"spamtrap1888" > wrote in message
...
On Jan 22, 9:53 pm, "Paul M. Cook" > wrote:

> Beer is regulated at the federal level.

Yes, and at the state level.

> Any beer over 5% alcohol is
> labelled and taxed as liquor.

No. Some states require beers over X% of alcohol to be labeled "malt
liquor." Other states give a pass to strong beers labeled "ale, stout,
porter," etc. The feds (formerly ATF, now TTB) don't care. (The feds
come into play by requiring beers labeled ale, etc. to to be fermented
at higher temperatures than lagers.)

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Being a beer brewer I disagree. Ales, stouts and porters brew at warmer
temperatures because they use different yeasts. Lager yeasts ferments on
the bottom of the tank at temperatures in the 30s where ale yeasts are top
fermenting at around 62-68F. They produce much different products. Ales,
stouts and porters are entirely different especially in the yeast they use.
It's not a government creation. You can extract as much alcohol from a
lager or a pilsener than you can an ale. It all depends on the yeast's
alcohol tolerance and the amount of fermentables. I have brewed lagers in
the 8% range.

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> What makes it odd is wine is 11-13% an yet it
> does not have the same restriction. That's more an example of lobbying
> than
> anything else.

It's more of an act of God than anything else. If you ferment fully
ripe grapes, the resulting beverage will be 11 to 17% alcohol
(assuming the yeast don't die first). Beer is traditionally 5% alcohol
by volume, although light beers contain less alcohol. The famous "3.2"
that was the first legal beer after Prohibition, was 3.2% by weight,
or 4% by volume.

--------

I was referring to the exclusion of wine and its ratio of taxation compared
to brewed beverages. Wine is not taxed like beer is on its alcohol volume.
Wine is taxed at a flat rate even if it is fortified wine. It's not fair
and beer drinkers have complained for ages about it.

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(The Volstead Act made an exception for low alcohol beverages, because
even fruit juices can contain 0.5% alcohol. Therefore they set the
limit of allowable alcohol at 0.5%. This limit was boosted to 3.2%
once the 21st Amendment started to show traction.)

>
> > I don't think we can get the airline bottles here. I did look for them
> > when I used to make fruitcake. Didn't see them at the liquor store. But
> > I could get them at the military store in MA.
>
> Just get a regular bottle. It keeps forever. Use it year after year. I
> happen to really like fruitcake soaked in rum. Yum.
>

Not the bottles of booze I have had. Bottles that I had opened years
ago seemed to have lost both flavor and alcohol. I'd get a half-pint.

--------------

You're doing something wrong. Kept right it never spoils. It never really
changes much unless you are talking maybe 3 or 4 decades. I've tasted
opened bottles of Scotch from the 80s that tasted like they were just
opened. They never age or improve though like wine does.

Paul