. : Aeole. ee OP rs ht ee He ane Ql a FS Phe ae ee & habs 
TACs t in e ths SW Myth ee Soy 
y x : ; y 2 A i! Pee oS mori ~~ 
196 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, — 
‘ing barrels andhops. Of course the quantities brought into the beer 
in this way are very small. na 
Of the samples examined by the Department, Nos. 4804—6-10-13 
and 14 gave slight tests for the presence of sulphurous acid, but only 
one (No. 4815) gave sufficient evidence to justify the assertion that.a 
‘sulphite had been added to it. I have not been able to find any re- 
corded instance of sulphurous acid being found in American beers. 
BORAX. 
This agent, although used very extensively in preserving meats, 
vegetables, and canned goods, does not seem to have been applied to 
malt liquors to any great extent, although it has been found in wines. 
Its use is prohibited in France and Germany. None of-the samples 
examined gave any test for borax. 
In conclusion of the work on preservatives, it may be noted that 
‘it was done during the cold weather of January, February, and 
March. It is quite probable that during warm weather the use of 
preservative agents is still more general than shown by the analyses. 
MINERAL ADDITIONS. 
The presence of lead, copper, or zinc, sometimes observed in malt 
liquors, is due usually to the use of brass faucets or lead pipes by the 
retailer in drawing off the liquor or in filling bottles. The amount 
of these metals taken up by acid liquors in this way is quite small 
usually, but may be considerable if they are long left in contact with 
the metallic surface. Thus the first glass drawn from a faucet in the 
morning is apt to contain considerable copper and zinc in solution. 
In Paris the apparatus used for drawing beer is subject to super- 
vision, and a frequent cleansing and proper kind of material is in- 
sisted on. The Brooklyn Department of Health issued an order in 
1886 prohibiting the use of unprotected brass faucets in drawing 
beer, but its enforcement has not been insisted on.* Analyses made 
for the board by Otto Grothe of ales drawn through pumps showed 
small quantities of copper, zinc, and lead in every case. f 
Alum is sometimes used asa clarifying agent in the brewing of 
beer. 
BICARBONATE OF SODA. 
This salt is added to beer for the purpose either of correcting an 
undue acidity of the beer, resulting from improper brewing, or of ~ 
imparting to it an increased ‘‘head” or content of carbonic acid gas, 
or for both purposes. The salt is decomposed by the free acid of the 
beer and the gas liberated, lactate and acetate of soda being left dis- 
solved in the beer. This seems to be purely an American practice; 
at least I have failed to find any mention of it in European authori- 
ties. Some of them mention the use of marble dust or magnesia for 
the correction of acidity, but very little consideration is given to the 
subject. In this country, however, it seems to be very wide-spread. 
It may be necessary to explain to a non-scientific reader that the 
bicarbonate does not remain in the beer as bicarbonate, unless there 
is an amount added in excess of the quantity of free acid present In 
the beer. This free acid (mostly acetic in soured beers, but due 
chiefly to acid phosphates in normai beers) combines with the bicar- 
* Annual Report Dept. Health, City of Brooklyn, 1886, Pp. 87; ‘and 1887, p. 63. 
+ Ibid. 
