"THAT BAD BEVERAGE, BEER" 369 



but by no means solely, derived from malted cereals of various 

 kinds, the flavour being given by hops or by such ingredients 

 as the anise or fennel mentioned by Hagecius, and doubtless 

 added in conformity with the demands of custom or fashion. 

 It is evident that the glib modern use of the term " pure beer," 

 with its narrow application to a product of fancied merit, to be 

 composed solely of hops and malted barley, is without historical 

 sanction. Nor is it unreasonable to inquire on what grounds 

 the modern brewer is to be forbidden to utilise 10 or 15 per 

 cent, of the starchy endosperm of maize or of rice in the place 

 of a similar quantity of malted barley. Even if he should elect 

 to use cane-sugar or dextrose as a substitute, it is difficult to see 

 that he thereby violates the purity of the resulting product; 

 unless, indeed, we are to interpret the term "pure beer" in the 

 pedantic and misleading fashion of certain extremists, whose 

 steadfast abhorrence of alcohol apparently fails to yield either 

 a wholesome sobriety of judgment or a temperate expression 

 of opinion. The limitation of the description "pure" to the 

 preparation derived from hops and barley is comparatively 

 recent and was due in the first instance to the interested efforts 

 of those who were concerned with maintaining the selling 

 price of barley at a competitive figure. 



With regard to the vaunted excellence and purity of the ale 

 of our grandfathers, so often quoted by the " pure beer " party, 

 interesting information may be gathered from the instructions 

 given by one Alexander Marrice in his Art of Brewing, published 

 in 1837. For "Reading Beer" the following substances are 

 recommended : Malt, hops, grains of Paradise, coriander seeds, 

 sugar, Indian bark. For " London Ale " the addition of orange 

 powder, salt of tartar, and bean flower is suggested ; while for 

 " Windsor Ale," orange pea, honey, and licorice were added. 

 To a generation anxious for purity, the recipe for " Scurvy-grass 

 Ale" should prove interesting. It runs thus: "Malt (5 qr.), 

 garden scurvy grass (5 bushels), hops (25 lb.), Alexandrium 

 senna (2 lb.), molasses (10 lb.). During the fermentation one 

 pound of sliced horseradish to be placed in a net and thrown 

 into the tun." These efforts are wholly eclipsed, however, by 

 the olla podrida suggested by a Mr. Mackenzie, and designated 

 by him " London Porter." This concoction was to contain 

 malt (1 qr.), hops (8 lb.), treacle (6 lb.), licorice-root (8 lb.), 

 essentia bina (8 lb.), colouring (8 lb.), Spanish licorice (2 oz.), 



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