Alcohol. 209 



Malt Liquors. These are obtained from the small grains, 

 especially barley, by soaking the grain and then allowing 

 it to sprout. During this process most of the starch is 

 converted into grape sugar. The sugar is extracted by 

 boiling, and then, by the addition of yeast, which is one 

 kind of alcoholic ferment, alcohol is produced. The chief 

 product is beer, which contains from 2 to 5 per cent of 

 alcohol. Hops and other substances are usually added. 

 Although the per cent of alcohol in beer is low, the effect 

 of beer-drinking is marked. As in the case of wine, often 

 the drinker takes such enormous quantities of the liquor 

 that the total amount of alcohol introduced into the sys- 

 tem is large, and the effect correspondingly pronounced. 

 In the case of many beer drinkers there is apparent a 

 continual state of heaviness, a sort of perpetual stupefac- 

 tion, which points significantly to the narcotic effect of 

 alcohol. More than any other drink, beer seems to prepare 

 the way for deeds of coarseness and brutality, probably 

 from its deadening effect upon the sensibilities. It is said 

 on good authority that in the city of Munich it is rare to 

 find a sound heart or sound kidneys. 



Distilled Liquors. Distilled liquors, or spirits are ob- 

 tained from wines and fermented liquors by the process of 

 distillation. This process depends on the fact that alcohol 

 boils at 173 F., while water boils at 212 F. The still 

 consists of a large boiler with a large tube rising from the 

 top, and this tube is coiled about in and extends through a 

 reservoir which is kept filled with cold water. On heating 

 the fermented liquid in the still up to 173 F., the alcohol 

 is converted into vapor. As this vapor passes along the 

 coil (known as the worm), the vapor is condensed by the 

 cold, and thus the alcohol is separated from the water and 



