Mitigating alcohol absorbtion by eating yeast ?!?

[The Bread Guy]

First I've heard of this trick, via Esquire magazine:

.... "You wanna know my secret? How I can drink beer all night long and never get drunk?"

In fact, I had always wondered that. Though this was the first time I’d ever formally met (Samuel Adams brewery founder Jim) Koch, I’d “met” him in the past at a few beer festivals. Those sorts of events are always kind of Bacchanalian shit shows, with people imbibing dozens of beer samples in a short period and soon stumbling around large convention halls drunk of their asses. Brewers included. But not Koch, who I’d long noticed was always lucid, always able to hold court, and hold his own with those much younger than him. This billionaire brewing raconteur was doing likewise with me at 4 PM on a Thursday afternoon despite the fact we were both now several beers deep. So what was the secret?

“Yeast!”

“Yeast?”

“Active yeast. Like you get at the grocery store.”

Koch told me that for years he has swallowed your standard Fleischmann’s dry yeast before he drinks, stirring the white powdery substance in with some yogurt to make it more palatable.

“One teaspoon per beer, right before you start drinking.”

He’d learned the trick from his good friend “Dr. Joe,” a craft beer legend in his own right.  Educated at Harvard with a troika of degrees (a BA, a JD, and an MBA), Koch is no slouch, but the late-Joseph Owades was a flat-out genius. With a PhD in biochemistry from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and an early job in the fermentation sciences department at Fleischmann’s, Owades probably knew more about fermentation and alcohol metabolism than perhaps any man who has ever lived. Koch calls him, in fact, “The best brewer who’s ever lived.” He used that immense knowledge to eventually become a consultant for most of the progenitors of America’s early craft brewing movement such as Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, New Amsterdam Brewing in New York, and, yes, the Boston Beer Company. There he became good friends with Koch, helped perfect Boston Lager, and passed on to Koch his little yeast secret.

You see, what Owades knew was that active dry yeast has an enzyme in it called alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH). Roughly put, ADH is able to break alcohol molecules down into their constituent parts of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Which is the same thing that happens when your body metabolizes alcohol in its liver. Owades realized if you also have that enzyme in your stomach when the alcohol first hits it, the ADH will begin breaking it down before it gets into your bloodstream and, thus, your brain.

“And it will mitigate – not eliminate – but mitigate the effects of alcohol!” Koch told me ....

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I wish I had tried that last night before the unit mess dinner....

 

[The Bread Guy]

I wish I had tried that last night before the unit mess dinner....

There's ALWAYS future mess dinners to "mitigate", right?  ;D

 

[George Wallace]

I wish I had tried that last night before the unit mess dinner....

"One teaspoon per beer, right before you start drinking."


That is an awful lot of yeast to be taking.......A whole meal in itself.  >

 

[The Bread Guy]

"One teaspoon per beer, right before you start drinking."


That is an awful lot of yeast to be taking.......A whole meal in itself.  >

Good point - I'm guessing a dozen or so teaspoons of yeast mixed with yogurt would make it look more like porridge.

 

[Poppa]

All this time I've been doing it wrong.  I've been drinking my pre mixed yeast  :blotto:

 

[ModlrMike]

I must remain highly skeptical of this idea. From what I know of yeast, which as a brewer and medical person is considerable, it doesn't ring true. Ethanol is the byproduct of yeast metabolism - yeast piss if you will. Adding more yeast will not mitigate this. In addition, the acidic nature of the stomach juices will very quickly kill any active yeast you ingest.

 

[dapaterson]

I must remain highly skeptical of this idea. From what I know of yeast, which as a brewer and medical person is considerable, it doesn't ring true. Ethanol is the byproduct of yeast metabolism - yeast piss if you will. Adding more yeast will not mitigate this. In addition, the acidic nature of the stomach juices will very quickly kill any active yeast you ingest.

See, as an amateur scientist, I will refrain from judgement until I have an adequate sample space to assess this claim.  If that means I have to drink alcohol, that is a sacrifice I am willing to make for science.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

That's way too much yeast to eat. I'd have no room for the booze.

 

[Tibbson]

I thought yeast consumed sugar and produced alcohol?

Now, if the article said "for a cheap drunk...eat 5 tsp of yeast before going out and drinking only pepsi...then wait an hour" I could believe it.  :cheers:

 

[The Bread Guy]

If that means I have to drink alcohol, that is a sacrifice I am willing to make for science.

And science, if not mankind, thanks you for your sacrifice  :bowdown:

 

[Retired AF Guy]

While on the subject of alcoholic drinks:

Powdered Alcohol To Be Sold in U.S. This Fall

By Carl Engelking | April 21, 2014 2:36 pm

Update: If you were looking forward to enjoying Palcohol, a powdered alcohol product, this fall, you may need to wait a bit longer. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau granted Palcohol “label approval” on April 8, but rescinded its approval April 21 after this article was published. A representative with the bureau told the Associated Press that the original approvals were issued in error. Palcohol’s parent company Lipsmark will need to resubmit its labels for approval. [This update was published at 9:20 a.m. April 22]

Instantly turning water into an alcoholic beverage is no longer a feat of biblical proportions. Come fall, it will be legal for Americans to purchase powdered alcohol, which can turn water into rum, vodka or a variety of cocktails.

The product, called Palcohol, is the brainchild of alcohol enthusiast Mark Phillips. He invented the potent powder because he wanted an easy, portable way to enjoy an adult beverage after a day of hiking, biking or kayaking. The federal government recently gave its stamp of approval for the sale and manufacture of the product, and it could be on the shelves of your local liquor store in the fall.

Pick Your Poison

Though its inventors are keeping Palcohol’s recipe a secret until they can patent it, other powdered alcohols have been made in the past. For instance, a team of students in the Netherlands created their own version of powdered alcohol a few years back, specifically marketed for teenagers.

The key to making alcohol powders are simple carbohydrates called cyclodextrins, which bind together to form donut-shaped structures. They can then absorb and encapsulate fluids, like alcohol, within their molecular “donut holes,” which allows the liquid to be handled as a water-soluble powder. Cyclodextrins are also used to dissolve insoluble medications, odor-fighting sprays, and reduced-fat foods.

In the case of Palcohol, each packet weighs about an ounce — enough for one shot — and can fit into a pocket. The creators plan to release six flavors of Palcohol when it debuts later this year. Those flavors include:

Premium, quadruple-distilled vodka;

Puerto Rican rum;

Cosmopolitan;

Mojito;

Powderita;

Lemon drop.

It’s too soon to tell if powdered alcohol will be the next big craze or whether it will have all the appeal of freeze-dried ice cream. But after centuries of drinking alcohol roughly the way our medieval predecessors did, a little innovation is no bad thing.

Article Link

 

[midget-boyd91]

Powdered alcohol is fine and legal, but I can face a fine for making my own whiskey and rum at home.... seems just about right.  ???