Couple die in SA drinking Home Brew

[Clint]

Bet they been cutting it with industrial alcohols...plenty out there and all dangerous...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Did you notice which paper has that headline? None of the other sources mention beer.

It also says this under the picture -

The couple died after drinking one bottle of their homemade beer each. File image, right. Credit: CEN/Getty

 

[strange-steve]

It also says this under the picture -

The couple died after drinking one bottle of their homemade beer each. File image, right. Credit: CEN/Getty

The Metro also says it "was described as a type of beer". Although there are some pathogens which can survive in beer the risk is practically zero. I think we all know there must have been something else going on.

 

[AxelF]

Minutes later they had collapsed in agony. - Botulism doesn't kill that fast I thought.

10 to 36 hours typically for Botulism to show symptoms. Also if you dig back to the real story and when it broke it is not clear that it was an immediate effect.
The woman died over the weekend in their flat while the husband managed to call somebody and only died when he was in hospital a say later. The only link to a home brew was two empty home brew beer bottles open at each location.

Note: the SA government is facing a huge backlash on banning alcohol during lockdown as the PM believes it could empare judgment leading to people breaking protocol. So this could be a politically biased association with the deaths.

Also note I have not found any direct link to pineapple beer ... That was just a general comment by one reporter on the explosion of recipe's for home brew in the country including Pineapple and Apple beer recipe's.

It's interesting that in 5 days there has been no follow up reports.

 

[AxelF]

Minutes later they had collapsed in agony. - Botulism doesn't kill that fast I thought.

10 to 36 hours typically for Botulism to show symptoms. Also if you dig back to the real story and when it broke it is not clear that it was an immediate effect.
The woman died over the weekend in their flat while the husband managed to call somebody and only died when he was in hospital a day later. The only link to a home brew was two empty home brew beer bottles open at each location.

Note: the SA government is facing a huge backlash on banning alcohol during lockdown as the PM believes it could empare judgment leading to people breaking protocol. So this could be a politically biased association with the deaths. See below for a reason the story could have been manipulated by the authorities.

https://mpumalanganews.co.za/380786/do-not-resort-to-brewing-beer-in-your-homes-lt-general-zuma/
Also note I have not found any direct link to pineapple beer ... That was just a general comment by one reporter on the explosion of recipe's for home brew in the country including Pineapple and Apple beer recipe's.

It's interesting that in 5 days there has been no follow up reports.

 

[strange-steve]

Is brewing illegal in SA? That article warns people that selling it is illegal but not brewing it. Very odd.

 

[An Ankoù]

I was wondering who'd nicked my recipe for belladonna and foxglove Imperial gripe water. But seriously, if this is the only recipe book they had, then I'm not surprised. It puts the willies up me every time I open it:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacred-Her...acred+and+healing+beers&qid=1589056138&sr=8-1

 

[AxelF]

This is the earliest story I could find and it quotes SowetanLIVE as the source for all the story's

https://www.google.com/amp/s/briefl...ies-allegedly-consuming-homemade-alcohol.html
This is the original story

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.so...-couple-die-after-consuming-home-brewed-beer/
They did a follow up story a day later with more detail. No mention of what was in the home brew bottle

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.so...-of-home-brewed-beer-loved-each-other-dearly/

 

[AxelF]

Note:- In non of the original stories did they mention that the "brew" was made by themselves ...or when it was brewed or by whom ! Why would they only test the 2 empty bottles and not the original fermentation equipment (if there was any). How many people do you know who do a home brew and only make 2 bottles ?

If they were that's desperate for a drink this could have been a couple of really old bottle of bad fruit/acidic homebrew that was infected with Botulism that they may have bought off somebody else or found in a dusty warm garage!

 

[AxelF]

Is brewing illegal in SA? That article warns people that selling it is illegal but not brewing it. Very odd.

It's not illegal unless you try to sell it.
However the government has banned alcohol sales to fight Covid 19 by
a). Stop people breaking lockdown when drunk.
b). Keep the hospital free of people needing to be treated with alcohol poisening (a common problem in the shanty towns).

 

[dwhite60]

Of course this has me looking at pineapple beer recipes from South Africa. Intriguing.

Guess what's going on the brewing schedule?