I've got asthma..Doc asks what kind of beer do you drink..I say I like the hoppy ones. He informed me that hops are flowers and contain pollen and histamines. May be the cause of my congestion. So I'm experimenting with no beer. Ouch. I'll how see how it goes for two weeks.

i feel for you my friend.

Thats a bummer Marty. I hope you find a beer that you can drink. I was tested for allergies a few years ago and was worried about the brewers yeast, no problems though.

But rum tastes pretty good.:)

That kind of news could make a guy want to fall on his sword. Try Belgian style beers. Most are light in the hops department and most are highish in the alcohol department.

Thanks, Dr. Barley. Will do.

Warstiener Dark always gave me a headache when I drank it. Not sure why, but it always did.

I'll raise a glass to hoping the beer isn't causing your problems. (And that you can figure it out)

Well, seems to be helping. Anyone know if there's a beer made without hops?

You poor soul!

Technically, if there isn't hops, it's not beer. You might venture into the cider world of brewing or start some home brew with alternate bittering agents.

Yes, check out this Wiki page which names a couple microbreweries that use alternatives; and which shows how there was once a difference between "Ales" and "Beers".

I wouldn't go totally hopless, Marty. You should probably just stay away from the hop-bombs you so love. Like I said, Belgian beers usually are light on hops and big on ABV. My younger brother can't drink much beer anymore (gout) and he's become a scotch guy. There are always ways to get that buzz. ;-)

By the way, our Snowstorm this year is a Belgian style golden strong ale. Of coarse, it has chamomile (a flower)in it.

quote inspector13: "
Yes, check out this Wiki page which names a couple microbreweries that use alternatives; and which shows how there was once a difference between "Ales" and "Beers".


"

Thanks for the input,Steve. Looks like the alternatives entail flowers of some sort also...oh well.

I'm just gonna go the no hops route for a few weeks an see what happens. If I feel better it'll be a good thing. There's always plan B. :)

quote h20: "But rum tastes pretty good.:)"

If you're confined to rum, try Sailor Jerry. Good, tasty stuff.