• The UK brewer BrewDog started producing hand sanitizer to give away to charities and the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
  • The National Health Service, which oversees the infirmary, couldn’t use it because its alcohol content didn’t meet clinical standards.
  • The company is considering reformulating to better meet the needs of hospitals, according to the Guardian.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

BrewDog, an independent brewery and pub chain in the UK, started producing hand sanitizer in March with the intent of giving it to charities and the local Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The National Health Service, which oversees the infirmary, couldn’t accept the first batch of the product because its alcohol content didn’t meet clinical standards, according to The Guardian.

The hand sanitizer is 68% alcohol, well above the 60% minimum required by the government, but it didn’t meet the stricter requirements for a medical environment, the paper reported.

“Our supplies and equipment have to reach clinical standards before they can be put into use in healthcare settings and we have worked closely with the team at BrewDog to overcome some of these technical issues,” a spokesman for the National Health Service Grampian told The Guardian. “This has been a really successful collaboration with the BrewDog team and we look forward to getting the gel fully operational in health and care settings right across Grampian.”

BrewDog

Foto: BrewDog's first batch of hand sanitizer didn't meet healthcare standards. Source: BrewDog

The BrewDog initiative to create "punk" sanitizer was sparked by a shortage of the anti-bacterial product.

BrewDog has already distributed 100,000 bottles of sanitizer to Archie Foundation and Aberlour children's charities in the UK, its founder, James Watt, told the Guardian.

"The production of sanitizer is completely new for us, we are working closely with the NHS to understand how we can best meet their requirements for clinical care," Watt said.

The NHS will continue to work with the brewery on developing a product that can be rolled out in their hospital.

"We at no time 'rejected' the offer,'" the spokesman told The Guardian, "we instead chose to work together on finding a solution."​

BrewDog didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.