August 1st, 2005
Experts Warn About Powdered Alcohol
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Not sure if this qualifies as a technical breakthrough, but apparently alcohol is now being sold in a handy powdered form. The German company that sells it on the Internet, with the odd and eerie name “Subyou” is coming under fire for selling a product that I guess minors are buying. Meanwhile, medical experts warn that the product contain preservatives and may harm your health. Like that jug of Jack Daniels won’t…
“They look harmless enough, the inconspicuous packets often next to the cashier at gas stations, convenience stores, beverage stores and bars. But according to consumer protection officials, that’s what makes them all the more dangerous, since the powder inside contains alcohol, and a lot of it — about 4.8 percent by volume. That is the equivalent of one to one-and-a-half glasses of liquor.
“The product is called subyou, manufactured by a company in North Rhine-Westphalia, and is marketed squarely at teenagers with slogans like “taste for not much dough” and “gets a good buzz going.” Add the powder to cold water, and consumers have an alcoholic drink containing either vodka or rum. “These are just as dangerous as the alcopops that came in the bottles,” Birgit Rehlender, nutrition expert at consumer affairs organization Stiftung Warentest told Der Spiegel weekly.
“While authorities were able to curtail the consumption of alcopops with a special tax on the drinks last August — which put them out of the reach of many teenage budgets — these new alcopops in powder form cost between 1.65 and 2.40 euros ($2.06 and $3.00) per package. Subyou is able to get around the tax because its product comes in powder form. The powder was first sold over the Internet, and word spread quickly among teenage circles that those under 18 could order off the Internet without fear of being asked for proof of age. However, according to Andrea Schauff, a nutritional expert at Hesse’s consumer protection organization, in many stores the powder is being sold to under-age kids even though a warning is printed on the packets: “Alcohol can be addictive — no sales to minors.”
“Besides the high alcohol content, youth advocates also worry about the powder’s other ingredients, including high levels of preservatives, sorbic acid, and dyes that have not been approved by health experts. ” Source: DW World.DE via Digg
Our Take: I actually think this is a breakthrough for the booze business since powder is so much lighter than heavy glass bottles or even plastic bottles filled with liquid. It certainaily makes shipping and distribution a breeze. Not sure if the powder tastes horrible, it sounds pretty vile, but if you are of age and have tasted some, let us know what you think. The site is definitely targeting kids, which is a shame, because this could be an interesting niche.
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Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Experts Warn About Powdered Alcohol Being Sold Online
Not sure if this qualifies as a technical breakthrough, but apparently alcohol is now being sold in a handy powdered form. The German company that sells it on the Internet, with the odd and eerie name “Subyou” is coming under fire for selling a produ…
August 1st, 2005 at 10:42 am
degustibus says:
Hohum. Powdered alcohol has been around since the 1980s. In one form or another, always hailed as a breakthrough, condemned as harmful. Let’s move on to videophones and flying automobiles.
August 1st, 2005 at 12:47 pm
Gizmodo says:
Powdered Alcohol Is Bad - But Is it Real?
I don’t quite get this one. It appears that there is some sort of powdered alcohol called Sub You—WTF?—available for KIDS TO BUY AND DRINK AND KILL THEMSELVES WITH but I don’t quite understand how or why it works. Can…
August 1st, 2005 at 1:43 pm
Goldie says:
I have tried it here in Germany. It tastes absolutely awful. I feel sorry for the kids. Give them back their beers.
August 1st, 2005 at 2:26 pm
Alice says:
The flavors look horrific. Instant headache.
August 1st, 2005 at 3:15 pm
Brent Holliman says:
Alcoholic Powder
August 2nd, 2005 at 9:01 am
Marty says:
Whatever happened to cocaine?
August 4th, 2005 at 7:01 am
bill says:
alcoholic powder is a hell of a drug
August 4th, 2005 at 10:11 am
jes says:
I’m curious as to how they powder the alcohol. Ethanol is a liquid, typically, and cannot be reduced to powder since it just evaporates, and makes a great solvent. So, if it is powdered, it must be chemically altered in a way that makes a lyophilizable (powder-able) material that turns back into ethanol–and something else–when it hits water.
I like my liver and kidneys. I’ll stick with the filtered grain alcohol, thanks.
August 5th, 2005 at 8:57 am
Ghost of a flea says:
Subyou
At last, powdered alcohol! But they had to call it Subyou….
August 10th, 2005 at 6:07 am
Brian Chronic says:
i think this is gonna be used for a date rape drug at highschool parties……. its not a good idea might as well be selling PCP or ruphies at the gas station and call them “rapers” they can be a little more ovivous then…..
August 10th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
Didvid says:
Well i’m from England and really fancy trying some of this, as i read about it in yesterdays paper
(I’m from England, we get everything about 6 months late haha)
So if anyone is fluent in German and has a pretty good translation of the site? or an alternate site that i might be able to understand, i’d love to try some before passing my judgement on the stuff.
I know when i was a youngster, we drank cider…. now that shit can’t be good for you, so maybe this stuff is a little better !!!!
But still, we used to pay 99p a bottle…. errr about about $1.75 ???? errrr 1.45 euro….. and that was for a litre, so this stuff is still expensive for us alchohlic brits haha
August 25th, 2005 at 12:16 am
Didvid@hotmail.com says:
yeah, just left a post, but didn’t leave any way of people getting hold if they can help…
didvid@hotmail.com if ya can….. on msn too so can chat on there
many thx
August 25th, 2005 at 12:25 am
tired of SOS! says:
what the hell i am really getting irritated there needs to be more funner things to do online i am hella bored… life is hella getting boring-er
March 1st, 2006 at 11:29 am
kyle says:
so is it availble at stores in the U.S.???
March 1st, 2006 at 5:48 pm
iltu says:
Um, has anyone noticed that 4.8% alcohol is the equivalent of a beer? Not sure where the author gets the glass and a half of liquor. Sounds like someone wrote an artile about something they don’t understand.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:32 am
Aces Full of Links says:
You and James Read the News
You didn’t ask for it. But, dammit, you’re gonna get it. My take on a short stack of news. As always, an uncomfortable mix of the serious and the humorous. (image by Chad Miller )Many of these stories deserve…
March 7th, 2006 at 11:54 am
Andy says:
The alcohol is encapsulated in a dextran. That is how you convert it to powder. You litterally have tiny drops of alcohol liquid surrounded by dextran powder so the end result is a powder!
March 8th, 2006 at 4:25 am
typo says:
typo
March 20th, 2006 at 12:48 am
Alcoholic says:
Dave
Interesting topic… I’m working in this industry myself and I don’t agree about this in 100%, but I added your page to my bookmarks and hope to see more interesting articles in the future
September 9th, 2006 at 12:30 am
Xolms says:
tenn sex
December 4th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Delmonico says:
If it can be made into a powder, why can’t it be squeezed into a pill we can swallow? That should get around the unwanted taste of these drinks.
…or do alcoholic pills already exist on the market?
January 21st, 2008 at 5:54 pm