10 STUDIES ON FERMENTATION. 



The duration of this fermentation i.s ten, fifteen, or even 

 twenty days. The yeast, which is produced less abundantly 

 than in the case of beer fermented at a high temperature, is 

 gathered after the beer has been drawn off, and is partly used in 

 subsequent fermentations. 



The term " low fermentation " is derived partly from the 

 lowness of the temperature during the fermenting process, and 

 partly from the fact that the yeast is gathered at the bottom, 

 and not at the upper part of the fermenting vessels.* 



Beer fermented at a low temperature, of which there are 

 several varieties, differing in colour and quality, is of Bavarian 

 origin.-f- The preference of the public for this kind of beer, and 

 the increased facilities that such a beer affords the trade, are 

 the two reasons why its manufacture has so greatly increased. 

 In Austria, Bavaria, Prussia, and other Continental countries 

 this new method of brewing is almost exclusively adopted. 



In the Monitmr dc la BraHserie of the 23rd April, 1871, may 

 be found the following significant remarks on the increase in 

 the production of beer fermented at a low temperature on the 

 Continent : " The number of breweries manufacturing high beer 

 is rapidly decreasing, whilst the number of those producing loio 

 beer is still more rapidly increasing. There were in Bohemia, 

 in 1860, 281 breweries in which high fermentation was practised ; 

 in 1865, only 81 of these remained ; in 1870, the number had 

 declined to 18. On the other hand, the number of brew'eries 

 practising low fermentation increased from 135 in 1860 to 459 

 in 1865, and in 1870 had risen to 831. In 1860 there were 

 620 breweries in which the two methods were employed ; in 

 1865 there w'ere 486; in 1870 only 119 remained. The number 

 of breweries at present existing in Bohemia amounts to 968." 



* [The expressions "high" and "low" fermentation or beer strictly 

 refer to temperature, whereas the other expressions used ("top" or 

 "bottom") refer to the behaviour of the yeast. The French words 

 haute and basse seem to look both ways. — D. C. R.] 



t It is said that the floating cones or cylinders filled with ice, which 

 enable brewers to manufacture beer at a low temperature, even in 

 summer, were first used in Alsace. 



