Auto-Brewery Syndrome

By Pablo Fanque, Beverage Ed.

This story was reported on NPR in September, 2013.  Whew.

"A 61-year-old Texas man admitted to a hospital not long ago appearing to be falling-down-drunk even though denying having had even a single drink was discovered to be unintentionally manufacturing beer in his stomach. "

"With 'Auto-Brewery Syndrome,' stomach-based yeast automatically ferments all starches (even vegetables or grains) passing through, converting them into ethanol. Normally, natural stomach bacteria control the yeast, but if, for example, antibiotics had inadvertently eliminated the bacteria, the yeast would prevail. The case was reported in a recent International Journal of Clinical Medicine."

---o0o---