# Is making high alcohol beer really this cheap and easy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [August 11, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574 "2008-08-11T04:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/1 "2008-08-11T04:32:30Z")
[Pineapple Beer](http://www.daisyrecipes.iblog.co.za/2007/03/30/pineapple-beer/) I thought brewing beer was big deal, but this only takes a day or two, and you can drink for almost nothing! All it takes is warm water, sugar, yeast, and a pineapple! ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/2 "2008-08-11T04:39:51Z")
In prison, that’s what they call pruno, and you usually brew it in the toilet tank (well, in a baggy). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/3 "2008-08-11T04:47:22Z")
too late!! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/4 "2008-08-11T11:12:43Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] In prison, that’s what they call pruno, and you usually brew it in the toilet tank (well, in a baggy). [/QUOTE] Yep, sounds like [Pruno](http://www.blacktable.com/gillin030901.htm) to me. And the “use after 1 or 2 days” line **really** doesn’t inspire confidence. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/5 "2008-08-11T11:42:32Z")
Also if someone told you brewing real beer is a big deal you’ve been lied to. There is some initial investment in equipment but the basic process couldn’t be much easier. Of course one can make it much more complicated if one wants to. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/6 "2008-08-11T11:48:15Z")
Brewing good beer, however, can be quite tricky ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/7 "2008-08-11T13:08:24Z")
We used to call such popskull “gatorhol” in college although the origins of the name are lost in the mists of antiquity. Almost any type of fruit juice can be fermented, although we were never able to get a citrus potion to work… ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/8 "2008-08-11T13:59:33Z")
[QUOTE=DrFidelius] although we were never able to get a citrus potion to work… [/QUOTE] Not sure if that was a serious statement or not, but Citrus fruits contain enough acid that it makes life hard for yeast. Although not impossible, if you leave orange juice in the fridge for 15 months you will get a fermenty bite. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-making-high-alcohol-beer-really-this-cheap-and-easy/459574/9 "2008-08-11T14:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Brewing good beer, however, can be quite tricky [/QUOTE] That would be my take on it. I am not much of a wine or beer expert, so the goodness of the good stuff is probably lost on me. On the flips side of that, I have learned to at least tolerate crappy/cheap beer/wine/booze. Almost every homemade beer I have had usually goes like this: “Hey, try this batch, its the best yet!”…drink beer…“okay, I could stomach that if I had to”…“yeah, its pretty crappy, but the best so far…” You want something that you can likely drink without struggling to get it down. Ferment the fruit juice of your choice. For any one I am sure can get directions on the internet. Put a tiny umbrella in it and enjoy. Blll