ON THE SUGAR OF CRAPES. §51 



The celebrated Glauber asserted in his Prospcrilates Germ GlaHber said 

 tnanice, that, if the rob of grapes were sent to countries, ^^^ ^ot> of 

 to which nature has denied the vine, they might make their ^ake wine. 

 Own wines, by adding to this quintessence of wine, as he 

 term.ed it, the water of which it had been deprived. And 

 he said this might be done in all places, and at all seasons. 



This idea was certainly ingenious, but he should have Beccher demei 

 confirmed it by experience. He did not; and was openly '^^'^• 

 contradicted by Beccher in terms not very civil, who as- 

 serted, that he had tried the experiment in vain for a whole 

 year. 



In defense of Glanber it may be said, that the sugar in It will ferment 



the rob, being more or less affected by the reaction of the ^^o^'^vsr* ^"* 

 ' ° •' not readilv i£ 



tartar and other acids, remains so long inactive, as to lead too much 



to a belief of its fermentable property being extinct. Not- '^"'^'^'^ 

 withstanding this however, it will ferment, and the period 

 may be accelerated easily by the addition of wine lees. I 

 have even now some wine from such a fermentation, which 

 is very strong, and the boiling down has given it a flavour, 

 that is far from unpleasant. But in some parts of Germany 

 the grape has the double inconvenience of being loaded with 

 tartar, and poor in saccharine matter, since it requires six 

 tuns of must to make one of ^^ob ; probably therefore it 

 would not be so much disposed to ferment as in hot coun- 

 tries, in Spain particularly, where the poorest juice of the 

 grape commonly yields a fourth part of sugar and very lit- 

 tle acid. 



It may not be improper to introduce here the remarks I 

 have had an opportunity of making during the course of a 

 few summers on the fermentation of clarified must. 



When the juice of the grape has been clarified by heat Clarified rau5t 

 and filtration alone, it always continues a little foul, be- 



cent of saccharine matter. If now we compare barley malt with 

 the muscovado of the grape with respect to their fermentable parts, 

 we shall find, that one hundred weight of the latter nearly equal 

 seven hundred weight of the former. Hence we may judge of the 

 advantage, that would accrue from employing a portion of this 

 muscovado in making beer. 



Water heated to 50° does not dissolve starch ; this is the reason 

 why the water in brewing is seldom allowed to exceed this point, 



cause 



