Answers.Body: <p>Whisky is a distilled spirit from (a usually hopless) beer that is then matured for a certain amount of time in wood. Time, wood type, and grains used in the beer depend on the local laws of whisky production.</p>
  <p>But no, beer and whisky are certainly not the same.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: d4zed
Answers.Body: <p>Three considerable differences, at a macro level:</p>
  <ul>
  <li><p>The &quot;beer&quot; which goes into a typical whisky is not really drinkable. It isn't brewed for taste - it is brewed for properties which will produce a good whisky.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Going from a low alcohol liquid like beer to a spirit requires distillation. This process doesn't just increase the alcohol concentration, it removes a lot of the compounds of the initial liquid.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>The raw spirit distilled isn't whisky at this point, in fact it could be made into various things. What makes it whisky is then the maturation process in wooden casks for years, during which compounds leach from the wood giving the whisky colour and flavour.</p>
  </li>
  </ul>
  <p>The two are basically entirely different, other than being liquids.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
Answers.Body: <p>Beer is related to whisky the same way that wine is related to brandy.</p>
  <p>If grains are fermented to produce a low-alcohol beverage, it is beer.
  If grains are fermented and the resulting product (which is not meant to taste good for drinking) is distilled, and the high-alcohol distilate is aged in oak barrels that have been burnt inside, the result is whisky.<br />
  (If one cares only about the alcohol content and so doesn't bother to age it, the product is &quot;moonshine&quot; or &quot;white lightning&quot;.)</p>
  <p>If fruit is used rather than grain and the barrels are <em>not</em> burnt, the corresponding products are wine and brandy.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2023-09-20T07:32:49.853Z
Answers.Text: Why has this answer been downvoted?  Is it inaccurate?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Amazon Dies In Darkness
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Answers.Text: @AmazonDiesInDarkness - I'm guessing because it is rather incorrect. For example there is no requirement for a whisky to be aged in barrels that are burnt inside. Most aren't.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Answers.Text: @RoryAlsop says "*Most aren't.*" — Do you have a reference for that?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ray Butterworth
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Answers.Text: Other than working in distilleries in Scotland as a teenager, visiting almost all the distilleries in the country, and helping set up a new distillery with an experienced master distiller? No :-)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Answers.Text: @RoryAlsop says to take his word for it. Sorry, but I don't consider that an authoritative reference.
  ¶[The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia](https://www.smws.com.au/learn-more-about-cask-types/#:~:text=Let's%20start%20with%20the%20mighty,of%20bourbon%20distillers%20in%20America.) says "*Barrels are made from charred American white oak and generally imported to Scotland by way of bourbon distillers in America.*".
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ray Butterworth
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Answers.Text: That is also incorrect in that it only describes a small portion. I think you are cherrypicking to serve your needs.In reality, some barrels are american oak, some are serbian oak, some are from various other countries. Some are bourbon, some are port, some come from other sources. I have been doing this for over 40 years, so sorry, I am going to trust all the Scottish master distillers I speak to. And the specialists I meet at the SMWS in Edinburgh.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Answers.Text: Even for the most recent whisky my distillery produced, we used American Oak for initial ageing, and Serbian oak for finishing. The first cask was lightly charged (by me) and the finishing cask wasn't.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Answers.CreationDate: 2024-12-01T16:03:15.073Z
Answers.Text: @RoryAlsop, all I'm asking for is a citation from some recognized authoritative source (as opposed to personal empirical evidence) that says that *most whisky is not* aged in charred oak.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ray Butterworth
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Answers.CreationDate: 2024-12-01T18:10:22.197Z
Answers.Text: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/156464/discussion-between-rory-alsop-and-ray-butterworth).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Ray Butterworth
Body: <p>I was reading the articles about how beer and whisky are made:</p>
  <ul>
  <li><a href="https://plygenind.com/whisky-making-process-a-step-by-step-guide/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Whisky making process – A step-by-step guide</a></li>
  <li><a href="https://plygenind.com/steps-of-beer-brewing-process/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Steps of beer brewing process</a></li>
  </ul>
  <p>It occurred to me that beer and whisky are basically the same?</p>
  <p>The only difference is the alcohol concentration, basically whisky has a distillation step to concentrate the alcohol?</p>
  <p>It's a surprising find to me. Did I miss something?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-07-14T15:40:40.837Z
Comments.Text: Both beer and whiskey start with water. Does that mean beer, whiskey and water are basically the same thing?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Eric S
Tags: <brewing><distillation><whisky>
Title: What is the difference between beer and whisky?
UserDisplayName: Z Z
ThreadText: # What is the difference between beer and whisky?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2023-07-11)
  
  I was reading the articles about how beer and whisky are made:
  
  * [Whisky making process – A step-by-step guide](https://plygenind.com/whisky-making-process-a-step-by-step-guide/)
  * [Steps of beer brewing process](https://plygenind.com/steps-of-beer-brewing-process/)
  
  It occurred to me that beer and whisky are basically the same?
  
  The only difference is the alcohol concentration, basically whisky has a distillation step to concentrate the alcohol?
  
  It's a surprising find to me. Did I miss something?
  
  **Tags:** brewing, distillation, whisky
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Both beer and whiskey start with water. Does that mean beer, whiskey and water are basically the same thing?  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2023-07-12. Score: 3
  
  Whisky is a distilled spirit from (a usually hopless) beer that is then matured for a certain amount of time in wood. Time, wood type, and grains used in the beer depend on the local laws of whisky production.
  
  But no, beer and whisky are certainly not the same.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2023-07-24. Score: 2
  
  Three considerable differences, at a macro level:
  
  * The "beer" which goes into a typical whisky is not really drinkable. It isn't brewed for taste - it is brewed for properties which will produce a good whisky.
  * Going from a low alcohol liquid like beer to a spirit requires distillation. This process doesn't just increase the alcohol concentration, it removes a lot of the compounds of the initial liquid.
  * The raw spirit distilled isn't whisky at this point, in fact it could be made into various things. What makes it whisky is then the maturation process in wooden casks for years, during which compounds leach from the wood giving the whisky colour and flavour.
  
  The two are basically entirely different, other than being liquids.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2023-07-30. Score: 0
  
  Beer is related to whisky the same way that wine is related to brandy.
  
  If grains are fermented to produce a low-alcohol beverage, it is beer.
  If grains are fermented and the resulting product (which is not meant to taste good for drinking) is distilled, and the high-alcohol distilate is aged in oak barrels that have been burnt inside, the result is whisky.  
  (If one cares only about the alcohol content and so doesn't bother to age it, the product is "moonshine" or "white lightning".)
  
  If fruit is used rather than grain and the barrels are *not* burnt, the corresponding products are wine and brandy.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: Why has this answer been downvoted?  Is it inaccurate?  
  > **username_3**: @AmazonDiesInDarkness - I'm guessing because it is rather incorrect. For example there is no requirement for a whisky to be aged in barrels that are burnt inside. Most aren't.  
  > **username_4**: @RoryAlsop says "*Most aren't.*" — Do you have a reference for that?  
  > **username_3**: Other than working in distilleries in Scotland as a teenager, visiting almost all the distilleries in the country, and helping set up a new distillery with an experienced master distiller? No :-)  
  > **username_4**: @RoryAlsop says to take his word for it. Sorry, but I don't consider that an authoritative reference. ¶[The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia](https://www.smws.com.au/learn-more-about-cask-types/#:~:text=Let's%20start%20with%20the%20mighty,of%20bourbon%20distillers%20in%20America.) says "*Barrels are made from charred American white oak and generally imported to Scotland by way of bourbon distillers in America.*".  
  > **username_3**: That is also incorrect in that it only describes a small portion. I think you are cherrypicking to serve your needs.In reality, some barrels are american oak, some are serbian oak, some are from various other countries. Some are bourbon, some are port, some come from other sources. I have been doing this for over 40 years, so sorry, I am going to trust all the Scottish master distillers I speak to. And the specialists I meet at the SMWS in Edinburgh.  
  > **username_3**: Even for the most recent whisky my distillery produced, we used American Oak for initial ageing, and Serbian oak for finishing. The first cask was lightly charged (by me) and the finishing cask wasn't.  
  > **username_4**: @RoryAlsop, all I'm asking for is a citation from some recognized authoritative source (as opposed to personal empirical evidence) that says that *most whisky is not* aged in charred oak.  
  > **username_3**: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/156464/discussion-between-rory-alsop-and-ray-butterworth).  
  
  ---
  
  