nebben
Well-Known Member
So I thought about putting this in General Chit Chat, but since these fellows were technically "home" when they brewed this stuff, I figured it might apply here.
Salt Lake Tribune article: Utah inmates get sick from tainted brew
In a nutshell, the Salt Lake County Health Department is investigating a case where they believe at least 8 inmates consumed cell-made hooch and are now ill (some critically) from botulism poisoning.
A commonly held belief is that "one cannot get sick from consuming homebrew since bacteria or viruses that could harm oneself wont survive the harsh alcoholic environment of the fermenter."
I tend to agree with that statement, except in this case there is definitely room for argument since it sounds unlikely that the prisoners were heating up the hooch for any reason before allowing it to ferment.
Nevertheless, it appears they may have botulism poisoning. Even if the fruit juice, or sugar was suspect that they used, how would botulism spores be able to reproduce sufficiently enough to cause harm, while the yeast, in theory, was producing enough ethanol to slow or stop the botulism action?
Discuss!
Salt Lake Tribune article: Utah inmates get sick from tainted brew
In a nutshell, the Salt Lake County Health Department is investigating a case where they believe at least 8 inmates consumed cell-made hooch and are now ill (some critically) from botulism poisoning.
A commonly held belief is that "one cannot get sick from consuming homebrew since bacteria or viruses that could harm oneself wont survive the harsh alcoholic environment of the fermenter."
I tend to agree with that statement, except in this case there is definitely room for argument since it sounds unlikely that the prisoners were heating up the hooch for any reason before allowing it to ferment.
Nevertheless, it appears they may have botulism poisoning. Even if the fruit juice, or sugar was suspect that they used, how would botulism spores be able to reproduce sufficiently enough to cause harm, while the yeast, in theory, was producing enough ethanol to slow or stop the botulism action?
Discuss!