Formaldehyde In Beer?

[animal]

I was recently re-watching Good Morning, Vietnam, and the scene where Robin Williams' character made a remark about the formaldehyde in the local beer reminded me of the time I checked out Vietnamese 33 beer at the late, VERY lamented Timberwolf in Tempe in May 2000. The bartender said that most of the breweries in Asia used formaldehyde as a preservative, which is kinda creepy.

How prevalent is the use of embalming fluid in beer?

[jesskidden]

How prevalent is the use of embalming fluid in beer?

Lew Bryson's take on the myth...
(http://www.lewbryson.com/formaldehyde.htm)

[M.K. Jeeves]

I remember the first time I went to the Mediterranean, I heard the same rumors about the spanish version of San Miguel. Yes, it would give you a brutal headache, and I'm sure it was the Formaldehyde and not the 10-12 we pounded in quick succession after a month at sea. ;)
Come to think of it, the Sangria had the same effect.

[beerking]

While I generally agree with Lew's comments, I don't think this is purely the alcohol level. When I was visiting ports of call in Spain (stationed on USS Saratoga and USS America), I found that it took only 1/2 a San Miguel to give me a SEVERE headache. One that I could only describe as a migraine.
I suspect the issue is not "formaldehyde" in specific, but aldehydes in general. These are a higher alcohol, which can be produced by yeast fermenting too warm, very similar to fusels, which are known headache and hangover producers.
It is my theory that these higher alcohols, produced by fermenting the beer too warm, presumably in order to speed up the production process and therefore increase profits, are the source of the headaches and the urban legend about formaldehyde. It may be purely fusels, or could be aldehydes.

[M.K. Jeeves]

Sounds plausible, Peroni at that time (early 80's) also had a reputation for wreaking havoc on your system.