[Charles Martel]

To take the batch beyond that, to a higher alcohol content, you must distill or fortify it something other than true beer or wine. (Examples: brandies, ports, sherries, liquors,etc.)

IIRC, BrewDog in Scotland used a freezing process to force water out of the brew and raise the ABV. I suppose that's a type of distilling.

[drpix]

Light years beyond boiling fermented corn mash to separate the water.