Taihu Brewing's unpasteurized beer bottles exploded — recall came after injuries

Taihu Brewing (台虎精釀) was a Taiwanese craft brewery founded in 2013, known for innovative flavors and a growing domestic market. In early 2018, it released a limited-edition dog-year beer that became popular quickly.

The beer was unpasteurized to preserve its fruit flavor. Active yeast remained in the bottle. In warm temperatures, the yeast continued fermenting and producing carbon dioxide. Pressure built up until bottles exploded. Customers reported bottles bulging and detonating with a loud bang. A female employee was injured at the store. A customer suffered injuries while handling the beer.

Customers reported explosions as early as March 2018. The company acknowledged the issue on its Facebook page but only advised storing bottles upright. On May 9, 2018, after two months of complaints and injuries, the company finally pulled the product from shelves and stopped sales. The company initially insisted the product had no quality issues, attributing the incidents to 'too many cases,' but later admitted the bottle label failed to warn about proper storage.