Attention!! The Beer Is Safe!! Attention!!

When the story broke a few months ago about the tampering with Stella Artois bottles two things came to mind right away. First was - why would someone spike bottles of beer randomly? The second was - wow! That's really going to affect those two old french codgers in Chicoutimi who actually drink Stella. Now see story below.


Brewer gets to bottom of tainted beer problem
CanWest News Service
TORONTO -- Labatt Breweries said Thursday they have discovered how some Stella Artois beer bottles, sold at Canadian bars earlier this summer, were filled with concentrated alcohol.
An investigation determined the affected bottles were intended for display purposes only and had been filled with concentrated alcohol as a replacement liquid, the brewer said in a prepared statement.
In July the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Labatt warned the public about the problem.
The CFIA was advised of six bottles suspected of being tampered with in which concentrated alcohol was put into 330 ml Stella Artois beer bottles.
These incidents occurred with beer sold at restaurants and bars in Toronto and Kamloops, B.C.
"It appears that in a few isolated incidents, a bottle was removed from a display, and then later inadvertently placed into the bar fridge and subsequently provided to a customer," the company said in a prepared statement. "The investigation clearly showed that the incidents were accidental and there was no intent to harm consumers in any way."
The brewer said it has undertaken two comprehensive reviews to identify and retrieve bottles associated with the displays.
Labatt has also implemented strict, new control procedures related to marketing displays.

© CanWest News Service 2007

OK, so my first question was answered. But more are created. Replacement liquid? why wouldn't you just put regular bottles out there for display. Was the concentrated alcohol way cheaper than beer? And why would a bar owner - any bar owner - not be expected to try and sell something that was given to him for free? I guess all the bad press dooms us to a couple more years of those retarded 'artsy' Stella ads on television to build the consumer base back up after this fiasco. I can't imagine the relief in Chicoutimi tonight.