# How to drink all night without getting drunk. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954 "2014-04-25T13:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/1 "2014-04-25T13:41:45Z")
Any truth to [this](http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/how-not-to-get-drunk)? > [@](#): > > 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.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/2 "2014-04-25T13:51:28Z")
Maybe, but what’s the point? Want to drink all night and not get drunk? Drink water. All that trick does is make you spend a whole bunch of money and not even get a buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/3 "2014-04-25T14:47:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Maybe, but what’s the point? Want to drink all night and not get drunk? Drink water. All that trick does is make you spend a whole bunch of money and not even get a buzz. He likes the taste of beer. He tastes many different beers at events but would prefer to not be drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/4 "2014-04-25T15:00:42Z")
I doubt it. The low pH value of your stomach is going to strongly inhibit the ADH enzymes. (I assume that’s the general gist here, that ADH will break the alcohol down into its constituents before it can get into your bloodstream and make you drunk?) If you want to drink without getting drunk, your best bet is to limit yourself to only one drink an hour. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/5 "2014-04-25T15:04:41Z")
I doubt it works; what would yeast do? They don’t metabolize alcohol, which is actually a waste product of theirs. At best, you get a dose of B-vitamins and whatever else nutritional substances are in a teaspoon of dried yeast. Anecdotally, you can get plenty drunk on bottle-conditioned commercial beers and homebrew, both of which are loaded with yeast of the same species, if not strain. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/6 "2014-04-25T15:06:40Z")
I’m going to a beer tasting this weekend. We try to drink an ounce of water for every ounce of beer consumed. Also, if I really like a beer, I buy some to take home instead of drinking more of it at the tasting. Develop a marathon (vs sprint) attitude. Eat a pretzel or two. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/7 "2014-04-25T15:09:35Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > He likes the taste of beer. He tastes many different beers at events but would prefer to not be drunk. Koch yes. Anybody else, no. The “trick” would be _slightly_ useful, if true, only at a beer festival or the like. Even there, if you just pace yourself you’ll be fine. Seconding **bump** and **kayaker** ’s posts as well. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/8 "2014-04-25T15:10:17Z")
After reading up on alcohol dehydrogenase, it sounds like if you had enough yeast, it might work. Apparently yeast will create alcohol up to the point when there’s no sugar left, and then will work on the alcohol. However, I’d think anything with sugar or carbs in your stomach would prevent the yeast from doing this. Plus, **Inner Stickler’s** point is still valid. > **[Alcohol dehydrogenase | Yeast and bacteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_dehydrogenase#Yeast_and_bacteria)** > > Unlike humans, yeast and bacteria (except lactic acid bacteria, and E. coli in certain conditions) do not ferment glucose to lactate. Instead, they ferment it to ethanol and CO2. The overall reaction can be seen below: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/9 "2014-04-25T15:16:53Z")
[Here’s an answer](http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/20381/does-eating-yeast-stop-you-from-getting-drunk) that agrees with \*\*Inner Stickler \*\*and goes into some more detail. [There’s also a rare condition](http://consumerist.com/2013/09/17/involuntarily-brewing-beer-in-your-own-stomach-getting-drunk-is-a-real-medical-condition/) that results in yeast growing in the stomach and getting the host drunk without touching a drop. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/10 "2014-04-25T15:57:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’m going to a beer tasting this weekend. When I’ve done wine tasting, we spit out the wine afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/11 "2014-04-25T16:20:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > When I’ve done wine tasting, we spit out the wine afterwards. That’s why wine drinkers are generally considered much less sophisticated than beer drinkers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/12 "2014-04-25T16:20:33Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > When I’ve done wine tasting, we spit out the wine afterwards. Beer drinkers swallow.😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/13 "2014-04-25T16:24:58Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > When I’ve done wine tasting, we spit out the wine afterwards. I would suggest a better wine. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/14 "2014-04-25T17:04:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Maybe, but what’s the point? Want to drink all night and not get drunk? Drink water. All that trick does is make you spend a whole bunch of money and not even get a buzz. Excellent post! (IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/15 "2014-04-25T17:14:03Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > When I’ve done wine tasting, we spit out the wine afterwards. What a coincidence! When I’ve done beer swilling, we spew out the beer afterwards. I had a roommate back in Texas who would always start a night of drinking with a big ol’ order of a greasy hamburger and fries at this one hamburger stand. He claimed it worked like a charm. You’d still get a buzz, just not falling-down drunk, and you could still drive. Or so he claimed. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/16 "2014-04-25T17:59:14Z")
Mostly off topic but it reminded me of a joke my brother used to tell; something along the lines of… “I spent so much money on drinking last night, I had to trade a blow job for a sandwich. You know what the moral of that story is? Yep, eat before you go out!” ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/17 "2014-04-25T18:21:19Z")
I have heard that the B vitamins is yeast helps prevent hangovers. Could the reporter have misheard “not be hung over” as “not be drunk?” I’m not convinced the Jim Koch, great guy that he is, drinks that much beer. He may taste a lot of beers but he is way too skinny to be drinking that much. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/18 "2014-04-25T18:54:26Z")
Excellent! I’ll file it in my _Emergency Handbook of Unlikely Endeavors_, along with “how to eat at a buffet and never feel sated” and “how to masturbate for hours and not feel a thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/19 "2014-04-25T19:04:03Z")
So I’m trying to imagine the scenario. Do you belly up to the bar with your jar of yeast, pint of yogurt and a spoon and just slurp away? Or do you carry a bag with you and sneak off to the bathroom between drinks? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954/20 "2014-04-26T05:08:56Z")
It might be good for designated drivers. Or for some people who like to drink, but are on medication, so they can’t drink a lot. (I love beer, but I can’t drink a lot of it.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-drink-all-night-without-getting-drunk/686954.md?page=2)