POTENT HOP BEER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20560, 10 May 1930, Page 13

POTENT HOP BEER.

" PEOPLE INTOXICATED."

FACTORY MANAGER FINED.

EXPERIMENTS WITH BREW.

Charged with keeping liquor for sale in the no-licence district of Grey Lynn, Charles John McCulloch, manager of an aerated water factory (Mr. Towle), pleaded guilty in the Police Court yesterday. Sub-Inspector Shanahan said hop beer was brewed by the company, of which defendant was manager. The police had been informed that the hop beer had intoxicated several people, and police officers had therefore purchased some of the. beer, which had been analysed, and found to contain 7 per cent, of proof spirit. Mr. Towle: That is not the same thing as 7 per cent, of alcohol.

The Magistrate, Mr. F. K. Hunt: At any rate, it had a "kick" in it.

Mr. Towle said tho firm had been in business for 25 years, and had received no previous-complaints. Early in the year defendant had gone away, and a new man, wh:> had been given a definite recipe for making tho hop beer, had tried experimenting with one brew. He had added more sugar, thus increasing tho percentage of proof spirit, with the result that complaints had been made to the police. The whole matter was entirely due to a mistake. The remainder of tho brew had been thrown away, and all stocks of it recalled. Arrangements had been made for a regular analysis of future brews, and there would bo no repetition of the error.

"It must have been a bit of a shock to these temperance peoplo who drink it," the magistrate said, in imposing a fine of £lO and costs.