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Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 7, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I'm not a hard liquor guy, so I cannot tell you, but I dabble in homebrewing, and as far as I understand all you need for alcohol is water, sugar, and yeast. I don't know how things work in Americaland, but in Europe there's no way to make either of these components add up to what you have to pay, after excise taxes are applied. Governments trying to ban home distilling is a pretty good indication of it being cost-efficient enough to be competitive with the store bought stuff.

Distilling requires a still, of course, which is considerably more capital and energy than simply brewing, which can be done in a jug.