Hacker News Reader

Comment by atwebb | Hacker News Reader

Since it's a pretty audacious headline especially heading into the weekend, here's a /r/homebrewing thread discussing the article:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/23wbeo/jim_koch...

It may also be that he just paces better and has a higher tolerance than most. There can also be other "side effects" of downing 1 serving of yeast + yogurt per beer you plan to have so perhaps that helps limit his intake as well (if he sticks to the pre-plan), heck pre-planning probably helps more than anything.

View on HN

TLDR; of the thread:

- people who know him personally say he's wasted ALL the time

- mechanism of action is supposed to be ADH that is added to the bakers' yeast

- microbiologists and chemists doubt it's going to work

Not only that, but ingesting large amounts of live yeast can (does)cause explosive gastrointestinal results. A problem familiar to any home brewer that has consumed especially yeasty young beer.

If you get yeast in your intestines and you're taking antibiotics, you can get what's called Auto-Brewery Syndrome. The yeast in your intestines starts to ferment sugars and you get drunk all the time.

How do antibiotics cause this? Do they kill off some of the intestinal flora that would normally digest the sugars?

Funny that you mention that. I sit 1 desk over from a doctor who brought that up as I was writing my earlier comment. We all had a good laugh.

Why is taking antibiotics relevant to this effect?

Kill off competitive gut flora, making ecological room.

From what I've read ADH is something yeast has evolved with. It's not added to yeast.

"This one weird trick"

"Bartenders hate him"

"Weighs 165 lbs, out drinks the 275 lbers"

Another guy interviewed him on reddit in 2011: http://www.reddit.com/r/beer/comments/m6kpl/so_i_went_out_an...

"To be honest, I think when we were talking to him, he was already few drinks in. But yes he is a very nice man, he was joking with us and stuff."

Reply on news.ycombinator.com