CHAPTER VT. 



MALT, BEER, SPIRIT. 



Setting aside skill in process of manufacture, malt, beer, 

 and spirits depend for their production mainly on the 

 exertion of the vital forces with which barley and 

 other seeds are endowed, and the peculiar properties of 

 the yeast plant. 



I have before spoken of the wonderful vigour ex- 

 hibited by barley seeds when placed in favourable cir- 

 cumstances. Indeed, we have only to steep the grain 

 in cold water for a few hours to convince ourselves 

 of the change this simple medium is enabled to exert 

 upon it in a short time. The maltster, in converting 

 barley into malt, strives to imitate as closely as possible 

 the natural growth of the seed when placed in soil, and 

 for this purpose he has to supply it with moisture and 

 a certain degree of warmth. The first of these objects 

 is attained by steeping the grain in cold water for about 

 fifty hours, changing the water once during this interval. 

 At the completion of this stage of the process the grain 



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