We used to make vinegar out of bananas. Plantains, actually. Had to keep the kids out of it on its way to vinegar. One batch was taking forever, and seemed to be getting weaker instead of stronger--they were dipping it out and then adding water.
Wines can be made with most edible fruit, and some veg. When it's just called winw, it is assumed to be grape based. Other wines, such as elderberry (yum!), rowanberry and blackcurrant are known by their fruit name in front of the word wine. Wines can be made from flowers too (with added sugar). I used to make a rose petal wine for a friend. I thought it was disgusting and weak, but he loved it. Screef is right to point out that technically (real) cider (and perry) are a type of wine. They are not classed as such here for excise purposes (halleluya!!).
"Fermented beverages can be broadly classified by the foodstuff from which they are fermented. Beers are made from cereal grains or other starchy materials, wines and ciders from fruit juices, and meads from honey. Cultures around the world have made fermented beverages from numerous other foodstuffs, and local and national names for various fermented beverages abound."
I can't think of an alcoholic beverage that isn't made of fruit or vegetable: beer- barley (or wheat, corn...); cognac and wine- grapes; whiskey- barley, rye...; schnapps- apple, pear, plum...; etc.
Alcohol can be made from any fruit or vegetable, but the result is not necessarily drinkable. If you start with something poisonous (potato berries, for example), you will end up with something poisonous. There will be alcohol there, but also the rest of the stuff from the berry. Drinkable alcohol can be made from fruits that are not eatable, like crab apples (yes, I know some people do - I ate them regularly as a kid), but the start material must not be poisonous. And I would avoid mushrooms (and other fungi) too.
Malarson, cider can most definitely be alcoholic, though Americans are often not familiar with the alcoholic variety. One of the funnier travel articles I've read was written by a journalist who was traveling in France with his wife and toddler son. The parents didn't realize that the cider they were buying for the child was alcoholic until some French acquaintances asked them whether it was an American custom to get one's children drunk.
Suddenly, the toddler's unusually cooperative behavior at naptime was explained.
People from the UK only use cider to mean something fermented from apples. Non-alcoholic apple-juice is apple-juice. (GingeryNutt classes Woodpecker as apple-juice too, but that isn't quite true. It is fermented but not very strong.) This can cause disappointment when visiting the USA and trying to avoid Budweiser and such...
Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.