The new condition was discovered when a 61-year-old female patient checked herself into University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital seeking placement on a liver transplant waitlist. The patient (whose name was not made available to preserve her anonymity) presented with serious liver damage related to unmanaged diabetes. Although the woman denied being a drinker, doctors suspected she suffered from alcoholism as a result of repeated urine tests coming up positive for booze. Despite the positive test results, the woman reportedly never showed any signs of intoxication, prompting doctors to further investigate.

What they found will rewrite the medical textbooks. Doctors discovered abnormally high ethanol levels in the woman’s urine, which they determined had been fermented by Candida glabrata, a yeast found naturally in the human body, though not usually at such high levels. Doctors attempted to treat the condition with antifungal medications, but the outcome was not successful, likely as a result of her advanced diabetes. No information yet on whether major U.S. beer distributors have contacted her about bottling her effluence.