In my presentation as Regimental Brewmeister, I frequently extol the benefits of beer over the local water.  While drinking beer will protect you from Typhus and Cholera, there is a slightly greater chance that you will contract Yellow Fever if you drink beer.  Turns out that the alcohol you’re drinking, and that you are excreting through your sweat, may be signaling to mosquitoes that there’s a meal nearby.  Worry not, this is new knowledge and the Regimental Brewmeister had no way of knowing any of this in 1770. 

According to a 2010 study of mosquito biting preferences, beer makes humans more attractive to mosquitos and other biting insects.  Researchers found that Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito species in the genus responsible for transmitting malaria, were more attracted to humans who had consumed beer (compared to those who consumed only water), and the results were evident as soon as 15 minutes after the humans began drinking. Other studies have produced similar findings; one examination of alcohol’s role in mosquito meal choices found that those who imbibed just one 12-ounce beer were more likely to be pestered by the insects. It’s unclear why beer primes humans to become bite victims, though some scientists believe it could be partly linked to body temperature as alcohol expands the blood vessels resulting in a slight increase in skin temperature; it also makes us sweat — two factors that may attract more hungry mosquitoes.  Exactly why mosquitoes appear to be more attracted to drinkers, no-one is quite sure. We do know that mosquitoes are attracted to humans by chemicals we exhale when we breathe: carbon dioxide and octanol. The ethanol that we excrete when we drink alcohol may also attract mosquitoes. 

Some people are genetically more attractive to mosquitoes. One factor is blood type.  Those with Type O blood were twice as likely to be bitten as those with Type A blood. Other risk factor is body mass, those who exhale heavily (putting out more carbon dioxide), attract more mosquitoes.  But how we dress helps. Mosquitoes are also choosy about where they bite you.  They prefer your legs, feet, neck and face.  Proper 18^th Century attire only leaves our faces vulnerable. 

Not all beers are equal in their attractiveness to mosquitoes.  Hops, spruce, and certain aromatic botanicals are somewhat repellant to mosquitoes.  IPAs and Spruce Beer will have a smaller effect than porters and pils.  It’s a tradeoff.  Drinking beer may make you more attractive to mosquitoes but it also keeps you from imbibing bacteria laden ground water. On the plus side, at least with a drink or two, you may not feel the itching quite so much.

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Shirai O, Tsuda T, Kitagawa S, Naitoh K, Seki T, Kamimura K, Morohashi M. Alcohol ingestion stimulates mosquito attraction. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2002 Jun;18(2):91-6. PMID: 12083361

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