Sorry to question your gross-out story Theo but I refuse to believe that briefly dipping one’s penis in some beer every now and then can lead to serious penal infection.
I have no idea. I guess if you start dipping your penis in beer you might dip it in other things but equally I cannot say I know much about the various bacterial culture that might be in a pint. @hip_young_gunslinger may.
It is important to underline this was a guy who knew a guy I knew which is perfect urban legend material, yes.
Cask ales (or beer that has been bottle conditioned) will contain live yeast so yeah you could definitely get thrush from dunking your knob in a CAMRA-approved pint.
I mean, I say definitely, but yeast infections are Candida something, right? Whereas brewers yeast is traditionally from the saccharomyceas family, so they might not be exactly equivalent. But it wouldn’t surprise me that introducing live microscopic organisms to the sensitive tissue of your glans and urethra could have some side effects. And like you say, if you’re dunking your John Thomas in foaming tankards, who knows where else it’s going.
They are staunch traditionalists, even to their detriment.
FWIW I’ve now googled the delightful phrase “can beer give you thrush”, and scientific opinion seems to be divided, though more on the side of yes, yeast-heavy food and drink like beer and sourdough bread can exacerbate infections. However, most of the articles seem to be about consuming them orally, rather than direct application, so more research may be needed.
From my microbiology background I would say that yes, if a yeast can give you thrush by drinking it (considering all the stomach acid/enzymes), if you dip your knob in it then yes it will colonise that mucosal tissue too.
Although from what I recall different yeasts like different mucosal tissues but I really wouldn’t recommend testing it out for yourselves.