Viral Video Shows Brewery Employee Urinating on Raw Ingredients for Popular Beer Brand

(Photo: CN Wire/X)

On Thursday, a video emerged that appeared to show a brewery employee peeing on raw beer ingredients at a Tsingtao factory. The footage was posted on the social media platform Weibo and went viral with millions of views. The company said on Friday that it is taking the situation seriously and the police have been contacted. The incident is currently under investigation.

Tsingtao is one of China’s most prominent beer producers with Hong Kong listing it as China’s second-largest brewer. The beer is exported to countries all over the world including the U.S. 

A video clip showed someone urinating in the warehouse containing raw material for Tsingtao Beer went viral on Chinese social media. Regulators of Pingdu County, Qingdao, have started an investigation.
A bearish news for Tsingtao Beer(SH600600).#China #Tsingtao pic.twitter.com/sani5QL2Vx

— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) October 20, 2023

The video appears to show a man wearing his warehouse uniform, urinating on malt used to make beer. After the video circulated on Weibo, Tsingtao reported the incident to authorities in Pingdu County, Qingdao, and an investigation was started.

“Our company attaches high importance to the relevant video that emerged from Tsingtao Brewery No. 3 on October 19,” a Tsingtao spokesperson said in a statement obtained by South China Morning Post. “We reported the incident to the police at the earliest opportunity, and public security organs are involved in the investigation.

“At present, the batch of malt in question has been completely sealed. The company continues to strengthen its management procedures and ensure product quality.”

As one of China’s closest neighbors, South Korean importers were quick to confirm that this Tsingtao facility was not connected to beer coming into South Korea. A statement was issued Saturday by the importer.

“Tsingtao Brewery’s headquarters confirmed that the company operates separate manufacturing facilities for domestic and export products,” said BK, the Korean importer of Tsingtao, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. “The third factory [depicted in the video] specifically produces beer for the domestic market.” 

Fortunately, the Tsingtao brewery employee was caught on video and the footage was shared on social media, thus allowing action to be taken by the company. What customers may want to question is how the video showed up on social media and if the incident was only reported to the company after circulating online. 

It is unclear how often this actually occurs and it may be a situation where ignorance is bliss. Industrially produced beer goes through pasteurization and filtration processes so tainted beer is unlikely to cause health issues or be noticeable. However, most people probably don’t like the thought of this happening to their beverage and rightfully so. 

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