Something’s brewing in the bushes

A large store of homemade alcohol has been found in Halifax.

An estimated 30 litres of home-brewed beer is being housed in a supermarket delivery crate.

The alcohol stash, found by a quiet path behind St Lawrence court, includes nearly 20 bottles of the liquid. The supply was found by a first-year Halifax resident on Friday morning and can still be found outside the college.

It is not known how long the bottles have been there, or who the abundance of alcohol belongs to.
Several empty bottles could also be found at the scene, indicating that students could have been dipping into the supply.

George Offer, Halifax President, commented: “Although home-brewing can be tasty, it is far from recommended without proper equipment and knowledge, and I would not encourage it in the college.”

Despite being a relatively safe hobby, consumption of home brewed beverages does hold worrying risks. If the environment and equipment are not effectively sanitized students may be in danger of leaving themselves susceptible to food poisoning.

One first year Halifax student commented: “Whoever’s decided to brew back there is braver than me. I wouldn’t go anywhere near something fermenting in a bush.

“But if I’m being honest, with the lack of any college bar and Costcutter doing anything but, you can’t blame them for taking things into their own hands.”

Another first-year Halifax resident told Vision: “It doesn’t surprise me that students are being pushed into brewing their own alcohol. Life in the sticks is tough and we need a coping mechanism. Can you blame us?”

Home brewing is on the rise across the country, with Tesco reporting a 70% increase in sales of home brewing kits. Morrison’s reported a 26% rise.

The process requires a relatively small number of simple ingredients and only a few pieces of household equipment. It produces beer at an average of only 74p a pint.

With beer duty rising over 50 per cent since 2004, it is likely that more students will begin to look for cheaper alcoholic opportunities closer to home.

YUSU Welfare Officer Bob Hughes told Vision: “Cheap alcohol is always an attractive prospect, but the safety of home-brewed alcohol is much less guaranteed and could pose serious health risks. I would advise students to buy trusted and known brands, especially given the number of dangerous counterfeit spirits that have been sold in shops locally.

“I would advise students to be very careful about making, or drinking, home-brewed alcohol or any other alcohol if they don’t know where it has come from. Brewing alcohol can be very dangerous without the right equipment and expertise.”

The discovery follows the recent YUSU survey revealing many students did not know the number of units found in drinks.

The survey of 839 students was “designed to test students’ knowledge and understanding of alcohol and their own use, as well as eliciting quantative data about usage.”

Of the 478 students who claimed to know the amount of ethanol in a unit of alcohol, only half were able to guess correctly.

YUSU commented that the results were “concerning”, but that the data was “really useful for knowing the target areas for future campaigning around alcohol.”

“The number of nights many people admit to drinking per week strengthens the case for responsible advertising and pricing with bars on- and off-campus.”