l have been out for a meal to this restaurant chain a couple of times now, and you get a free beer or wine with your meal. Soon after, l get nasal congestion and similar symptoms as l get with hayfever. Is that just the dehydrating effect of alcohol or am l actually allergic to it?

Ive been drunk before and did not have these symptoms...or maybe l just did not notice lol. This effect is definitely more pronounced when l go to this restaurant chain but that just does not make sense to me.

you could be allergic to an ingredient in beer or wine like hops or grapes. the dehydrating effects of alcohol ususally dont have any symptoms until several hours later. it could be something in the restaurant also like flowers or anything in there

its probably a different kind of beer or wine that youre used to. or, there are some flowers in the restaurant that are aggravating your allergies.
by the way, there is no such thing as an allergy to pure alcohol.it has no proteins. its usually the ingredients in the type of alcoholic beverage that you drink.

l dont think it is the alcohol,unless you over indulge,as you mention,it only seems to happen at the resturants you mention,it maybe something they use at these sites.try another source and see if it happens again.bon apertif.cheers.