Methanol

[JaunRambo]

Why isnt methanol a problem with home brews?

People in my country die from methanol poisoning all the time from home made brews..what are they doing wrong?

 

[TechFanMD]

They are not dying from beer, wine, cider - they are dying from distilled spirits. If you don't know what you are doing, you can end up with a lot of methanol in the distilled product.

 

[JaunRambo]

They are not dying from beer, wine, cider - they are dying from distilled spirits. If you don't know what you are doing, you can end up with a lot of methanol in the distilled product.

So, no matter what I do, I mean, if I **** up somehow, I wont have methanol in my beers and wines?

 

[ESBrewer]

So, no matter what I do, I mean, if I fudge up somehow, I wont have methanol in my beers and wines?

The concentration of methanol post-fermentation will be so low that it is not going to cause symptoms (toxicity is always dose dependent phenomenon). This is because there is not enough methanol precursors in the ingredients that are used in brewing. Beer is especially low in methanol because methanol is only produced from methylated pectin molecules by enzymatic reactions and malt is very low in pectin. Fruits incl. grapes and potatoes contain more pectin, but even in ciders and wines the methanol concentration is not going to cause symptoms unless you concentrate the methanol by improper distillation or equivalent method where water/ethanol is lost but methanol at the same time is retained. (Distilling your brews without a legal permit is prohibited in most countries.)

 

[RPh_Guy]

^
These guys are 100% correct.

 

[Jag75]

I won't even mess with distilling , even though my Grainfather has a distilling top I can purchase . I dont drink hard liquor anyways . I've heard you have the tail , body and head but it just seems nuts to me . I'm not sure if I read it right but from what I gather it's not illegal to own a still for purposes of distilling water , oil ect... but you cant distill liquor . If you do distill for consumption you have to have a license. I'm not 100% sure so if anyone knows maybe they can shed some light.

 

[dwhite60]

I've read methanol in bulk can be bought rather cheaply.

It's added to boost the potency of the product bypassing the work and cost.

Simple antidote to methanol poisoning is ethanol. Counteracts the methanol almost instantly but, there's a time element involved in how soon you have to get the ethanol in your system.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[dwhite60]

Why isnt methanol a problem with home brews?

People in my country die from methanol poisoning all the time from home made brews..what are they doing wrong?

Just curious, what country are you in?

All the Best,
D. White

 

[JaunRambo]

Just curious, what country are you in?

All the Best,
D. White

Pakistan...lol..hence, the home brewing..