Category Science

It is likely that the effects of alcohol were discovered before the chemical! Grapes may have natural yeast on their skins that will cause the fruits or juice squeezed from them to ferment in warm conditions without the addition of further yeast. Early peoples may have discovered that fermented grape juice had an unusual flavour and effect on the body.

It’s hard to say exactly when alcohol was discovered for two reasons: 1) it was a long time ago, and 2) because you have to imagine that noting the date and time was not the first thing that occurred to the discoverers.

The first mistake that needs to be cleared up is that, while the origin may be in dispute, there is no doubt that alcohol – or fermentation, at least – was discovered rather than “invented.” One does not invent a thing that occurs naturally, as fermentation most assuredly does. (To illustrate this fact it should be pointed out that humans are not the only animals that enjoy a drink or two. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discusses the discovery of a few mammals in the Malaysian rainforest that drink the fermented nectar of what’s known as the bertam palm flower.)

Regarding human discovery, some paleontologists trace the origin all the way back to the Neolithic period, and some even believe that it was alcohol – or the desire for it – that prompted the first humans to take up agriculture.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, humanity’s love of alcohol has also been credited for precipitating the creation of democracy and the American Revolution. Of course, these things are spoken of in just, but if one seriously considers the integral part of alcohol in some of history’s most momentous decisions and accomplishments … well, it’s a sobering thought to say the least.

When it comes to intentional brewing the historical record is nearly as muddled. Anthropologists know people were drinking beer in Mesopotamia in 4,000 BC because there are records of it being traded, and Sumerians sang odes to it as far back as 1,800 BC, but many scientists believe the history of brewing stretches back much further.

Alcohol distillation, however, is probably a bit younger in the tooth according to most historians. Mesopotamians were known to use the distillation process, but it would take a few hundred years before the Chinese would use it to make rice liquor.

The final conclusion: booze has been around forever in some shape or form, and we’ll never really know the exact date and time that one lucky human made the discovery of a lifetime.

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Fermentation is a natural process that uses a kind of fungus called yeast. When given the right conditions of warmth and moisture, yeast will digest sugars in fruit or other plant materials and give off carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. Fermentation is used on a huge scale to make alcoholic drinks and ethanol for use in industry.

Alcoholic fermentation is the best known of the fermentation processes, and is involved in several important transformation, stabilization, and conservation processes for sugar-rich substrates, such as fruit, and fruit and vegetable juices. Alcoholic fermentation is carried out by yeasts and some other fungi and bacteria. The first step of the alcoholic fermentation pathway involves pyruvate, which is formed by yeast via the EMP pathway, while it is obtained through the ED pathway in the case of Zymomonas (bacteria). In the following step, the pyruvate is decarboxylated to acetaldehyde in a reaction that is catalyzed by the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase.

Alcoholic fermentation is a biotechnological process accomplished by yeast, some kinds of bacteria, or a few other microorganisms to convert sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. In this fermentation process, yeast is mostly used as a bio-culture and aqueous solution of monosaccharide (raw materials) as the culture media for the production of beverages. In the alcoholic fermentation process, yeast generally carries out the aerobic fermentation process, but it may also ferment the raw materials under anaerobic conditions. In the absence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation occurs in the cytosol of yeast. Alcoholic fermentation begins with the breakdown of sugars by yeasts to form pyruvate molecules, which is also known as glycolysis. Glycolysis of a glucose molecule produces two molecules of pyruvic acid. The two molecules of pyruvic acid are then reduced to two molecules of ethanol and 2CO2.

Alcohol is an organic compound. That means that it is one of the substances studied in a whole branch of chemistry called organic chemistry. Organic chemistry concerns carbon compounds, many of which are made by living (organic) things. Alcohol is a compound of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. There are many kinds of alcohol, with different properties and uses in industry. Ethanol and glycerol are both useful forms of alcohol.

Alcohol is formed when yeast ferments (breaks down without oxygen) the sugars in different food. For example, wine is made from the sugar in grapes, beer from the sugar in malted barley (a type of grain), cider from the sugar in apples, vodka from the sugar in potatoes, beets or other plants.

Alcohol is classed as a ‘sedative hypnotic’ drug, which means it acts to depress the central nervous system at high doses. At lower doses, alcohol can act as a stimulant, inducing feelings of euphoria and talkativeness, but drinking too much alcohol at one session can lead to drowsiness, respiratory depression (where breathing becomes slow, shallow or stops entirely), coma or even death.

As well as its acute and potentially lethal sedative effect at high doses, alcohol has effects on every organ in the body and these effects depend on the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over time.

It is classed as a depressant, meaning that it slows down vital functions—resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and an inability to react quickly. As for how it affects the mind, it is best understood as a drug that reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his or her judgment.

Although classified as a depressant, the amount of alcohol consumed determines the type of effect. Most people drink for the stimulant effect, such as a beer or glass of wine taken to “loosen up.” But if a person consumes more than the body can handle, they then experience alcohol’s depressant effect. They start to feel “stupid” or lose coordination and control.

Alcohol overdose causes even more severe depressant effects (inability to feel pain, toxicity where the body vomits the poison, and finally unconsciousness or, worse, coma or death from severe toxic overdose). These reactions depend on how much is consumed and how quickly.

There are different kinds of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol (ethanol), the only alcohol used in beverages, is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits. Fermenting is a chemical process whereby yeast acts upon certain ingredients in the food, creating alcohol.

Fermented drinks, such as beer and wine, contain from 2% alcohol to 20% alcohol. Distilled drinks, or liquor, contain from 40% to 50% or more alcohol.

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