What would happen if the reaction of reduction of carboxylic acids by LiAlH4 is carried out in alcohol?
Alcohols are not an ideal solvent for LiAlH4, but the main issue is that there is no carboxylic center to where the hydride transfer from LiAlH4 can take place.



So in this case, the side-reaction between alcohol and LiAlH4 can be regarded to be minimal and the major product will be the alcohol produced from the carboxylic acid.

P.S. : A diagrammatic representation of the reactions for LiAlH4