Oops, tainted beer was an accident

Labatt Breweries has figured out why some bottles of Stella Artois sold in Canadian bars were filled with concentrated alcohol.

It turns out it wasn’t a matter of tampering. A handful of bars accidentally placed the potent bottles filled with concentrated alcohol in their beer fridges. The brewery had filled them with the replacement liquid because they were intended for display only.

Neil Sweeney, vice-president of corporate affairs for Labatt, said Canadian bar owners worked in collaboration with the brewery to inspect every bottle of Stella Artois being served across the country to ensure they were in fact filled with beer.

A press release from the brewery said new control procedures have been put in place to prevent a similar incident in the future.