Boy Dies From Drinking Homebrew Ouzo

[KingPython]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24123891-1246,00.html

I guess they'll be a real possibility that all home brewing (legal and illegal) will be looked at more closely.

 

[devo]

unfortunately the dreaded homebrew will become the scape goat rather than raise any questions as to why an unsupervised party of 60 teens occurred. <_<

 

[Barley Belly]

Two bottles of homebrewed Ouzo

 

[KingPython]

unfortunately the dreaded homebrew will become the scape goat rather than raise any questions as to why an unsupervised party of 60 teens occurred. <_<

There are a number of issues that could be addressed but I have feeling taxes on homebrew materials will be first raised.

 

[goomboogo]

A friend Jessica Beveridge, 17, said Daryl had been drinking at the party when he "got into some home-brew ouzo".

"He sculled the first bottle and then some people were egging him on to scull the next one," Jessica said.

Assuming the bottles were 700ml, he has already been drinking and then downs 2 bottles of spirits in quick time. It is stating the obvious but the harm caused is not the result of source but the result of quantity. It would make little difference if it was commercially made spirit - drinking that amount in that time is going to put a person at risk of serious injury.

There is a real possibility for a witchhunt to ensue regarding the source of the alcohol and we will be bombarded with all manner of ill-informed opinion from the man in the street right through to the elected legislators. The great tradgedy is amongst the calls for crackdowns, tighter policing and more fervent regulation the death of a young man will be pushed to the background.

Although the alcohol in focus is a spirit, the potential ramifications are relevant to those who make their own beer. There is still a widely held misconception that home made beer is all ultra-strong, super poor quality and has the potential to do harm to consumers even in small quantities. As Kingpython pointed out, even legal homebrewing can be drawn into these debates.

What was the outcome of the last governemet intitiative to tackle binge drinking? Increase taxation, and that was it. It may seem a long bow to draw but what next - an excise on all raw ingredients that could possibly be used in the production of alcoholic beverages as though it was already alcohol? We think grain and hop prices are high now, what could they be if the revenue raisers really get going.

 

[reviled]

So im guessing that this is why distilling alcohol is illegal in Aussie?

 

[KingPython]

Somehow I imagine the $15 makes 23L of full strength beer argument is going to get tossed around a lot.

 

[barry2]

This sad event may encourage some journalists and do-gooders to get some publicity for themselves by attempting to turn the spotlight on the homebrewing industry.This may lead to calls for"the guvnment to do something" which may result in yet another enquiry.
Someone I know ( a nondrinking Methodist) told me over a year ago that a elderly friend of his had suffered progressively worse health from the time he started homebrewing of beer.His friend subsequently died.We will never know whether the homebrew contributed in any way to his death .However his friend thinks so and if there is a beatup of the event perhaps he may write a letter to a newspaper.
The local ABC radio station Brisbane 612 has a morning phone in program and the woman running it has just commented on the event and asked people for comments and suggestions on what can be done .

 

[Tseay]

I think if I was a HBS I'd be looking at reducing my reliance on distilling equipment and materials. A crackdown on the retailing of stills etc has been long overdue and this tragic event will provide the opportunity for interested parties ( manufacturers, temperance groups etc) to urge government action. Sadly this event will also reflect badly on beer brewing. The sooner the craft adopts another term in place of "homebrew" and all its connoctations. the better.

 

[PostModern]

Someone I know ( a nondrinking Methodist)

The core of the temperance movement. It's the teetotalers vs Raise the Bar.

 

[wabster]

We know you can't legislate against bloody stupidity, but it sure can be taxed! Look at pokies and lotteries

As others have said, watch the do-gooders, already successful against smoking, launch themselves with renewed frenzy into home brewing and distilling at all levels.

Surely the New Zealand model is a perfect example of sensible legislation. I recall that all distilling systems available at the time home distillation was legalised, were checked, and the output produced if simple instructions were followed, verified as safe.

I've got an old school mate that lives over there and is a school principal. He enjoys making great liqueurs and fruit based drinks and shares with many others at a social level. All the staff love it and their social occasions are legendary.

Anyway that won't stop the rabid anti-grog lobby firing up, Cheerz Wab

 

[bradmcm]

It all depends which way Media Mike Rann wants to spin it. At this stage it is looking like he is concentrating on the binge drinking angle as that media story has been in the media for a while now especially with the alcopop tax increase.

It may not have been a home still, it might have been the old Hoyt's essence homebrew. I'm sure we will find out more.

 

[wakkatoo]

sad to hear.

Its a tragedy but at least it happened in SA. By that I mean if the focus turns to Homebrew Beer, then at least a larger company such as Coopers may step in to defend the hobby. If it had happened in another state then that may not occur.

As goomboogoo said, the focus needs to be on the fact that the kid sculled close to a litre and a half of spirit. Doesn't matter where it comes from, that kinda action is always gonna have a bad outcome.

Hell, it might even put the focus back on why the alcopops tax was such a stupid idea in that it drives these idiots away from the girlie drinks and more to the bottles of hard liqor.

Call me old fashioned (although I'm 29!) but what the hell was a 15yo doing at a party unsupervised (presumably) with alcohol around?? Wasn't being haeld at the Worthington household by any chance?!

Back in my day......... :huh:

 

[petesbrew]

A true candidate for this year's Darwin Awards.
I wonder if his friends learn from this? Probably not.

 

[Interloper]

Somehow I imagine the $15 makes 23L of full strength beer argument is going to get tossed around a lot.

Geez, what are you? made of money? If you were a really desperate teenager looking for cheap beer you could do 23L of homebrand draft+2KG of homebrand sugar and make a double strength brew for about $8

(Would I drink it? No.... but I wouldn't skull 2 bottles of ouzo either!)

 

[jojai]

It comes down the parents, if a kid has the equipment at home to make Ouzo and him making Ouzo at home goes unnoticed then 60 kids (that must be just about everyone children in the town, Peterborough isn't very large) are allowed to party, where the hell are the parents? I know it's common practice for parents to buy their underage kids alcohol, well it was where I lived, but at least all the parties I ever went to were supervised and with my mum, a 6-pack in a night was the absolute limit and usually 3 was all she let me take to a party.

I don't think this will necessarily change anything for beer brewers though, spirits are illegal already so a major crackdown is what's needed or perhaps like someone else said, approaching it from a different angle and just making sure it is all safe. (You don't even have to be 18 to buy home brew kits / stills, that would be a logical step to take).

Fingers crossed nothing bad happens. And I hope the parents are having a long hard contemplation session as to how this can be avoided in the future.

 

[geoffi]

Good thing this didn't happen in NSW. With an unbearable government and an unelectable opposition both constantly sniffing around for stories to beat-up into 'law and order' scare campaigns, this tale of leglessness would probably have legs.

Meanwhile, how many kids will die this year in piles of twisted metal and plastic? 100? 200? 300? More?

 

[geoffi]

Oh, and how many kids will die this year because they drank two bottles of 'legal' spirits? Quite a few, I'd guess.

 

[amiddler]

A true candidate for this year's Darwin Awards.
I wonder if his friends learn from this? Probably not.

Unfortunately I have been in crowds like this myself and to Daryl's friends he will die a hero. Not one of them will put the connection together that they helped him to die by egging him on. "Oh I didn't hold the bottle for him" but peer pressure is a very powerful tool. It the eyes of these young people It will always be some body else's fault and I fear the end of home brew as we know it if the Government and Media pick it as the scape goat.

At the end of the News.com column there was a link to the Adelaide Now website (http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0...5006301,00.html) and I urge the people that didn't read it to have a look. This columnist focuses more on "What were these children doing with that much alcohol?" and less about the Ouzo being home made.

Quote from column:
{Drug and Alcohol Services SA executive director Keith Evans urged others to learn from the tragedy."We unfortunately have a culture among many young people to drink to get drunk and many people believe the more you drink, the more popular you will be," he said.

"But there is no way that someone as young as 15 should be consuming alcohol in these amounts and we need to get that message across."}

If more people can see and agree with the view of Keith Evans then we may be able to keep brewing with out new laws and taxes that will cripple our beloved hobby.

Drew

 

[trevc]

(You don't even have to be 18 to buy home brew kits / stills, that would be a logical step to take).

Fairly tough to control sales of such basic ingredients. Distillation is also very easy in the kitchen, no welding required (stockpot, wok, metal bowl, ice.. done!)
I found it quite amusing as a young teen to ferment sugar water with baking yeast. It was pretty nasty, but certainly made strong alcohol. If somebody wants to hurt themselves with kitchen ingredients, they easily can.

My parents had always allowed me to drink beer/wine in smaller quantities when I was younger. This was likely why I ended up more responsible than others, and never over did it (too badly). I think it's a good idea for parents to carefully introduce their children to alcohol in a social setting, before others do.

This Ouzo kid was obviously not very bright, had issues of some sort, or was never properly introduced to alcohol (and it's potential dangers). Drinking that quantity of spirits so quickly is not normal for any teen/person.