J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 365 



use. Quite recently the same principle has been made use 

 of in regard to beer, which is still more liable than wine to 

 become sour. In this case, too, the success has been complete, 

 and immense quantities of malt liquors of various kinds, after 

 having been subjected to the process, are now shipped from 

 Germany to all parts of the world. The bottles, after being- 

 filled and well corked, are kept for about half an hour in a 

 water-bath having a temperature of 122 Fahrenheit, after 

 which the warm water is gradually replaced by cold, so as 

 to prevent too rapid cooling. In one of the experiments in- 

 stituted for determining the feasibility of the operation, four 

 bottles of the same kind of beer were well corked, and two of 

 them were submitted to the process in question, after which 

 all were introduced into a heated room in the vicinity of a 

 Stove, and kept at a temperature of between 70 and 80 for 

 four weeks. At the end of this time the prepared beer was 

 found to be perfectly clear and of a golden tint, with only a 

 slight deposit of granular matter at the bottom. The unpre- 

 pared beer, however, was found to have passed into an active 

 state of fermentation, turning completely sour, and one of 

 the bottles had burst in consequence. It is requisite^ how- 

 ever, in preparing beer by this method, that the corks be per- 

 fectly tight, and for this purpose the best Champagne corks 

 must be selected, and, if possible, soaked in a hot solution of 

 paraffine and some resin (as colophony), a composition which" 

 melts only at a temperature of 120. In this way the entire 

 percentage of carbonic acid of the beer will be retained in 

 the bottle, and the beer will be found capable of preservation 

 for an indefinite period of time. It is said that beer of any 

 quality can be kept in this way, the lightest and weakest be- 

 ing as susceptible of preservation as any other. 9 C, October, 

 1870,77. 



RESTORING SOUR BEER. 



It is said that beer or ale that has been soured by the con- 

 version of a portion of its alcohol into acetic acid may be 

 restored by passing it through a column of vegetable matter, 

 packed in a suitable vessel. Dried grains, wheat chaff, bran, 

 or other vegetable substances may be used as the filtering 

 material, and will be found, it is asserted, to retain the acid. 

 8 A, October 1,185. 



