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[SixOfSpades]

Random idea: A creature whose milk is already alcoholic. This animal would almost certainly be a ruminant with a branching digestive system, enabling it to ferment high-energy foods (fruit, grain) in its "side-shunt" stomach, while its main GI tract carries on processing its regular diet of grasses. Such a gut would probably require the beast to be fairly large, but apart from that it could look like anything.

The weird thing is that this is actually plausible--we've certainly got animals with multiple stomachs already, so adding a branch is hardly an outlandish mutation. The heat generated from the fermentation would help keep the creature warm in colder seasons/climates, and the higher alcohol content in its blood (and passed on to its young through the milk) might make it more resistant to infection. The side-stomach could also function something like a camel's hump, filling with food when it's plentiful and releasing booze during lean times.

[madpathmoth]

That's an interesting idea.  I imagine "milk" from said creature would probably still require processing in some way to be turned into a preserved/barreled alcoholic beverage, but at the same time, it might be able to be consumed "raw" to at least fulfil a dwarf's need for alcohol without causing the same negative thoughts that only having access to water can?

[SixOfSpades]

Yeah, I'd say so. I think I'll assume that the milk of the Alebelly is generally equivalent to kumis by default (roughly as alcoholic as weak beer), although it can later be refined by distillation. The question, though, is whether or not such a low concentration would be of any health benefit at all to the alebelly or its young--although on the other hand, the alcohol content in its bloodstream could potentially be higher than in its milk.

Also, since its booze production is dependent on the quality of its diet, it could easily wax & wane seasonally, even if its milk production were to remain constant.

And would the cheese made of this milk also bear detectable hints of alcohol? I have contacted a cheese-and-booze sommelier to help probe this fascinating mystery. Answers pending, eventually.

[brewer bob]

The heat generated from the fermentation would help keep the creature warm in colder seasons/climates, and the higher alcohol content in its blood (and passed on to its young through the milk) might make it more resistant to infection.

Reminded me of the crucian carp, which survives in anoxic  conditions during winter "by anaerobic respiration, with ethanol as the major metabolic end product".

[SixOfSpades]

Reminded me of the crucian carp, which survives in anoxic  conditions during winter "by anaerobic respiration, with ethanol as the major metabolic end product".

Oooh! The ability to cope with low-oxygen conditions could very easily originate as an adaptation to life in caves.

And would the cheese made of this milk also bear detectable hints of alcohol?

Turns out Cheese Lady didn't know--she thinks the aging process could either destroy or intensify any alcohol content, so she's not sure . . . but in this case I think I'll take the absence of evidence as evidence of absence under the logic that, if it were possible to make a booze cheese, someone would certainly have done so by now.

[Bumber]

Reminded me of the crucian carp, which survives in anoxic  conditions during winter "by anaerobic respiration, with ethanol as the major metabolic end product".

No doubt an adaptation to lure in unwary dwarves.

[SixOfSpades]

No doubt an adaptation to lure in unwary dwarves.

Well in the carp's case, likely the only way for a dwarf to enjoy the carp's ethanol would be to eat said carp, so that'd hardly be a beneficial adaptation.
But for the alebelly, alcoholic milk would be an excellent reason for dwarves to want to domesticate the creature & raise it as livestock, greatly increasing its odds of reproductive success. Repeated generations of tame alebellies might even lead to their alcohol content increasing due to artificial selection (whether the dwarves actually knew they were doing it or not).

On another note, the gases produced as byproducts of the fermentation process could theoretically be held inside the body to increase buoyancy, effectively turning the side stomach into a sort of swim bladder. It might be worth considering the alebelly as a (semi-)aquatic creature.

[anewaname]

So, that process of storing the alcohol for future use, it could stored in a powdered or jellied form, maybe in the fat layer of the creature. If it is a high enough octane, then it also is a self-defense mechanism verse most creatures.

What organism is doing the fermenting in those fermentation sacs? Is the host or the symbiote in charge?

[FantasticDorf]

Mmm booze made from cave carp caviar.

[A_Curious_Cat]

This is starting to sound better and better…

[Bumber]

No doubt an adaptation to lure in unwary dwarves.

Well in the carp's case, likely the only way for a dwarf to enjoy the carp's ethanol would be to eat said carp, so that'd hardly be a beneficial adaptation.

Can't be eaten by a drowned dwarf.

[Eric Blank]

Ive done something almost like this for Spellcrafts, the Root Deer which produces a sap that can be brewed into alcohol (or sugar, syrup), and its something that would fit in regions associated with magic and spheres like partying, maybe not a unique creature but a variant or randomly generated one that can be milked for alcohol. A possibility for a myth and magic release effect.

[SixOfSpades]

So, the aforementioned crucian carp makes & excretes ethanol in response to an anoxic environment, a process made feasible by the very cold water & the fish's low metabolism. That doesn't sound at all like an air-breathing, high-metabolism, lactating mammal. So from now on, I think I'll explore the alebelly as two completely separate creatures.

I should point out that spiking one's body cells with alcohol will not make one's flesh toxic to other creatures. Ethanol is indeed a toxin, just a rather weak one--it's simply far easier to biologically produce than other actual poisons. In addition to what's listed in examples of animal intoxication in nature, I should point out that elephants, great apes, and some birds have been seen intentionally getting drunk by preferentially selecting and eating overripe fruits. And if some animals can willingly get drunk for recreation, then obviously turning oneself into a walking liquor store is hardly going to be a deterrent for them. Of course, not all predators will exhibit that behavior; a carnivore's gut is very different from a herbivore's, and after all, if alcohol is poisonous to dogs, then it's almost certain to effect wolves the same way.

tl;dr--storing alcohol in body tissues would likely deter some predators, but not all, and indeed might even encourage some of them.

So, that process of storing the alcohol for future use, it could stored in a powdered or jellied form, maybe in the fat layer of the creature. If it is a high enough octane, then it also is a self-defense mechanism verse most creatures.

This would make a lot of sense, especially for the fish. Assuming the alebelly could adapt (at least some of) its cells to tolerate levels of ethanol that would be toxic in other creatures, it could store the alcohol either in the fat just underneath the skin, or the skin itself. Any creature biting the alebelly would have to get through the ethanol-laden rind first--whether the alebelly itself lives or dies, its predator would feel effects ranging from a bad taste in the mouth, to being disoriented for a while, to actual alcohol poisoning. In addition, storing ethanol just below the surface means that the alebelly could use it for active defense: If startled by a predator, the alebelly could release some ethanol from pores in its skin, creating a cloud of water that stings a fish's gills . . . somewhat like a squid squirting ink before jetting away.

In an underground cave with zero light (even after the Light arc & cavern revamp, there would still likely be plenty of dark places), naturally animals exhibiting warning coloration would be impossible . . . but what surface animals can do with color, the alebelly could do with flavor.

What organism is doing the fermenting in those fermentation sacs? Is the host or the symbiote in charge?

Like all animals, the alebelly's digestion uses microflora to do the heavy lifting: Bacteria break down what the creature eats, and excrete byproducts; the host animal itself then metabolizes those byproducts into energy. This process already includes natural fermentation in some animals--I'm simply giving alebellies a side-stomach to provide a chamber where the food can ferment for longer without disrupting the animal's need to eat.

I'm picturing the alebelly mammal as something like a moose: Large, ruminant, mammalian, mostly land-based but no stranger to water either. I toyed with it being more like a manatee, but the principal draw of the animal was alcoholic milk, and can you picture dwarves milking a manatee? The alebelly doesn't need to be as tall or muscular as a moose, or as good a natural swimmer: With the extra stomach acting as a swim bladder (even if it isn't actively producing gases through fermentation, the beast can simply just swallow air), it can devote 100% of its energy to propulsion, instead of merely staying afloat.

Further Reading:
Ethanol can be used as a biological energy source, but only sparingly--overreliance on it leads to buildup of toxic byproducts and cell death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_metabolism

Auto-Brewery syndrome sounds like something that might crop up in an episode of Dr. House.

Ive done something almost like this for Spellcrafts, the Root Deer which produces a sap that can be brewed into alcohol (or sugar, syrup), and its something that would fit in regions associated with magic and spheres like partying, maybe not a unique creature but a variant or randomly generated one that can be milked for alcohol.

Neat. Other possibilities: Alcoholic urine and/or musk, animals attracting mates or marking their territory with smells like whiskey or wine.