Yeast has amazing properties which are the reason we enjoy the finest fermented food like bread, beer, mead, and kefirs and the list continues. I’ll take this opportunity to tell you more about the yeast used for the purposes of brewing beer, its health properties, and other interesting stuff.
I have heard people worrying about the yeast and thinking how it could make them sick but listen to me.
Yeast is not dangerous and yeast in beer won’t make you sick unless you have a yeast allergy. Moreover, yeast is healthy and it can even be used for curing some diseases. Furthermore, the amount of yeast found in beers depends on the beer style, so beers high in yeast may upset the stomach in some people with sensitive stomachs.
I really find yeast fascinating and when I heard that scientists used a 5000-year-old yeast from Egypt to brew beer, I was astounded.
If those scientists survived after jugging a beer made with yeast from old pottery which originates from the Egyptian times, the yeast is not an enemy of mankind even if it’s not fresh.
Can yeast in beer upset your stomach?
Yeast may lead to symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, nausea, and even vomiting in people with yeast allergies. However, any stomach-related problems are extremely rare in people who are not allergic to yeast, so at best lots of yeast may cause stomach bloating.
Some beers such as wheat beers and other unfiltered beers have high yeast content compared to most beers on the market.
Thus, if you have a sensitive stomach those beers should be avoided.
Fermented products are healthy
Fermented products are healthy, but people allergic to yeast may experience stomach-related problems and a drop in blood pressure.
If that’s the case, a person should contact a doctor and stop consuming yeast-fermented products.
Outside of that, fermented products like kefir or kombuchas come with many health benefits that are not to be overlooked. Beer also has healthy properties, but it must be enjoyed in moderation because beer contains noticeable alcohol levels compared to kefirs and kombucha.
In the end, while fermented products are healthy, some people take it as an excuse to drink too much beer.
No matter how big the benefits of a fermented product, if there’s alcohol in it it will counter the positive effects and hurt you.
What is the stuff floating in a beer?
The stuff floating in a beer is broken protein particles that originate from the sediment. The sediment is mud at the bottom of the beer bottle made from particles of yeast and proteins as a result of fermentation and bad filtering.
You don’t have to fear floaties, but if you want to read more about floaties and sediment in beer, you can find it in my article dedicated to it.
Too many floaties may indicate that the beer is old, but it’s not always the case.
Is drinking live yeast good for you?
I’ve heard stories of people drinking live yeast for health benefits. Well, I am not a doctor nor am I specialized in microbiology, but I know the basic facts about yeast and do not think that drinking live yeast is a thing you should do on your own.
Although live yeast just like dead yeast consists of good stuff like vitamin B I earlier mentioned, intentionally drinking live yeast could cause stomach problems like bloating and stomachaches.
Yeast would soon die after being exposed to the stomach acids, but if you were to drink 300ml of yeast and eat carbs, I believe it would have a negative effect on your stomach and the vitamins wouldn’t overcome it as benefits.
Does filtered beer contain yeast?
Every beer is brewed with the help of yeast and filtration may not effectively remove all yeast from the beer.
However, most commercial beers are filtered and the yeast present in them will be almost nonexistent, but there are still tracks of dead yeast inside.
So, if you had an allergy to yeast, these tiny tracks of yeast in beer could be enough to trigger it.
When beer goes through the process of filtration, plenty of yeast that’s visible will be removed, but it’s impossible to remove all yeast as these tiny organisms are so small that they’ll, although invisible remain in the beer.
With pasteurization the remaining invisible yeast is killed, so the yeast becomes deactivated.
Bear in mind that not every commercial beer is filtered just because it’s commercial and found in a store.
There are certain beer styles that emphasize the importance of yeast for their quality, so manufacturers skip the filtration.
Some yeast-free, commercial beers are Stella Artois, Heineken, and Bud Light.
What beers are high in yeast?
Every bottle-conditioned beer will be high in yeast, so this especially applies to homebrewed and craft beers.
Moreover, there are commercial Belgian-style beers and some German wheat beers that are also intentionally high in yeast.
Can brewer’s yeast make you drunk?
Yeast won’t make you drunk even if you digested lots of it with lots of sugar. Yeast needs time to produce alcohol and CO2 from the sugar and the stomach acids would kill it before it had time to.
There are people who naturally lack the enzymes and their stomach produces alcohol from any sugar they digest, but that’s another story as it is an illness.
Conclusion
Yeast is not an enemy, it’s our friend and it allows us to make the finest food as its unique properties serve mankind.
You should only worry about yeast in beer if you have a known allergy, otherwise, you can only experience bloating if you have a sensitive stomach and drink unfiltered beer.
Don’t forget to consume beer in moderation because the benefits of yeast that are good for us are easily defeated by the fact that beer contains alcohol which is technically a poison!