Straight answer: no, the order you drink wine and beer in does not affect how bad your hangover is. A 2019 randomized controlled trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tested this exact question and found neither the type nor the order of drinks made a measurable difference. What actually predicted hangover severity was how drunk people felt and whether they vomited.
The Study That Actually Tested This
Researchers at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the UK ran a randomized, crossover trial specifically to settle this question. Ninety participants aged 19 to 40 were split into groups: one drank beer followed by wine, another drank wine followed by beer, and control groups drank only one or the other. Everyone drank to the same measured level of intoxication (breath alcohol concentration), and a week later the same participants switched to the opposite order for a direct comparison within the same person.
The result held regardless of which drink came first. The old sayings this study was built to test, “beer before wine and you’ll feel fine, wine before beer and you’ll feel queer” in English, with near-identical versions in German and French, all failed to hold up under actual controlled testing.
Why the Myth Exists in the First Place
The saying likely persists because of a simple correlation-versus-causation mix-up. People often drink beer earlier in a night (at dinner, during a game) and switch to wine or spirits later as the night goes on and they drink more overall. So “wine after beer” tends to coincide with “drank more total alcohol, later, while already somewhat intoxicated”, which is exactly the combination that produces worse hangovers. The order was never the cause, the total amount and the state of intoxication were.
What Actually Does Affect Hangover Severity
- Total alcohol consumed: the single biggest factor by far, regardless of what it was mixed with or in what order.
- Perceived drunkenness and vomiting: the study’s own strongest predictors of next-day hangover severity.
- Congener content: darker, less-distilled drinks contain more congeners (byproducts of fermentation and aging) and tend to produce worse hangovers at the same alcohol level, which is a real, separately studied effect. Our breakdown of how a shot compares to a beer digs into how different drink types actually differ in what you’re consuming.
- Hydration and food: alcohol is a diuretic, and drinking on an empty stomach speeds absorption and raises peak blood alcohol.
If you want the honest, evidence-based version of hangover prevention, our full hangover cures guide covers what has actual research behind it and what does not.
FAQ
Does drinking wine before beer really give you a worse hangover?
No. A 2019 randomized controlled trial found no measurable difference in hangover severity based on the order beer and wine were consumed.
What actually causes a bad hangover?
Total alcohol consumed, degree of intoxication, and whether you vomited were the strongest predictors in the study. Congener content (in darker or less-distilled drinks) is a separate, real factor from other research.
Where does the ‘beer before wine’ saying come from?
It’s an old folk saying with versions in multiple languages. It likely persists because people tend to drink more total alcohol later in a night when they switch drinks, not because the switch itself causes worse hangovers.
Is mixing different types of alcohol itself the problem?
Not directly. The 2019 study found no effect from mixing beer and wine specifically; the amount and rate of alcohol consumed matters far more than variety.
More Beer Facts and Guides
- Hangover Cures: What Actually Works, Backed by Research
- Is a Shot Equal to a Beer? The Standard Drink Math Explained
- Does Beer Hydrate You at All? What the Rehydration Studies Show
