MALT AND BEER IN SPANISH AMERICA. 373 



There then remains the other objection, viz, the beer- consumer's 

 taste. I think that can be reached better through the matter of price 

 than in any other way ; for if a beer-drinker can buy his pint of Ameri- 

 can a trifle cheaper than his pint of British, he will be likely to try it? 

 at all events, and may thus come to like it. 



It is a well-known fact that British exporters increase their foreign 

 trade in all lines by finding out just what their customers want as to 

 quality, style, price, etc., and then at once meeting these requirements, 

 and American exporters must do the same if they would succeed. 

 Now, apply this principle to the beer trade. I do not believe that Brit- 

 ish colonists in these islands, or indeed in any of the West Indies, care 

 very much for American lager beer, and it will take much time, if in- 

 deed it can ever be done, to cultivate amongst them a preference for 

 American lager over Bass's ale. Is it indeed worth while to try ? Is 

 lager beer the best beer for the tropics ? Is it not better adapted to the 

 temperate zone ? 



Now, would it not be more sensible for our brewers to manufacture 

 for the West Indian trade a kind of beer which their would be cus- 

 tomers already like and are ready and anxious to buy? Couldn't this 

 be done more easily than to try to change the tastes of whole commu- 

 nities? It is this principle of manufacturing and exporting goods to 

 suit prevailing tastes, instead of attempting to change these habits in 

 their customers, that has made British foreign trade so successful the 

 world over. 



If our brewers will make a kind of beer that is as strong and that 

 will in other respects resemble Bass ale closely and will furnish the 

 same to Bahama importers as low as they can buy the British ale, they 

 can soon supply this colony and, I doubt not, the entire West Indies, 

 with all the beer they care to consume. 



Permit me to mention an objection urged against our lager now 

 being imported here, which is this, that the metallic capsules over the 

 corks are too thin for. hot climates- The British ones are twice as thick. 

 When the covering is so thin roaches, rats, and all sorts of vermin, 

 whose name is legion, will gnaw holes in it to get at the glue or gum 

 that coats the top of the cork. This gives the bottle an unsightly and 

 damaged appearance and dissatisfies a purchaser. The remedy is 

 thicker capsules, which should be attended to. 



The favorite drink of thepeople of these islands the masses, I mean 

 is beer, Holland gin, and cheap grades of Jamaica rum. The gin is im- 

 ported from Great Britain and the rum in schooners directly from 

 Jamaica, which carry thither salt and bring back sugar, coffee, and rum. 



I think the above is substantially all the information I can give ou 

 this subject which would be of benefit to our brewers. 



THOS. J. McLAiN, JR., 



Consul, 



UNITED STATES CONSULATE, 



Nassau, January 3, 1890. 

 116 A 4 



