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I usually drink strong Belgian Ales, particularly Triples, Quads and Trappists, so I'm no stranger to strong beer. But I've noticed that I get far, far worse hangovers when drinking IPAs.

Is there anything about IPAs that would make this possible? The lower quality places like ask.com or Yahoo answers usually say no, that only ABV produces hangovers, though one source did seem to imply that IPAs have special ingredients that make this a possibility.

So I want to ask the experts here: do IPAs have ingredients that other strong beers lack, that could exacerbate hangovers?

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    I definitely suffer more from ipas, but I getter a better buzz from them. Consequently I tend to cut them off after 2 and switch to a less happy ale. – user3768 Feb 7 '15 at 1:01
  • Sorry, came here looking for info about .ipa. – kenorb May 21 '17 at 9:01
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Although as Bill said it can be down to a persons chemistry. One reason for you finding that IPAs affect you more could be the higher hop content in a Pale Ale (IPAs in particular). Hops (the oils) can have an effect on brain chemistry, that affect can be positive or it can be negative!

Some people can actually have alergic reactions to hops, or even beer in general (poor them, see this). Where as I suffer from some nasty migraine problems and actually find that well hopped ales alleviate some of the symptoms (not that I use it as a reason to drink!!).

So to sum up is it possible that you find that IPAs cause you to suffer more in the morning because you have a slight intolerance to higher hopped beers. Where as your fellow drinkers do not.

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  • I had wondered whether the excessive hops in IPAs could cause (worse) hangovers. – Adam Rackis Jan 21 '14 at 23:26
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As stated many times above, it's very personal on what affects you and how much or how little.

Dry-hopped beers seem to give me worse hangovers.

Also, 13 of the big bottles of Franziskaner in a night makes me want to die the next day.

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I suspect this really boils down to each persons' chemistry. IPA's don't have any real negative impact on me in terms of hangovers but Budweiser (as a prime example) has a much faster onset of hangover for me and I suffer far worse from it.

The "Ice Beers" that became popular in the early 90's really caused me to have a lot of problems but, again, IPA's of all stripes typically don't bother me at all.

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I think there is probably some truth to the general responses here. I too am a big IPA fan and when I first started drinking them, I had no major issues with hang overs, outside of the fact that they have a much higher gravity.

My own experience over the last year is that I've witnessed a peculiar tendency to get very clogged sinuses the morning after just a handful of IPAs (really any brand). This it to say that the reaction is due to something in the beer other than the alcohol, because less hoppy beers do not offend my sinuses as much.

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Could this perhaps have do do with the way people tend to drink these particular styles? In the circles I run in, Belgian- and Trappist-style beers tend to get revered, pondered, and savored, and thus drunk more slowly and possibly in lower quantities than IPAs, which are more plentiful, generally cheaper, and tend to get pounded by the six-pack next to some hot wings or a cheeseburger.

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