallen from suspension. Seems to help at least.

Cheers

 

[Schlomo]

You would think if she had a sensitivity at all it would happen to a greater and lesser extent no matter what beer she had, dependenat on the amount of yeast preasent, plus my understanding is that if someone has a yeast allergy they also have it when eating bread. What else was on the menue?

When they test for allergies, they test "bakers" and "brewers" yeast separate. Most people, like me, if allergic to one are most likely allergic to the other, but it is possible to be allergic to one but not the other. I'm not sure how they discern between the two with these tests, but that was just what I was told by my Dr.