The Ultimate Methylated Spirits Guide: Where to Find It on the Road and How You Can Help Us Expand the List

This article provides a comprehensive list of where to find methylated spirits for your camping stove while traveling. We share our experiences from various countries like Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the USA. Whether it's Alcohol Brûlé, Denaturat, or bioethanol – find out what it's called and where to buy it. Share your own tips and help us keep this list growing!

Georg cooking on our alcohol stove.

Finding methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) for a camping stove is usually quite easy, which is why traveling with an alcohol stove is much simpler compared to using gas. If you’re curious why we chose an alcohol stove, you can read more in our article .

However, every country has its own language and customs, which can make it tricky to locate methylated spirits. Here’s what we’ve discovered during our travels:

What is methylated spirits?
It’s alcohol, often ethanol, that has been denatured to make it unfit for drinking. It’s commonly used as a fuel for camping stoves or for cleaning purposes.

Germany

In Germany, methylated spirits are widely available in most DIY stores (such as OBI, Globus, and others). It’s rare to find a store that doesn’t stock it.

France

France was one of the easiest places to find methylated spirits. In large supermarkets like Carrefour, you’ll find Alcohol Brûlé in 5-liter containers.

Spain

Spain was a bit trickier. After figuring it out, we found Alcohol Denaturado in large supermarkets like Carrefour. However, the quantities here are smaller than in France. Pro tip: try looking in the cleaning section – we once found a cleaning agent based on alcohol, which worked perfectly. Occasionally, you might come across bioethanol too.

Portugal

A friendly local helped us find Alcohol Azul in Portugal, which is dyed blue to signal it’s not drinkable. Small hardware or tool shops often sell it in 1-liter bottles.

Poland

Here, it’s called Denaturat and is available in large hypermarkets, as well as at places like Rossmann and Obi.

Romania

In Romania, you’re looking for “Sprit.” There’s also a blue liquid in 500 ml bottles commonly used for disinfecting, but sometimes you’ll find it near the drinking alcohol, which can be confusing. We found it everywhere: in small supermarkets, large chains, and at Metro. Hardware stores often had the cheapest options, though not always the blue kind.

If you’re in rural areas, you might also try asking for cheap homemade alcohol, which, if it’s 95% alcohol, can work just as well.

Greece

In November 2022, we found methylated spirits in almost every supermarket, including LIDL. However, by the end of winter (March), it disappeared from LIDL but was still available in other supermarkets. Interestingly, the bottles here are often just under 500 ml.

Italy

In Italy, methylated spirits are pink, and you’ll typically find them in 1-liter bottles. We had no trouble finding it in supermarkets.

Canada

In Canada, methanol is available, but please remember: it’s highly toxic. We decided against using it because of the health risks.

USA

In the USA, Denatured Alcohol is much easier to find than in Canada, and it’s more affordable. At Home Depot, we bought a gallon (yes, everything here is in gallons) for $26. At ACE, a gallon cost $20.

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Have you found methylated spirits in another country or have any additions to our list? Let us know, and we’ll add your tips!