Why I can't drink craft beer anymore.

[Budgie]

So, funny story. I'm a musician and was lucky enough on Saturday night to be playing a wedding in a brewery. Best job in the world and that...

As is the way with weddings everything was running behind so we decided to hit the bar in the meantime. I've been to this brewery a few times before and they do some really cracking beers. I opted for a lemon balm and Rosemary saison, which was delicious. Until the anaphylactic shock kicked in. After 3 or 4 sips I started getting some chest tightness then 15 mins later I was on a hospital trolley with wires all over me, an oxygen mask and a drop in my arm. I didn't even make the first dance!

Luckily the brewery was only 5 mins from the nearest hospital. Another 30 mins or so would have been a VERY different outcome. They finally let me out around midnight but my heart rate didn't drop back under 100 for another 24hrs or so.

The brewery were kind enough to send me a full ingredients list and there's nothing there that stands out as a possibility. I know I'm allergic to sulphites (I have to use bottled water for my brews as I can't go near campden tablets). I also avoid all wine and cider for the same reason. I've had a couple of reactions to craft beers in the past, but nothing in inhaler hasn't sorted out.

So, until further investigation is done, I'm sticking to Guinness as I might not be so lucky next time!

 

[Gerryjo]

So, funny story. I'm a musician and was lucky enough on Saturday night to be playing a wedding in a brewery. Best job in the world and that...

As is the way with weddings everything was running behind so we decided to hit the bar in the meantime. I've been to this brewery a few times before and they do some really cracking beers. I opted for a lemon balm and Rosemary saison, which was delicious. Until the anaphylactic shock kicked in. After 3 or 4 sips I started getting some chest tightness then 15 mins later I was on a hospital trolley with wires all over me, an oxygen mask and a drop in my arm. I didn't even make the first dance!

Luckily the brewery was only 5 mins from the nearest hospital. Another 30 mins or so would have been a VERY different outcome. They finally let me out around midnight but my heart rate didn't drop back under 100 for another 24hrs or so.

The brewery were kind enough to send me a full ingredients list and there's nothing there that stands out as a possibility. I know I'm allergic to sulphites (I have to use bottled water for my brews as I can't go near campden tablets). I also avoid all wine and cider for the same reason. I've had a couple of reactions to craft beers in the past, but nothing in inhaler hasn't sorted out.

So, until further investigation is done, I'm sticking to Guinness as I might not be so lucky next time!

Have a try at cloning your own indoors.You certainly had a lucky escape.

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[Chippy_Tea]

I have never heard of anyone getting an alergic reaction to a beer glad you arer O.K and know how to stop it happening again (or at least make it less likely) maybe time to change your avatar. :lol:

 

[Saisonator]

I wonder if the brewery used campden?

 

[Budgie]

I wonder if the brewery used campden?

Apparently not. Calcium chloride was the only water treatment used and I regularly use that myself. Some form of medical probing is the next step I suspect.

 

[Sadfield]

Yeast produces sulphites whilst fermenting. Perhaps the Saison yeast produces more than other strains.

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[simon12]

Some powdered isinglass finnings contain sulphites as a preservative. I'm not 100% but I thought a camden for water treatment would get totally removed in the boil, obviously don't risk it if it could kill you.

 

[henteaser]

Sure it was the beer?

Maybe something else you unwittingly ate/inhaled/got stung by?

 

[Budgie]

Sure it was the beer?

Maybe something else you unwittingly ate/inhaled/got stung by?

I'm as sure as I can be. The symptoms started the same as my previous reactions and within the right time frame from my first mouthful.

"Some powdered isinglass finnings contain sulphites as a preservative. I'm not 100% but I thought a camden for water treatment would get totally removed in the boil, obviously don't risk it if it could kill you."

I'm going to contact them again and specifically ask about sulphites and finings. I was under the same impression re campden, but I even taking the lid of a bottle of tablets is enough to cause a slight relation so I just avoid it where ever possible.

"Yeast produces sulphites whilst fermenting. Perhaps the Saison yeast produces more than other strains."

That's something I hand't thought of. They've told my the strain used so I'll do some further research on that.

Cheers guys. :thumb:

 

[terrym]

I was interested to read this post. I had never heard of a sulphite allergy and did a little on line research. It turns out that it is quite common (apparently 1 in 100 have some sensitivity) and that many foodstuffs can contain sulphites, a list is here http://www.sulfites.org/sulfite-foods/, which was a far bigger list than I would have expected.
Anyone with an allergy has all my sympathy for the consequences can be really serious as we all know. And sometimes you don't know you have an allergy, until you experience a reaction. This happened to my grandson recently who was trying kiwi fruit for the first time, the next thing his mouth was swollen though fortunately not too much, and certainly not life threatening. Turns out kiwi allergy is also quite common.
Anyway a question for @Budgie (who I am very glad survived his ordeal) .....
Whats the relevance of the lemon balm and rosemary in the beer you drank, are they added to the brew, and if so how are they preserved?

 

[Budgie]

I was interested to read this post. I had never heard of a sulphite allergy and did a little on line research. It turns out that it is quite common (apparently 1 in 100 have some sensitivity) and that many foodstuffs can contain sulphites, a list is here http://www.sulfites.org/sulfite-foods/, which was a far bigger list than I would have expected.
Anyone with an allergy has all my sympathy for the consequences can be really serious as we all know. And sometimes you don't know you have an allergy, until you experience a reaction. This happened to my grandson recently who was trying kiwi fruit for the first time, the next thing his mouth was swollen though fortunately not too much, and certainly not life threatening. Turns out kiwi allergy is also quite common.
Anyway a question for @Budgie (who I am very glad survived his ordeal) .....
Whats the relevance of the lemon balm and rosemary in the beer you drank, are they added to the brew, and if so how are they preserved?

Cheers Terry, I had a look over that list a while back, although thankfully I've never had a reaction to any foods. (Let's hope it stays that way!)

I've had confirmation from the brewery that no sulphites or findings are used. The fresh Rosemary and dried lemon balm are used in the boil but I hadn't thought of how they're preserved, something else to look into. I'm also going to explore @Sadfield 's yeast theory. They use Lallemand Belle saison so I think I'll contact them and see if they can give me any info.

I also realised yesterday that in all the drama I've misplaced my Ray Bans.

 

[Deadhead]

Oh how scary. Glad you're okay. Do you have an epi-pen and are your band mates/other half/family/friends comfortable jabbing it into you? Just if you're getting reactions like that from a few sips, you may never know when you might need it.
Hope you figure out what is causing it so you can see what you need to avoid.

 

[Steved53]

Cheers Terry, I had a look over that list a while back, although thankfully I've never had a reaction to any foods. (Let's hope it stays that way!)

I've had confirmation from the brewery that no sulphites or findings are used. The fresh Rosemary and dried lemon balm are used in the boil but I hadn't thought of how they're preserved, something else to look into. I'm also going to explore @Sadfield 's yeast theory. They use Lallemand Belle saison so I think I'll contact them and see if they can give me any info.

I also realised yesterday that in all the drama I've misplaced my Ray Bans.

Take a look at the Rosemary.

I suffered a bout of pneumonia a few years ago, which seemed to resurrect my childhood asthma. Unfortunately, an attack can be brought on by a few beers, even my own! I am highly allergic to sulphites, and have never touched Camden tablets since having a nasty reaction some forty years ago whilst cleaning wine bottles in the bath!

I am quite allergic to Lavender and Rosemary, simply when trimming it. What an infusion of it would do to me, I dare not think.

Anyway, I would look at the Rosemary first. It should be easy to include that in a 'prick test'.

 

[Budgie]

The rosemary is definitely worth a look. I've eaten it in the past without problems, but allergies can appear/worsen at any time I suppose. Prick tests and an epicene are the next step. I'm sure those around me would be fine with stabbing a sharp object into me. (Whether I'm having an attack or not!)