Alcohols rubbing to drinking R-OH

Alcohols are a group of organic compounds that contain the -OH functional group. In fact, alcohols are often generalized as R-OH, where the R stands for the Rest of the molecule (like that radio newscaster s rest of the story . Alcohols are named using the -o/ suffix replacing the -ane of the corresponding alkane. 

Methanol methyl alcohol, is sometimes called wood alcohol because years ago, its primary synthesis involved heating wood in the absence of air. The more current method of synthesis of methanol involves reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen with a special catalyst at elevated temperatures  

About half of the methanol produced in the United States is used in the production of formaldehyde, which is used as embalming fluid and in the plastics industry. It s also sometimes added to ethanol to make it unfit for human consumption, a process called denaturing. Methanol is also being considered as a replacement to gasoline, but some major problems still need to be overcome. A process that uses methanol in the production of gasoline does exist. New Zealand currently has such a plant that produces about a third of its gasoline. 

Ethanol, ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is produced primarily in one of two ways. If the ethanol is to be used in alcoholic beverages, it s produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates and sugars by the enzymes in yeast  

As a brewer of beer and mead, I can attest that the yeast beasties certainly know how to make good alcohol  

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