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How's that for an intriguing subject line?

I recently made the connection between hazy IPAs and migraines. Meaning, drink a hazy IPA = get a migraine.
Some have been mild and some have been full blown, but I'm pretty certain the connection is there.

What I don't know is whether it's the biotransformation of the hops during the dry hop while fermentation is still active, or if it is the yeast that seems to be dominant in the style. But what I do know is that I'm pretty much cutting these out of my drinking. I'll still sample and occasionally drink one if the ABV is low but that's about it.

Fortunately, there are many other options available out there so I think I'll survive if I have to cut those out. Guess I need to start drinking more stouts, eh?

Anybody have any adverse reactions to any particular beer, style, hop, yeast, etc.?

<Queue the BMC jokes in 3...2...1......>

I dont really have adverse reactions to a particular style, hop etc.

But I do have to ask one question. You mention that you would still have one if the ABV is low. Why would that matter? You drink other styles with high ABV's and no headache. I guess what I'm saying is that if you're certain it's just this style, why chance it at all? I would think you would still get a headache even at a low/lower ABV if everything else is consistent with a hazy IPA. Now, on the other hand, maybe you should try to find a low ABV hazy and see what happens. If you don't get the headache, maybe it will point the cause elsewhere, not sure where though.

I get headaches from a couple of IPAs of any style, but it's the alcohol.

My first guess would be yeast but it would be hard to figure that out without lots of hazy beer drinking.
But, I know this has troubled you for awhile and I hope you have found the answer.

Random blather:

If you are brave, drink some Hefe's and see if you get them. If so, yeast. If not, something else...

I would actually think yeast would help, lots of B vitamins and such.

Do you get migraines drinking red wine, or if you eat some foods high in tannins?

If so, maybe tannins from the overload of late/biotransformed hops.

If tannins, then really phenolic beer might also cause them. IE really clovey wheat beer. Hmm... that makes it tricky with the hefe, you'd have to try some dunkles too or something to rule out the yeast and rule in the phenols.

So, get to the drinking man and let us know.

The only thing that comes to mind to cause such headaches is Fusel alcohols, maybe some of those get trapped in the haze. There was a local brewery that is now gone that had fusels in every beer, everyone complained of feeling like crap after a couple and getting headaches.

Kealia wrote:What I don't know is whether it's the biotransformation of the hops during the dry hop while fermentation is still active, or if it is the yeast that seems to be dominant in the style. But what I do know is that I'm pretty much cutting these out of my drinking. I'll still sample and occasionally drink one if the ABV is low but that's about it.

I would rule out biotransformation as a cause of headaches. As it's just a fancy word for the process of converting non-aromatic hop compounds into aromatic compounds. Any yeast used to ferment an NE IPA should flock out before packaging and not be relied on as a source of the haze. Headaches caused by fusel alcohol is a prime suspect in any beer.

ScrewyBrewer wrote:Headaches caused by fusel alcohol is a prime suspect in any beer.

Agree, but I think you would taste this as something "odd" I think, and why would this be something found in commercial NEIPAs, it would be off putting I'd think?

Where hop tannins you would just taste as extra bitterness or a drying astringency. The tannins/polyphenols from the hops, if they don't get cleared out of the beer, which maybe they do not in this case (IE part of the haze, not pulled out by hard floccing yeast), then would then be lingering in the mix more then in a normal beer, more then even a "normal" DIPA type beer like Pliney or such.

It's definitely not fusel alcohol. That would hold true for headaches and/or hangovers but it's not triggering my migraine(s).

BD - You're right, ABV shouldn't matter. I'll be shying away from anything but tasters.

mashani - I do avoid tannis for that very reason. I don't drink a lot of hefs, but when I do I prefer them on the estery side so they haven't been an issue so far.

Honestly, it's just nice to know that I've been able to single out another factor and it's easily avoidable.

Kealia wrote:It's definitely not fusel alcohol. That would hold true for headaches and/or hangovers but it's not triggering my migraine(s).

Honestly, it's just nice to know that I've been able to single out another factor and it's easily avoidable.

Fortunately, I've never suffered migraine headaches myself. I do know several people who have and how debilitating their migraines are. It's good to know you've identified a trigger that can be easily avoided.

it would likely be difficult to figure out the exact culprit, since migraine can have many triggers. I would just avoid hazy IPA's

With some exceptions for tastings, that is the general plan at this point.

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