Jim Koch, co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company which produces Sam Adams brew, is somewhat legendary for — among other things — an uncanny ability to drink pint after pint of the sudsy stuff without becoming noticeably drunk.
So what's his secret?
In an interview with
Esquire magazine, Koch spills the hops and reveals that standard Fleischmann's dry yeast — "active yeast, like you get at the grocery store" — swallowed before imbibing allows him to "drink beer all night long and never get drunk."
To make it more palatable, he stirs the powdery substance into some yogurt.
"One teaspoon per beer," he tells Esquire, "right before you start drinking."
It's not as implausible as it sounds. Active dry yeast contains an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) that breaks alcohol molecules down into their constituent elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen — essentially mimicking how the body metabolizes alcohol in the liver.
If that enzyme is in your stomach before you consume alcohol, it begins breaking it down before it gets into your bloodstream and your brain, he explains.
"And it will mitigate — not eliminate — but mitigate the effects of alcohol!" Koch says.
He adds that he carries a Breathalyzer at all times … just in case.
© 2026 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.