Distillation vs. brewingRe: HERB - citing, ahem, newage mater ials in handouts...

Knaus, Robert F. robert.knaus at unisys.com
Mon May 8 12:00:59 PDT 2000


Brewing is a process of fermentation, which is not a direct chemical
reaction but a biochemical one.
It involves the use of a yeast culture.
Fermentation cannot produce high alcohol content (wines top out around 20 -
30 % I believe) because when they get any higher the alcohol kills the yeast
and production stops.
Distillation is the process of increasing the alcoholic content through a
chemical means (freezing is the simplest, but fractional distillation also
highly favored - this involves essentially boiling off the non-alcoholic
parts).
In most of the US (and here in Texas to be sure) both are regulated.
Brewing is allowed for home manufacture as long as it is not sold, and only
limited quantities are made (presumably for home use).  Distillation, being
by nature a more dangerous process - both in the methods and in the products
- is verboten without a license.
Brewing licenses are fairly expensive.  Distilling licenses are
prohibitively so.
There are several breweries and wineries in Texas, there has been exactly
one (1) distillery - and that within the last year.
Since Texas has had these same laws (or variations upon) for quite some
time, these numbers indicate that the laws intent has been fulfilled.
Distillation (at least legal distillation) has been more or less squashed.

Al-yesari
(darn it, distillation is period for me - my culture did name it!)


-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Temple [mailto:noxcat at hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2000 1:32 PM
To: herbalist at ansteorra.org
Subject: Distillation vs. brewingRe: HERB - citing, ahem, newage
materials in handouts...


Because brewing and distillation are different processes. From an alcohol 
standpoint, one usually distills something that is already alcoholic, 
thereby making it more alcoholic. Alcohol being a toxic drug, it is highly 
regulated.

Lady Katerine Rowley
Bryn Gwlad, Ansteorra
mka
Mary K. Temple
Austin, Texas (where we've had several alcohol poisoning deaths in the past 
couple of years.)

>Now a ? for you.  You said:
>
><<
>it is illegal in
>the US to
>make sweet waters by distillation
>(because of the alcohol
>component),
> >>
>?  People can brew their own mead, wine, etc. for their own
>use, so why not this?  Please enlighten me.
>
>Serian
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