People have resorted increasingly to homemade booze during the Covid-19 lockdown alcohol ban.
Photo: Mpumi KivaWith the sale of alcohol banned for over seven weeks, the illegal booze trade has mushroomed and prices rocketed. People who used to frequent shebeens in the southern Cape, say syndicates have stepped in and are charging exorbitant prices for conventional brands of alcohol. In response, people have started to brew their own liquor at home. Pineapples and apples are used mostly.
The home-brewed alcohol sells for about R10 a litre or R20 for a 2.5-litre bottle. In contrast, Zola Xhinwa, of Nokuthula, says a bottle of Smirnoff vodka is now going for R450 and beer prices have doubled, even trebled.Pineapple alcohol is made with sliced pineapple, lukewarm water, brown bread, oats, ginger, yeast and sugar. Apple beer is a concoction of teabags, sugar, yeast and brown bread. The ingredients are left to ferment overnight.
“Lockdown has actually taken us back to dark days [of apartheid], where people made alcohol from home and sold to community members,” says the owner [name withheld]. “This township is dead without booze. People are bored of sitting at home doing nothing. People don’t sit here, they just buy and go drink in their homes,” she says.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
WATCH: Black Coffee brews beats from home to raise funds for charity during lockdownInternationally acclaimed South African DJ Black Coffee says he's taking some time to consider how the music industry will have changed post-pandemic. | IOL_Lifestyle
Read more »
Woman’s home torched after residents find missing teen's burnt corpseAngry residents of Senwabarwana burnt down the house of an elderly woman who they believe was behind the death of a 14-year-old girl, Limpopo police said on Monday.
Read more »
WATCH: Stranded South Africans brought home78 stranded South Africans are safely back home after CemAir flew to seven different countries to fetch them.
Read more »
Merebank man hit by stray AK-47 bullet during home invasionA Merebank resident was struck by a stray bullet when robbers fired shots during a home invasion. DailNewsSA
Read more »
Lockdown life: the mayhem of juggling home schooling and workThe mothers on Instagram are stylish and serene, but the reality is much messier
Read more »
Pro surfer Jordy Smith among latest wave of repatriated South Africans glad to be homeJordy Smith is happy to be back home in SA after a two-week delay, which included being stranded on the OR Tambo Airport runway for a few hours after disembarking from a US repatriation flight.
Read more »