I am new to brewing. Not exactly. Years ago the locals made "homebrew". It wasn't called beer, but was a near beer, brewed by mixing a can of Blue Ribbon Malt, two packs of yeast, 5 lbs. of sugar and 5 gals of water. Sometimes fruit or raisins were added. I understand it could be made with molasses instead of malt. What was this. Is it beer? Technically? I made it once or twice. It is very tasty cold, but not like beer. The alcohol content is similar to beer. Can anyone tell me what this substance really is?