BEVERAGES IN WAR-TIME ?i 



It may be asked what becomes of the food thus lost 

 in the course of beer-making. I have divided the 

 original constituents between man and his friends the 

 cow and the pig, the latter being only temporary 

 reservoirs, and returning the food to man in the form 

 of milk and bacon. When we use the grain for 

 brewing, however, we have other claimants, and some 

 of them are much more voracious than the pig even. 

 In preparing malt the grain is allowed to begin to 

 grow, and is then killed by heat, the object being to 

 change the starch of the grain to a soluble sugar. 

 This change entails the consumption of a certain 

 amount of energy which is afforded from the original 

 starch of the grain. Beer is then formed from the 

 malt by the action of yeast which changes the sugar 

 to alcohol. But the yeast plant can only grow and 

 cause this change if it is fed abundantly, and it does 

 this at the expense of the sugar obtained from the 

 seed. We have thus two greedy mouths to feed in 

 the formation of alcohol from grain: (i) the grain itself, 

 and (2) the yeast plant. The food that remains after 

 these have had their fill is consumed by man and 

 cattle, but the food consumed in the process of malting 

 and brewing would keep London for three weeks. 

 There may be political or social reasons for feeding 

 the yeast at the expense of the Londoner of that I am 

 not competent to judge- -physiologically and eco- 

 nomically it seems unjustifiable. It has been said of 

 old that " It is not meet to take the children's bread 

 and throw it unto the dogs ", but we are throwing it, 

 not to the friendly dog, but to organisms with which 

 we can only become acquainted by the aid of the 

 microscope. 



Alcohol is not being distilled for use as a beverage 

 at present, and I have therefore confined my remarks 

 to the brewing industry. A few figures may be given 



