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Does old grog do bad things?

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fait

Position 5 Hard Support
Christmas Eve, I lie in bed with a sore neck (pretty typical actually), lie around in bed until around noon when I need to make food for Christmas dinner with the family. After doing that and getting ready to go with family to a Christmas church service, I decide "hey, this kava's been in the fridge a few days. I should use it up." So I have two 4-5oz cups then hit the road. About an hour or two later, I start feeling very headachey. It was mostly noticeable when I was just sitting there not talking or doing anything. The headache persisted throughout the rest of the day into the evening. When I got home I wanted to see if kava would help with the headache but by then I suspected the old grog in the fridge may have been responsible, so I Alushaker'd up a fresh batch (that was all I had energy for). I could feel the effects and the headache felt diminished but it was still present.

Is old kava known to cause things like headaches or other symptoms or did I suffer an unrelated illness?
 

kavamehameha

Magnum's 'awa drinking bird
Sorry that you had a rough time, dude! I don't know if "old" kava (what do you mean by "few days"?) can induce headaches, but it may well be. I'm also not convinced about kava being responsible for your headache, as headache can have many sources which are completely unrelated. A simultaneous occurence (drinking kava and getting headache) does not necessarily imply a causal dependence. All I can say is that kava should not be stored longer than max. 3 days in the fridge (~45°F). I guess it's also fine beyond that, but just to be safe I'd recommend to drink it away pretty soon. 2 days is definitely ok and usually you should not get any headaches or nausea from that. But that's just my experience.

Maybe someone else can say more about that...
 
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fait

Position 5 Hard Support
what do you mean by "few days"?
Sorry! I should've given a number. I drank that kava Monday and I had made it the preceding Wednesday, so it was well above 3 days in the fridge. I wasn't thinking at the time beyond "it's old kava, better use it up."
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Sorry! I should've given a number. I drank that kava Monday and I had made it the preceding Wednesday, so it was well above 3 days in the fridge. I wasn't thinking at the time beyond "it's old kava, better use it up."
"It's old kava; better chuck it and make some fresh."
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
Oft. Yeah, maybe it was growing something in it? Sometimes I get a headache too if I rush around doing things right after drinking kava because it's not in the nature of the root. Also, that's very ancient grog. Glad you got nothing more than a headache!
 

Dr.Krunk

Certified Quack
I don’t think headaches are incredibly uncommon with Kava as I’ve had them before. Every time for me it’s due to dehydration since Kava is a diuretic. I typically consume more water prior to consumption for this reason even though I still probably don’t consume enough. Strangely enough I now drink Kava to relieve headaches... not sure how that works, lol.

With all that said in regards to old Kava specifically, I haven’t had any negative effects with it. I’ve had Kava in a mason jar in the fridge for even a week before consumption even though I wouldn’t recommend doing so. If it’s been left out on the table overnight than I absolutely won’t touch it. Of course this is simply a subjective experience for myself.
 

SelfBiasResistor

Persist for Resistance!
With all that said in regards to old Kava specifically, I haven’t had any negative effects with it. I’ve had Kava in a mason jar in the fridge for even a week before consumption even though I wouldn’t recommend doing so. If it’s been left out on the table overnight than I absolutely won’t touch it. Of course this is simply a subjective experience for myself.
Same here. 7 days has always been my limit on keeping old grog in the fridge. I've never had any negative effects from it or indications that it had spoiled.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Christmas Eve, I lie in bed with a sore neck (pretty typical actually), lie around in bed until around noon when I need to make food for Christmas dinner with the family. After doing that and getting ready to go with family to a Christmas church service, I decide "hey, this kava's been in the fridge a few days. I should use it up." So I have two 4-5oz cups then hit the road. About an hour or two later, I start feeling very headachey. It was mostly noticeable when I was just sitting there not talking or doing anything. The headache persisted throughout the rest of the day into the evening. When I got home I wanted to see if kava would help with the headache but by then I suspected the old grog in the fridge may have been responsible, so I Alushaker'd up a fresh batch (that was all I had energy for). I could feel the effects and the headache felt diminished but it was still present.

Is old kava known to cause things like headaches or other symptoms or did I suffer an unrelated illness?
This might be of interest:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1472-765X.2011.03065.x
"Kava beverages are highly perishable because of their high starch content (43%) and near‐neutral pH (Lebot et al. 1997), which provide a favourable condition for microbial growth. The pH value of fresh kava beverages decreases to around 4·5 after few hours at room temperature (Lebot and Simeoni 2004). Under refrigerated conditions, the beverage generally has a shelf life of <3 days."
Typically I don't let it go more than 24 hrs in a sealed mason jar in the fridge. On occasion I have gone as long as 2-3 days but anything after that is not worth it. Toss and make new.
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
Typically I don't let it go more than 24 hrs in a sealed mason jar in the fridge. On occasion I have gone as long as 2-3 days but anything after that is not worth it. Toss and make new.
I may need to make less grog at a time then. I'm typically making a pitcher and I drink it over the course of that time. That week-(end) preceding the day I drank it and felt headachey was pretty busy.
 
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