‘You can brew, but not for profit’
The Spokesperson for Community Safety, Matome Moremi-Taueatsoala says brewing in itself is not a problem, but discourages the brewer from calling friends and relatives to taste or share
LIMPOPO – With a national ban on the sale of alcohol during the Covid-19 lockdown, South Africans have resorted to brewing their own liquor at home, using creative ways to make sure they get their fix.
The Spokesperson for Community Safety, Matome Moremi-Taueatsoala says brewing in itself is not a problem, and emphasised that the ban applied to the selling and transportation of alcohol.
Once you brew for profit, law enforcement will arrest you, he warns. “If your home-brew is found in your vehicle, you will be arrested for transporting liquor.”
Should the brewer invite people over to taste or drink, it is also in contravention of the law, which can result in a fine or arrest.
“We discourage the brewer from calling friends and relatives to taste or share. We will arrest them for failing to confine to their own residence.”
BONUS spoke to a resident who brewed his own alcohol after seeing it trend on social media. “When I first saw people sharing the recipe, I thought it was a joke. When the lockdown was extended beyond the first three weeks, I decided to try out the recipe myself out of curiosity,” he said.
The man told BONUS that the brewing process only took a few minutes, but he had to let it rest for a week for the ingredients to ferment. “When the mixture was ready a week later, it was potent and proved to be the last time I made alcohol. I used a recipe from the internet but the mixture was too strong. I wouldn’t advise anyone to make it because I had to throw some of it out.”
Moremi-Taueatsoala also advises against the brewing of alcohol at home, saying that despite being allowed to, people should stay away from brewing for health and safety reasons.
