Can you treat homebrew to reduce flatulence?

Over the years, I’ve developed techniques to ensure to minimize the amount of active yeast in the final beer. Extended primary fermentation in conical with lower temperature stage at the end. Secondary for a week or two at low temp and decant. I serve beer from cornies by force carbonating.

I am happy with the results but I find that when I drink beer (even 1 or 2) and consume sweet foods, I get bad farts. Sometimes not just bad, explosive. Always have and not just me, some others agree.

Mostly with my ales, S-05 is most common but I’ve experimented with many different yeasts and cannot say that I have observed any significant difference in results.

I have been reading about the use of campden tablets and other “sulfites” being utilized for wine making which help improve the shelf life and to “kill wild yeast”.

  • Could this perhaps be utilized to solve my problem?

  • If yes, do you have a recommended regiment?

  • If no, does anyone else know of any safe chemical regiments or process steps which I could utilize to reduce the amount of active yeast in my final beer?

Thanks sincerely. I know this topic could be viewed as funny but my questions are serious. By the way, beano does work but I would rather not hand out a pill every time I offer a friend a beer that I made.

I have to wonder if it’s something about your water. If I’m understanding correctly, others who consume your beer experience the increased flatulence?

And yes, I could have had some fun :mrgreen: with the way you phrased that: “not just bad, explosive. Always have and not just me, some others agree”. That’s the part I take to mean that others experience it with your beer.

Gotta be the pickled eggs :lol:

Maybe it’s your user name. :wink:

You say it happens when you eat sweet foods. Dairy based, gluten?

if youre not already, you could try fining your beer. with geletin or ‘biofine clear’

I use Biofine Clear in most of my batches, and I don’t think it helps with flatulence. In fact, I started to notice an increase in flatulence after I started using it. Could be coincidence.

[quote=“kcbeersnob”]
I use Biofine Clear in most of my batches, and I don’t think it helps with flatulence. In fact, I started to notice an increase in flatulence after I started using it. Could be coincidence.[/quote]

usually yeast in suspension is to blame for the flatulence. biofine will definitely get rid of that. have you tried gelatin instead?

beer will cause flatulence anyway, but the yeast makes it worse

[quote=“S.Scoggin”]
usually yeast in suspension is to blame for the flatulence. biofine will definitely get rid of that. have you tried gelatin instead?

beer will cause flatulence anyway, but the yeast makes it worse[/quote]
I’d rather fart than use gelatin. :lol:

Besides, I don’t think it will clear my beer any better than Biofine, which does a pretty good job.

[quote=“kcbeersnob”]
I’d rather fart than use gelatin. :lol:

Besides, I don’t think it will clear my beer any better than Biofine, which does a pretty good job.[/quote]

hahaha. :cheers:

we switched to biofine at the brewery i work for (used to use geletin). it’s much easier to use, and arguably does a better job, if not the same. although i never noticed an increase in flatulence

Clarity Ferm… and as an added bonus your beer will be relatively gluten free.

Your farts are caused by non-fermentable sugars that the bugs in your gut are able to ferment.

If you are brewing with extract, try switching to a different brand of extract, and replace 1 to 1.5 lbs of extract in your recipes with simple sugars (cane sugar is cheapest and very effective).

If you are brewing all-grain, you need to mash at low temperatures and extend the mash time to improve fermentability and attenuation. Go low and slow, 147-148 F for 75-90 minutes.

Fining with gelatin is also an excellent way to settle out the yeast. But I’m not exactly sure if that’s your issue, or if it is more your own bugs already inside your gut. I believe it is the latter. We all have different bugs in our guts that are capable of different things. This is why some people fart more, and more raunchy, than others, etc.

Strange topic but… I have acid reflux and have to treat myself with acid reducers. If my stomach goes off I blow up like a balloon, extreme gas pains, belching, it’s bad. Best thing I found is phazyme, no matter the cause it seems to work. Past that I’m still new to brewing and bottle… Can’t afford to get kegging stuff yet tho I’m itching to. So I still need those little yeasties, but I did try a hard cider and gelatin finings did a awesome job. I could read a pice of paper through the fermentor in roughly 4 weeks.

I’ve had people blame everything in the beer at one time or another for gastro distress, but the reality is that it may be more about your stomach and the bacteria present than anything in the beer. I’d suggest a probiotic regularly and be aware of how your body reacts to the carbonic acid in carbonated beverages as well as residual sugars. It may be a certain cocktail that affects you. As for the yeast, experiment with some commercial beers know to have the yeast killed or removed and see if the effects are the same. If it is truly a yeast thing, they are tough to get rid of at the homebrew level unless you can pastuerize or find a way to add enough sulfite to kill them and not leave an aftertaste in the beer.

This isn’t really on topic, but there was an issue of BYO, I think, where a brewer used Beano in his beer. His theory was that it would break down complex carbs into simple sugars (a major point of Beano, at least in the GI tract of humans) in order to get ridiculous levels of attenuation. Apparently it worked, as he got his beer around 21-22%. I forget the issue. someone feel free to remind me. Anyway, it takes the gas out of the beer, even if it doesn’t take it out of you!

If you don’t like any residual sugar or body in your beer at all, and want to risk bottle bombs, Beano is a great thing to add to your beer. :mrgreen:

I really like Dean’s comments and would add a few other things I’ve picked up. I find when I am only drinking homebrew I no longer have the issue. I have issues when I run out, buy commercial beers, and then go back to homebrew. I think your body adapts to the fresh yeast over time. Also, I went on fitness/fat loss thing (lost 30 lbs) and now I am pretty good shape and I have far less problems like acid, bloating, and other distress. Lastly, if you guys are anything like me and grind beer-less through the weekday and over indulge a bit on the weekends, I find a fiber pill and a large glass of water at lunch works wonders if your eating junk on your days off.

No kidding
The first (and last) time I used it, no bottle bombs. Of course, I had to open the bottles over a sink as 2/3 of it went down the drain. :roll:

Wow! I really appreciate all the feedback. I have some new ideas to consider that will require some experimentation.

Yes, others complain about farts from my beer. I generally have no issue with commercial beers even craft beers. I seem to notice it only with my own beers and maybe some small local microbreweries. There is definitely a correlation with the sweet foods I eat after drinking my beer. It’s 100% of the time and the effects are within 10-15 minutes of ingestion. For example, I can drink two homebrews and then a soda pop and it’s a guaranteed stomach ache and 4 hours of farts.

I will start by trying one of the brand-name fining agents mentioned (not gelatin). Biofine or Clarity Ferm. I’ll report back to this site if I observe any improvement.

I am an all grain brewer. I have made Saison type beers with very low final gravities all the way up to barley wines and double IPA’s with much higher FG’s. Although I appreciate this additional commentary and perspective, I simply do not find much of a correlation between the amount of unfermentable sugar in the actual beer and the flatulence. Again, I have implied a yeast cause because there is a correlation between the fermentable sugars that I do eat and combine with the beer in my gut.

I accept that there maybe some factors related to my own digestive health. I do often go for a few weeks without a homebrew, so, I think what has been said about my gut adapting to the beer maybe a factor. I think that I do pretty well to eat balanced healthy foods, however, I do need to exercise more and drop some weight. The answer to my problem simply yet one more reason that I should get off my butt and do a little exercise everyday.

Thanks all sincerely!

I had big fart-problems when I started homebrewing, too.

I don’t, anymore. I attribute it to:

  • patience during the brewing process… I started out minimizing every rest period of the process… and had problems… now, I go an extra week in secondary, at least.
  • patience before kegging… I cold crash now for close to a week…
  • less greedy when I keg… I don’t siphon out that last pint of beer like I used to… that would bring a lot of yeast into the keg.
  • I cut my dip tubes so they’re at least 1/2" off the bottom of the keg.

Not only do I get less yeast-farts, but my beer tastes better, too, with the extra time I’ve added into the process for things to mellow out.

I think it is about the simple carbs. My doctor asked me to try the Sugar Busters diet. Basically, you cut all starchy foods: white bread, potatoes, carrots, etc. I eat things with fiber and protein. I did not cut out my home brew. That was my one simple carb of choice. I probably limited it to one pint a day instead of two, but I did not stop drinking. Within a few weeks I was rarely gassy even though I eat pinto beans almost daily. My acid reflux went away. I also dropped 15 Lbs or so without even trying.

Yesterday, I splurged. I had Indian food for lunch with lots of white bread naan. It was brew club night which is why I had a big lunch. I had beans with corn bread, and lamb sandwiches on French style white bread at the brew club meeting. I did not overindulge on beer, but had quite a few samples and today I was very gassy and had a bit of heart burn during the night. When I eat whole wheat things and drink too much at home, I rarely have these problems.

Sugar is bad unless you are bottling, kegging, casking or adding it to a Belgian ale.