MISCELLANEOUS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND PRODUCTS 631 



tation then starts spontaneously, alcohol being produced by the action 

 of several yeasts and lactic acid by bacteria, both present accidentally. 

 In about two weeks the moto is ready. The last stage is the principal 

 fermentation which occurs on mixing together steamed rice, koji, moto 

 and water. This requires two weeks. The liquid is then separated, 

 cleared and stored. It contains a considerable amount of alcohol and 

 can be kept and aged like wine. Sake is said to average 18 per cent 

 of alcohol and may reach 24 per cent, the highest alcohol content 

 known to be produced bv fermentation. 



POMBE is a kind of beer made in Africa from millet seed by sprouting 

 to saccharify the starch and subsequent spontaneous fermentation in 

 water. It is interesting as the source of the genus Schizosaccharomyces 

 which appears to take the main part in the fermentation. 



GINGER BEER is an acid, slightly alcoholic beverage made by the 

 fermentation of a 10 to 20 per cent solution of sugar containing a few 

 pieces of ginger root. The fermentation is induced by adding small 

 pieces of the so-called ginger-beer plant which consists of Bact. vermi- 

 jorme and S. pyriformis. The bacteria form a thick gelatinous sheath 

 and seem to live symbiotically with the yeast, each developing best 

 in the presence of the other. 



DISTILLED ALCOHOL 



INTRODUCTION 



USES AND SOURCES OF ALCOHOL. Distilled alcohol is used as a 

 beverage and a medicine or for innumerable purposes in the arts and 

 industries. Certain methods and sources employed for the latter pur- 

 poses are inadmissible for the former. 



In all cases, it is made by the preparation from saccharine or starchy 

 substances of a sugar solution suitable for the work of yeast, the 

 fermentation of this solution, and, finally, the distillation of the alcoholic 

 liquid. 



Where the raw materials are sugary, methods similar to those of 

 wine-making, and where starchy, to those of brewing, are employed, 

 modified to suit the conditions of each case. 



The principal potable alcohols are brandy, made from grapes, rum 

 from sugar cane, and whiskey from rye or other grains. Many other 



