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09 9.04.18
ISSN NO. 0218-7310
Students told to cease brewing beer in hall
Three students brewed beer in hall and shared it with their friends, violating local laws. They stopped their operations after seven months Sherlyn Seah WHEN fourth-year student Rahul Immandira was on his overseas internship at an American beer company, he became eager to share what he was learning with his close friends. After returning in August last year, he and his friends, Heetesh Alwani and Abilash Subbaraman, started to brew beer for fun in their their hall of residence, Binjai Hall. After their initial batches were successful, the three Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP) students, all 24, let interested friends try their products. They also accepted donations in return for the beer. Binjai Brew, their self-titled brand, was unexpectedly well-received. But after their tenth batch and spending almost $2,500, they were asked to stop their brewing activities in February. They received notice from the NTU administration that they were violating Singapore laws by brewing on campus grounds and selling the beer. Under Singapore law, individuals are allowed to home-brew beer as long as conditions in the Customs (Home-Brewing of Fermented Liquors) (Exemption) Order are fulfilled. Binjai Brew had violated two of these conditions. First, the beer brewed had to be for personal consumption and not for sale. While the students claimed they did not intend to sell the beer for profit, any exchange of money for the product was deemed a sale. Second, the brewing had to be carried out at the home of the individual, which could be a HDB flat or private property. Subbaraman said the latter was the main reason they had to close down. “We were on NTU property, which was considered a commercial site.”
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As part of an REP requirement for students to pursue their third year of studies abroad, the three students spent a year in California for their exchange and internship programmes. Immandira used what he had learnt at the Benoist-Casper Brewing Company to start Binjai Brew. “While I was interning there, Abilash and Heetesh kept asking me how difficult it was to brew beer. But it’s actually quite easy. So we decided to try it back in Singapore for fun,” said Immandira.
GRAPHIC: BRENDAN TAN
They pooled $500 to buy basic beer-brewing equipment, which included a brewing pot, an induction heater and a fermenter. They then brewed their first batch in hall. The end-product surpassed their expectations, encouraging them to produce more batches. Each batch took three to four weeks to brew, and along the way the group worked on their recipe to improve the beer’s quality.
Demand drove the supply As interest increased, Immandira, Subbaran and Alwani started to work as if they were running a small-scale business. By their estimation, their beer had been consumed by over 700 people. They established the brand, created a logo and initiated publicity efforts — buyers could
customise their bottle labels, and the trio gave out name cards for promotion. Eventually, they started accepting money from their peers. Immandira said that payments were made in donations. “If they liked it, they could just pay whatever they felt it was worth, and in that way help to cover our costs,” said Alwani. “On average, we received $3 or $4 for each bottle, which was definitely not enough for us to earn any profits.” The trio also started an Instagram page to share their beeer-brewing experiences with their friends. It was through this page that the NTU administration found out about Binjai Brew.
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