THE BREWING INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 465 



took a fancy to " three threads," a combination composed of these two, and 

 a black beer. The retailer had to draw this mixture from three different 

 casks, and the process was so inconvenient that it gave rise to the practice 

 of brewing a beer possessing the qualities of all three varieties. This beer 

 being drawn from one cask, came to be known by the name of " Entire 

 Butt," an appellation to which brewers for a long time adhered, and although 

 the circumstances which led to this designation have long ceased, stat 

 nominis itmbra, and the term is still retained by several brewers in London, 

 and may even to-day be seen on the signs and boards of many old-fashioned 

 London taverns. At a later period when this drink began to become 

 popular, it acquired the name of " porter," because at that time the porters 

 and labourers were the principal consumers. Thus Malone says porter was 

 a kind of strong beer so called because it was " much drunk by porters who 

 carry burdens," and this appellation has been retained to the present 

 time. 



The term " Stout " is often applied to this class of beer. Johnson defined 

 " stout " as a cant name for strong beer, and it is used in this sense by Swift, 

 but the term " stout " is now employed either as a synonym for porter, or to 

 designate " Extra " porter. When it was discovered that roasted malt gives 

 a quite exceptional flavour, the old black beer was transformed into 

 modern aromatic nutritious porter, and Ireland soon acquired a reputa- 

 tion for the quality of its porter, which has been maintained to 

 the present day. The Royal Commissioners on Irish Railways remarked 

 in their Second Report (1838) that " Irish porter is now largely exported to 

 England, and the Dublin bottled porter successfully rivals the London 

 porter even in London itself." 



Ale is distinguished from porter, in the first place, by the fact that the 

 water employed in the brewing of ale is generally hard, while softer water is 

 used for black beer. A second difference between the two kinds lies in 

 the use of the roasted malt for black beer, which gives it its dark colour and 

 aromatic flavour. The process of roasting the malt is not unlike coffee 

 roasting. The manufacture of porter has created a special industry, to 

 some extent confined to Ireland. — the roasting of black or patent malt, 

 which is carried on by several firms in Ireland, e.g., Plunkctt, Boydell, 

 O'Reilly, etc., whilst a considerable quantity is imported from firms like 

 Hugh Baird and Son of Glasgow. Black malt imparts a Favour to the 

 spent grains which cattle do not like, and consequently the price obtained 

 for porter grains is much less than for grains used in making ale. Besides 

 these two principal differences there are several others of a secondary 

 character, which consist not so much in the actual process of Irewing, as in 

 the method of fermentation and in the after treatment of the worts. 



Good porter, well brewed, is said to contain not only all the qualifications 

 necessary to sustain physical energy, but is also considered to have intrinsic 

 value as a medicinal beverage, and consequently the medical faculty not 

 infrequently recommend its use for those suffering from debility or ex- 

 haustion. 



The Materials used in Brewing. 



A few words may not be out of place here upon the three chief consti- 

 tuents that go to form good beer, viz., barley, hops, and water. Of course 



2 H 



