I am 46 years old male. Regularly when I go on vacation I dring beer.
My brand is Heineken. I had no difficulty drinking even ten cans in
one day. Recently I am having difficulty drinking even three cans.
Once I drink the third can the beer tastes too bitter and drinking it
would be impossible. I like beer and I enjoy drinking it. What shall I
do to get back like before to enjoy drinking beer?

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Request for Question Clarification by ragingacademic-ga on 23 Jan 2004 08:33 PST

gaga345 - what a fascinating question! I hope to be able to help you,
and there is a significant amount of research out there that can yield
some great recommendations - but I would like to first verify what you
are seeking to achieve.

You ask - "What shall I do to get back like before to enjoy drinking beer?"  

If your intent is to receive a clear-cut solution along the lines of
"You should this, this and this - and you will enjoy drinking beer
again" - I'm afraid that there is no clear cut answer.  However, if
your interest is more along the lines of understanding the pertinent
literature and research and receiving some recommendations - I will be
glad to help.

Please let me know.

thanks much,
ragingacademic

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 23 Jan 2004 21:54 PST

Hello Gaga345,
I wonder if you have lost the sensation of taste in general, like when
drinking other fluids and eating. You might have a condition that
could have affected your sense of taste. Another, do you eat or take
in something else before drinking beer? Whatever you eat beforehand
could affect your sense of taste, so when you drink beer afterwards it
tastes different. I know it is quite distressing when something you
should enjoy suddenly becomes unenjoyable at a time.

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Clarification of Question by gaga345-ga on 24 Jan 2004 01:11 PST

O.K. You can send me pertinent literature and research, and make
recommendations. Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by gaga345-ga on 24 Jan 2004 01:21 PST

Hello Techtor,

My sensation for taste is very good. I taste the food and fluid
intakes very well. As far as food intakes before the drink, I tried
both and it did not make any difference.

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Clarification of Question by gaga345-ga on 29 Jan 2004 20:45 PST

Hello Ragingacademic-Ga,

Is there further clarification needed from me? Please advice. Thanks.

GaGa345

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Request for Question Clarification by ragingacademic-ga on 29 Jan 2004 22:35 PST

Sir, my apologies, I should have updated you; I continue to work on
your question.  Let me know if there is a deadline you would like to
see this question answered by and I will do my best to comply.

thanks,
ragingacademic

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Clarification of Question by gaga345-ga on 30 Jan 2004 08:54 PST

Hello Ragingacademic,

Sorry for following up. I didn't mean to rush you. Please take your
time. I am not in a hurry. Regarding my organs, ultimately I have to
make functional tests for my liver, pancrease, and gastric linings, to
see if there are any damages. There is one thing I didn't mention in
my question and I am not sure if it helps or is relevant. I used to
drink Pepsi Diet, 8-10 cans a day , regularly for the past 15 years.
Recently I couldn't drink more than 3 cans. As a result I cut my Pepsi
Diet drinking to ocassionally. I read an article about exopeptidase
and its role in reducing the bitterness of food. Please see the
attached article:

C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\Entrez-PubMed.htm

Is that mean my body is not generating enough exopeptidase enzyme to
convert the bitter peptide bonds present in the beer to less bitter? I
am not sure. Please let me know if you need further clarification.
Thanks.

GaGa345

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Clarification of Question by gaga345-ga on 03 Feb 2004 14:42 PST

Hello Ragingacademic,

Are you making progress? Please advice. Thanks.

Gaga345

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Request for Question Clarification by ragingacademic-ga on 03 Feb 2004 15:46 PST

gaga345 - I continue to try and put together a satisfactory answer and
am awaiting some potential pointers from contacts.  So far, I do not
have enough to provide you with a good response.

I will keep you updated over the next few days - hopefully other
researchers are taking a look at this very interesting question.

thanks,
ragingacademic

Drink out of bottles - for me cans spoil the taste.

Change brands, experiment.

Accept that tastes and desires can change with age.

I have tried both cans and bottles. The result is the same. I also
have tried other available brands such as: Budweiser, Fosters, ICE
Labatt, Amstel, Holsten, Steinlager, and Corona. The result was the
same.

Perhaps to be safe you should ask your doctor to do a liver function test ??

For those who drink a lot of beer (like you!) Heineken not considered
that great.  Your taste has matured and it's time for you to begin to
explore the world of great beers, so many!  See:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=37

Cheers!

Either that or your liver is shot!

search for websites relating to :hyponatremia - too much water, not enough salt
it's the opposite of dehydration. too much salt, not enough water

It seems to be not uncommon in heavy beer drinking. 

Beer has low sodium and Diet Pepsi is considered a low sodium drink
(on the the pepsi web site) so it seems that would make sense.

You might want to see a doctor about this ......