A Belgian man has been acquitted of drunk driving charges because he suffers from so-called home brewer’s syndrome. The 40-year-old – who also happened to be an employee of a brewery – was on trial in Bruges.
In self-brewer’s syndrome, the body itself produces liver-damaging alcohols, which lead to self-generated alcoholization in the affected person. People with the syndrome produce the same types of alcohol that are found in alcoholic beverages – but they perceive their effects more weakly, according to a biologist quoted in the Guardian.
EigenBrauer syndrome is not congenital. Those affected sometimes show symptoms of alcohol poisoning such as slurred speech or loss of motor skills. According to the newspaper “De Standaard”, the Belgian was found to have significantly elevated blood alcohol levels several times during checks. As the Guardian reports, three doctors independently diagnosed the extremely rare anomaly in the man, which led to his exoneration.
By the way, you can read more about Eigenbrauer’s syndrome in the Stern Plus column “The Diagnosis”. An excerpt: “The intestine is overpopulated with yeast fungi. These fungi are part of every healthy intestinal flora in small quantities, but in home brewer’s syndrome they have multiplied significantly. They trigger alcoholic fermentation – carbohydrates, for example in a bread roll, become… Intestinal alcohol is formed. The underlying cause is often unclear, as there are very few documented cases of self-brewer’s syndrome. However, most of those affected who have been reported in the specialist literature have previously suffered from a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. “
Quellen: “Guardian”, “De Standaard”
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