Where Does Alcohol Come From?

Where Does Alcohol Come From?

Saturday October 23, 2010

 

The alcohol that you can drink is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. It is produced by fermenting carbohydrates, such as sugars or starches. Fermentation is an anerobic process used by yeast to convert sugars into energy. Ethanol and carbon dioxide are waste products of the reaction. The reaction for the fermentation of glucose to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide is: C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2C₂H₅OH + 2CO₂

The fermented product may be used (e.g., wine) or distillation may be used to concentrate and purify the alcohol (e.g., vodka, tequila).

Just about any plant matter can be used to produce alcohol. Here is a list of the source material for several popular alcoholic beverages.


Ale - fermented from malt with hops
Beer - brewed and fermented from malted cereal grain (as barley), flavored with hops
Bourbon - whiskey distilled from a mash of not less than 51 percent corn and aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years
Brandy - distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice
Cognac - a brandy distilled from white wine from a specific region of France
Gin - distilled or redistilled neutral grain spirits from a variety of sources, flavored with juniper berries and other aromatics
Rum - distilled from a sugarcane product such as molasses or sugarcane juice
Sake - produced by a brewing process using rice
Tequila - a Mexican liquor distilled from blue agave
Vodka - distilled from a mash as of potatoes, rye or wheat
Whiskey - distilled from mash of grain such as rye, corn, or barley
Scotch - whiskey distilled in Scotland typically from malted barley<
Wine - fermented juice of fresh grapes and/or other fruit (e.g., blackberry wine)

If you have other types of alcohol you'd like to add to the list, feel free to post a response.