# What is the minimum alcohol by volume % necessary to kill pathogens in liquids **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215 "2019-05-20T01:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215/22 "2019-05-24T07:38:55Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > …in western nations we accidentally discovered that alcoholic beverages helped stop the spread of pathogens so these were drank. I don’t think this is the case. Miasma theory persisted until the second half of the 19th century. Alcoholic beverages clearly didn’t stop the Black Death, leprosy, syphilis, or tuberculosis. > **[What Was the Drink of Choice in Medieval Europe?](https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/05/medieval-europe-why-was-water-the-most-popular-drink.html)** > > This question originally appeared on Quora. > > Answer by Tim O'Neill, medievalist: > **[Did Medieval People Drink Beer Instead of Water?](https://history.howstuffworks.com/medieval-people-drink-beer-water.htm)** > > Imagine a mother telling her thirsty child not to sip water, but to swig some much safer beer instead. Could this scenario have really happened in medieval times? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215/23 "2019-05-24T11:21:04Z")
On the contrary, beer and wine are good at destroying pathogens. But it’s not instantaneous, it may take some time. Interesting article in the _ **Scientific American** _: [Strong Medicine: Drinking Wine and Beer Can Help Save You from Cholera, Montezuma’s Revenge, E. Coli and Ulcers](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/strong-medicine-drinking-wine-and-beer-can-help-save-you-from-cholera-montezumas-revenge-e-coli-and-ulcers1/) > [@](#): > > The higher the concentration of alcohol, the more quickly the cholera died. Notably, the time it required for gin to kill pathogens was anywhere one to twenty six hours depending on its concentration, not immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215/24 "2019-05-24T20:45:39Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > (some high alcohol beers are over 60% using specially bred yeast) Do you have a cite for that? As a general rule, alcohol poisons yeast as well as it poisons everything else, which is why it’s really difficult to get anything much higher than 20% for beer regardless of strain of yeast. Liquor uses heat distillation to concentrate the alcohol post-fermentation. Beers (and wines) that exceed 20% use fractional freezing (AKA freeze distillation). I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but I’ve never heard about these advanced strains, and I have a hard time figuring out how you would suddenly have these beers show up without decades of experimental breeding to accomplish this via fermentation alone. It takes many generations to breed for specific traits. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215/25 "2019-05-25T09:05:06Z")
> [@road\_lobo](#): > > I don’t think this is the case. Miasma theory persisted until the second half of the 19th century. Alcoholic beverages clearly didn’t stop the Black Death, leprosy, syphilis, or tuberculosis. > > [Medieval Europe: Why was water the most popular drink?](https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/05/medieval-europe-why-was-water-the-most-popular-drink.html) > > [Did Medieval People Drink Beer Instead of Water? | HowStuffWorks](https://history.howstuffworks.com/medieval-people-drink-beer-water.htm) As I’ve mentioned before, a friend of the family was told, while in the French Foreign Legion, that if he got sick again he’d be put on report. Because the wine was for drinking. The water wasn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-minimum-alcohol-by-volume-necessary-to-kill-pathogens-in-liquids/834215.md?page=1)