208 



The Grape Culturist. 



CANE AND .STARCH SUGAR, AND THEIR USES IN THE MANU- 

 FACTURE OF WINE AND BEER. 



{Co/icluded.) 



From Indian corn an excellent ar^ growers as the ^re?rers, whose demand 

 tide of starch sugar can be prepared, ! for this article has alread}^ produced 

 which will yield alcohol one-eighth a regular importation movement. To 

 cheaper, and equally as pure as that j ourselves this is next to incompreheu- 

 froni cane sugar. It is therefore a j sible. It is only in case of exceptlon- 



matter of surprise that in this country', 

 where industry is so highly developed, 

 the manufacture of starch sugar has 

 barely been commenced. Up to the 

 present time only a few small f^-^tab- 

 lishments are concerned in this manu- 

 fiicture, so important to the zymotech- 

 nic arts : by far the greatest part of 

 the starch sugar now consumed here 

 is — imported. 



Ever since the introduction in Ger- 

 many, of the practice of adding sugar 

 to must naturally deficient in that in- 

 gredient, in order to produce a drink- 

 able^ 8j)irituous wine,the manufactories 

 of starch sugar have sprung up like 

 mushrooms. More than a hundred 

 of them are engaged in the manufac- 

 ture of the article in question from 

 •potatoes, being the cheapest source 

 available to them ; and the}' enjoy a 

 constantly increasing custom on the 

 part of wine-growers. Excepting 

 only the Bavarian Palatinate, where 

 the use of "grape sugar" is prohil.)i- 

 ted, we find depots and agencies of 

 these manufactories in almost every 

 wine-growing ncighljorhood, while 

 just before vintage-time the local 

 newspapers are crammed with adver- 

 tisements recommending "The best of 

 Grape Sugar"-"ChemicaIly pure Grape 

 Sugar" — "A No. 1 Grape Sugar," kc. 



It is curious to note that in this 

 countr}' it is not so much the wine- 



ally high ])rices of barley, and when 

 no other cereal is available as a sub- 

 stitute, that the use of starch sugar 

 in brewing (tan be justified. 



Barley contains on an average 57 

 2)er cent, of starch and cognate sub- 

 stances. These pass into the wort, 

 partly as sugar, partly in the shape 

 of dextrine (gum ) The relative 

 proportions of these ingredients vary 

 in accordance with the method of 

 brewing; but experience teaches that 

 on an average, one bushel of yields 

 about 12 pounds of sugar and 15 

 pounds of dextrine. A portion of 

 the latter substance is further trans- 

 formed into sugar during fermenta- 

 tion, so that a bushel of barlej' rep- 

 resents, on an average, 16 pounds of 

 sugar and 11 pounds of dextrine 

 (gum.) 



Both, dextrine (gum) and sugar, 

 are equall}^ essential to the brewing 

 process. The latter I'urnishes the al- 

 cohol, without which no beverage can 

 be called spirituous ; while the former 

 constitutes almost the entire extract- 

 ive matter, ov body, of the beer, which 

 is one of the chief distinguishing fea- 

 tures bet A^een beer and wine. Now 

 it is true that all (commercial) starch 

 sugar contains a certain amount of 

 dextrine — the moi'e, the poorer qual- 

 ity ; but this portion would be insuf- 

 ficient in case a ^/oo^i article were used, 



