Recently I had two separate drinking experiences of similar intensity but with different results. One morning after, I could not get out of bed as I felt nauseous and had a bad headache. The other morning after I felt a little tired (which can be contributed to the late night) and exhausted but nothing major. Upon reflection, I realised that perhaps the type of beer I was drinking could be the reason for these differences. On the first night, I was knocking back cheap tinnies. On the other, it was craft pale ales all night.
The comparison of these experiences got me thinking about the differences in the quality of alcohol and the associated effects. I had heard that more expensive organic alcohols give lesser hangovers, but I took this to be another word-of-mouth viral marketing campaign. But there is something to it.
Additives In Beers:
Like food, beers and other alcoholic beverages can be made in different ways. They can contain different additives including preservatives, colours, flavours, emulsifiers and stabilizers. This is more common with commercial brewing as large scale production puts pressure on a company to keep its product consistent. Additives are detoxified by the liver which when drinking is already working over-time.
Propylene glycol is an additive used in beer to stabilize head. This chemical is derived from petroleum and a major ingredient for paint removers and anti-freeze.
Sulphites can be added to beers to prevent bacterial growth. This preservative has been known to cause allergic reactions in some people causing them breathing difficulties. Irish moss, a setting agent added to beers has been known to cause ulcers.
Glycerol is a chemical you find in a lot of foods, not just alcoholic beverages, and it’s known to be safe for adults. However, the side effects of too much glycerol consumption include headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting - that sounds like a hang over to me.
How To Spot Additive Free:
Think Craft: There is yet to be a law in Australia which means ingredients must be put on beer labels. But sometimes proud little breweries like to claim their ingredients, so they do. Craft and organic beers tend to keep their ingredients natural and simple as do German beers which abide by the German Beer Purity Law. This law originated in 1516 and declared beer be made from barley, water and hops.
Dark bottles: Beer goes skunky when it is exposed to light. Beers sold in clear bottles have had additives included to prevent this from happening.
Live Yeast: The yeast wouldn’t be able to survive if their were any harmful additives in the beer. So beers which contain living yeast are a safe bet.
Organic: No harmful additives in organic beers. In fact, they would be the cleanest as no chemicals are used in the farming of the ingredients or cleaning of the equipment.
Naturally Carbonated: Beers that are bottle carbonated have not had industrial carbon dioxide added to them. They are less likely to have harmful additives.
Unfiltered: Beers with sediment still in them have not been altered to look ‘good’, so they are unlikely to have had colours and other additives.
Cost: If they’re expensive, then they’re probably better for you. This is the only setback to switching to more natural beers.
I’m not going to swear by it, but I encourage you to give it a go one night and see if you spot a difference. But of course, the chemical alcohol is the real culprit.
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