Wine and spirit [moonshine] are very different - moonshine is distilled - wine is simply fermented. There is a limit to the possible strength of wine as the alcohol eventually kills off the yeast that is producing it [brandy, which is stronger for example is a fortified wine ie it has alcohol added to it. Distilling is a continuation of the process and involves heating up the brew and condensing out the resultant vapours thus taking the alcohol level much higher. Both commercial and I suspect 'other' spirit must be diluted and would be pretty unusable straight from the stillYou can get "moonshine" at most liquor stores these days, there are a variety of brands available. I've had both the home made and commercial versions and wasn't really crazy about either to be honest. Neither were particularly strong relative to your standard bottle of booze. However, with regards to the home made stuff, that could have simply been a result of them diluting it to a safe enough level to drink when bottling it. I'm not saying all home made moonshine isn't strong, it can certainly be made so, I just personally haven't had any.
Regular commercially available liquor at 80 or 100 proof is plenty strong, I don't really see the appeal of trying to find something stronger to drink.
My grandparents used to make their own wine when I was younger, aka "dago red", which was usually a bit stronger than your typical bottled wine, but again, much of that is a lot of folklore and embellishment. They didn't make their own wine because of some love of wine making, they did it to save money (they lived middle-lower class).
Only if you sell it? Or is it illegal to make it too?Its illegal over here!
If you're making it, you'll be avoiding excise duty at best.Only if you sell it? Or is it illegal to make it too?
Local brew was Websters, now gone. After that, two micro breweries and a "mobile" one.Wine and spirit [moonshine] are very different - moonshine is distilled - wine is simply fermented. There is a limit to the possible strength of wine as the alcohol eventually kills off the yeast that is producing it [brandy, which is stronger for example is a fortified wine ie it has alcohol added to it. Distilling is a continuation of the process and involves heating up the brew and condensing out the resultant vapours thus taking the alcohol level much higher. Both commercial and I suspect 'other' spirit must be diluted and would be pretty unusable straight from the still
I must admit I am surprised that no-one seems to have a working opinion of their 'local' brew some of which must have histories going back almost as far [if not farther than] as the 'real' stuff.
Local brew was Websters, now gone. After that, two micro breweries and a "mobile" one.
Then onto Leeds & Tetley.
Scottish and Newcastle were the last owners. And from where I am now, I can see the site. Or would be able if the fog cleared.Websters - I remember having that in Halifax in around 1986. The brewery was owned by the dreaded Watney's at that time. Courage bought it later on and then shut the place down (the brewery, not Halifax). I can't say I liked the beer much, but beers brewed under the flags of the big nationals at the time were rarely much to get excited about.