Brentwood distiller Donny LaFlamme was about to turn a large vat of alcohol into sweet corn vodka when he realized he could put it to better use.

With hand sanitizers flying off the shelves to help stave off the coronavirus, the Bay Area Distilling Co. founder knew his high-proof spirit was at the perfect stage to be turned into a sanitizer. Now he’s offering sanitizer spray to whomever needs it, free of charge, and is going to do a big public giveaway Friday and Sunday.

“I had only 10 cases of vodka left and I was about to start proofing it, and it was ironic that it was at enough percentage — 60% (to be a sanitizer),” LaFlamme said. “There’s no way that I could produce it overnight at that stage … but at the end of the day, I said, ‘I’m going to tell people to bring in their bottle and I am going to fill it up for them.’ ”

It helped that the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau had recently relaxed its policies to allow distillers to produce ethanol-based hand sanitizers, which must have at least 60% alcohol to be effective. Such sanitizers can kill a broad spectrum of microbes and viruses on hands, though not all types of germs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

LaFlamme, who normally sells whiskey and vodka, considered purchasing loads of spray bottles for his atomizing sanitizer, which he believes sanitizes better than the gel type because you can spray it. But after finding small bottles in short supply, he decided to let community members bring their own to be filled.

His first weekend offering of the free spray sanitizer in late March drew hundreds of residents who stood in a line that wrapped around his building on Elkins Way for the chance to fill up a single 6-ounce bottle each. LaFlamme estimates he poured some 2,000 bottles’ worth on those two days and is planning two more giveaways — this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. or as long as supplies last.

“Being the first distillery (in Contra Costa County), we really want to get it out to our people. … People were thankful but I was happy to give out the product. People were trying to give us money but that’s not why we’re doing this. I said, ‘just stay safe out there.’ ”

LaFlamme said he believes sanitizer, in the form of an atomizer, is the most effective “pathogen killer and deterrent” for the spread of coronavirus.

“Spray it on your clothes, your steering wheel, this product can be sprayed everywhere,” he said. “Especially spray things that are touched a lot. Being able to disinfect everything is a great way to deter this whole thing.”

Brentwood nurse Synedra Brumfield was one of those who lined up for the first giveaway when she learned of it on social media. She got some to bring to her coworkers at the Alta Bates Surgery Center.

“It (sanitizer) was sold out everywhere I went — even online,” she said. “It was nice that he had an option to do this….It is definitely becoming a growing issue that needs to be fixed quickly.”

Brumfield returned the following day to get some more of the eucalyptus-enhanced spray sanitizer and offer a gift to the workers at the distillery: a small bundle of the N-95 masks.

“I think it was pretty awesome what they did,” Brumfield said of the distillery.

The Brentwood distiller said he has since been bombarded with emails and calls, including from government agencies, which he plans to work with as well. He’s also donated the product to local police and plans to give some to the fire department next, he said.

Less than 30 miles away, in Livermore, the owners of Sutherland Distilling Co. found themselves making a similar change in their operations last month, and their spirits — whiskey, bourbon, gin, rum and vodka — gave way to sanitizer.

Eric Larimer, who co-owns the distillery with brothers Ryan and Barry Sutherland, said when their tasting room was forced to shut down because of the pandemic, they began making the mist sanitizer using the World Health Organization’s recipe.

“The more people are doing proper hand washing or using hand sanitizer, it’s effective,” he said. “It’ll cut back on transmissions.”

The distillers initially took their tanks of would-be bourbon and gin and redistilled them into 300 gallons of sanitizer liquid. Now they’re making between 500 and 600 gallons each week, Larimer said.

The liquid was redistilled until it exceeded 80% alcohol and then it was compounded with glycerin, hydrogen peroxide and water, he explained.

And though bulk alcohol has become scarce, the Livermore distillers recently found an unexpected source to make their product when an Acampo winery, LangeTwins Family Winery, donated 3,5000 gallons of wine to the cause. The wine was redistilled to make 350 gallons of sanitizer, Larimer said.

Larimer, who also works as a paramedic, said the distillery so far has only been able to offer the product to health-care workers, nursing homes, hospitals, first responders and others who must be out in the community.

“Unfortunately, we can’t produce enough for everybody — we have to prioritize,” he said, noting they will continue to make it as long as there is a need.

“There’s a lot of distilleries that have started doing this and we would love to give it away but we would have to shut down,” he added. “Once we can get caught up with filling the needs of health-care workers we would like to make it available to the public.”

Related Articles Alameda County has reported a huge COVID-19 death total in recent weeks. Here’s why.

Pac-12 football will be back in 2020, but the specifics remain a mystery

There’s live theater to see in the East Bay — all you need is GPS

Pac-12 football: Cal, Stanford working to return but local health officials must sign off

California recalls N95 masks from Santa Clara company with $90 million state contract For his part, Brentwood’s LaFlamme said he’s happy to see other distillers making sanitizer, especially the spray-mist kind.

“The more the merrier — I want to see every single distiller do what we are doing,” he said. “It felt like it was an obligation to do this — our California distillers can unite and do it — and we will be prepared if needed to switch our business over again for atomizer sanitizers.”

To learn more about Bay Area Distilling Co. go to http://bayareadistilling.com.

For more on Sutherland Distilling Co., go to http://sutherlanddistilling.com.