Serious Question

[WickedInfractio]

First of all i would like to thank everyone here at RealBeer.com for all of your help and support when i first started brewing. I have had great success in every batch that i have made so far (crossing my fingures and knocking on wood). I would also like to let everyone know but mostly the new brewers that after looking for a really easy way to start out and many searches on the web and although i found it to late for myself i did find a super easy and cheap way to start your own brewing. A friend of mine came over and was trying some of my home brew and he asked me if i tried to make Sake yet. Well i just looked at him like he was stupid because i just started brewing and thought Sake would be more of a liquor base than a beer but he took me to a few web sites and i was like OMG i wish i would have had this a few months ago. The process is easy and the kits are only around 15 bucks and the alc % (even though its classed as a beer) is almost triple. Ok enough of that now to my main point of posting.

There is a guy that lives near me and is always knocking on my door and bumming a drink (yeah he's a full blown drunk) I feel really bad for this guy because he isnt all there and then i found out that he mixes rubbing alc with koolaid!!! I freaked out and did some online research and found out that it's "kinda safe" if you only use the alcohol with Ethanol and NOT the type with isopropyl. Well i went to his house and gave him a beer before i got nosey and then asked him if i could see one of his rubbing alc bottles and was relieved to a point to see he was using Ethanol. My question is that knowing the internet you can get bad info and i just wanted to know if he cuts a bottle of this junk with a 2 ltr bottle of koolaid is he any safer? Ive talked to his family and they seem to care less so im just trying to help him the best i can.

thanks, A.J

[crashbobo]

Isopropyl alcohol will make you go blind if you drink it. Don't know about mixing the stuff even if it is ETOH. I wouldn't recommend it :(

[sallad]

is this a round-about way of asking "is my homemade still going to harm me?"

don't really have a solid answer for you, but i stay away from ethanol and isopropyl.

[WickedInfractio]

First of all its NOT for me im just concerned about this guy. If im making home brew and can afford it why would i be asking about mixing a $1 bottle of rubbing alc??? Im just trying to get some facts on if one is safer than the other because if he's going to be dumb enough to do then i want to make sure he's doing it as safe as he can.

[fretlessman71]

I think sallad was asking you if YOU were asking about sake and just what type of alcohol you'd be producing. Wouldn't worry too much about it. I WOULD worry about your friend, and although it's a really hard row to hoe, if you can think of a way to get him sober without him trying to get you to justify your brewing exploits, he'd be a lot better off. Been around too many professional drunks in my life, and I just hate to see someone walk that path.

[WickedInfractio]

Oh im sorry that was my bad. I thought he was saying I was the one with the problem and NO i dont put that in my SAKE lol And yes this guy is really sad and in real bad shape but i can only do so much yeah know? It bites.

[kgaugler]

It is definately not a good idea to drink rubbing alcohol. Is far as I know rubbing alcohol is isopropanol, not ethanol. Even if what your friend has is ethanol, it isn't intended for human consumption. It is most likely mixed with other types of alcohol, including isopropyl and methyl. At the very least, take him to a packy and pick up some cheap vodka. Don't let him drink that stuff

[Tweek]

If you really want to help this guy you should take him to an A.A. meeting. You shouldnt be giving him beer.

[Fast_Eddy]

I agree with Tweek - this guy needs some professional help not better quality booze.

[Caffinehog]

While isopropanol is bad, everything that is not sold as a legal beverage but contains ethanol also contains methanol. Methanol can cause blindness, liver damage, and kidney failure. 10mL of pure methanol WILL cause blindness. Granted, the concentration isn't too high, but it's enough that it blinds plenty of people. Let your friend know that. Making sure he only drinks ethanol will at least buy him some time to figure out that he is messing up his life. Keep him off that crap he makes, but try to convince him that he might have a problem.

[wortchillergoal]

You can try and help him, bless you for doing so. Please remember that until he admits his problem and asks for help, you may feel like you are spinning your wheels. So don't be hard on yourself if he doesn't get better.

At the very least, get him to stop drinking that rubbing alcohol.

[skahtboi]

I am having trouble visualizing anyone drinking either ethanol or isopropyl alcohol. How could anyone sink to such levels? What, if any, is the rationale?

[fretlessman71]

Rationale? You're asking an alcoholic to be rational? Well, OK, I know what you're asking....

Truth is, it's an addiction. They basically believe that they can't function without having alcohol in their blood. When your body gets used to being in a particular state, and you try to change, your body wonders what the hell you're doing and fights you. Some even act sober when they're drunk and drunk when they're sober, it gets so bad. When they can't get alcohol intended for consumption, they'll try anything else... Nyquil, Listerine, after shave...

There are those here who have read my earlier posts regarding overindulgence and the horrors that await several people who do this to excess... yes, it's a sore spot. This stuff is to be ENJOYED... not used. Don't let anyone believe that those of us who brew are only in it for cheap alcohol, ok? We've got a reputation to create and uphold.

Wicked, your heart is in the right place... I know you'll take care of your friend.

[Stodbrew]

Originally posted by Tweek
If you really want to help this guy you should take him to an A.A. meeting. You shouldnt be giving him beer.

Couldn't agree more!

[kgaugler]

Originally posted by Tweek
If you really want to help this guy you should take him to an A.A. meeting. You shouldnt be giving him beer.

Tweek, I wasn't implying that you wicked shouldn't try to help him. But I wanted to make the point that rubbing alcohol should not be consumed. I agree that the BEST way to help him would be to get him to AA but I know, first hand, that is much easier said than done. But at the very least, if this guy is going to drink, and you care about him, make sure what he is drinking is intended for humans.

Anybody remember Kitty Dukakis? Wasn't she drinking rubbing alcohol too?

[WickedInfractio]

Thanks for all the replies guys and trust me ive tried tried and tried some more to get this guy some help but it's like a dog chasing it's tail. i found some good info on the net about the effects of drinking that junk and im going to print it out and show it to him maybe that will help. Thanks again!


P.S My Sake has about another week to go. When it is ready i'll post on how it turned out.

[Sunriver]

OK time for some facts

Isopropyl alcohol is a posion!

Isopropyl alcohol is added into rubbing alcohol for one reason.

When alcohol became a taxed item A politician in the government realized that if you could buy alcohol pure, you could make your own drinks without paying a tax.

the Politician made it so all alcohol was taxed.

Now the science community got upset, You see alcohol is a substance needed in order to dissolve certain compounds and create a flame that does not give off many random chemicals. Thus in the name of science we need alcohol

long story short, in order for alcohol to be sold for science or medical reasons it had to be made unconsumable. Isopropyl alcohol is a posion and is chemical similar. SO by adding it to rubbing alcohol only minor scientific and medical properties are changed but consuming it causes the side effect of eventual death.

Ethanol is a less potent poison. Consuming it will cause massive medical problems.

Its like smoking, in the short run it is not a noticable change, however in a few years it WILL CAUSE MASSIVE LIVER DAMAGE.

[kgaugler]

Sunriver, you are right to a point. I can still get pure (200 proof) ethanol that is NOT denatured (the name they give to adding IPA and Methanol so people don't drink it.) But then it is regulated by ATF (whic is part of the Treasury Department). I have to get a special permit (pay a tax) and keep methodical records of where it was used and for what. They come in and audit my books every six months; could be longer depending on how much you use.

If I get denatured ethanol, I do not have to follow the above procedures. Just buy from my local scientific supply house and use it anyway I want.