314 Beer, Scientifically and Socially Considered. [July, 



smaller respectable country breweries) the capital embarked in the 

 trade is large enough to admit of the beer being perfectly fer- 

 mented and freed from impurities or substances likely to cause 

 acetification ; the beautiful system employed by Messrs. Allsopp 

 for that purpose has been described. But many brewers really sell 

 their beer, not at the brewery, but in their own public-houses, and 

 they have not sufficient capital (or it may be they are too anxious 

 to make money) to give their products sufficient time to become 

 fit for consumption. The beer is sometimes drawn off from the 

 fermenting vats into the barrels in which it is to be sent out, with 

 the bung holes open for the escape of superfluous yeast ; as little 

 time as possible is given for it to "fine," and it is sent out to the 

 public-house with orders to return any that is unconsumed when 

 it begins to turn sour. I do not pretend to be initiated into 

 the mysteries of " brewers' druggists' laboratories," nor the secrets 

 of those who employ their fraudulent compounds ; but certain it 

 is, that carbonate of soda is used to neutralize the acidity of the 

 spoiled beer, and various drugs and chemicals are then added to 

 impart to it an artificial flavour and counteract the alkaline taste, 

 until, as Mr. Tate remarks, it is '•'difficult to imagine how any 

 persons can be found to drink such vile stuff." But when we 

 remember that three-fourths of the persons who do drink it are 

 drunk already, the mystery is solved. Not only are the lower 

 kinds of beer thus doctored, but they are often mixed with 

 Allsopps', Bass's, and other fine ales, so that it is the interest 

 of those firms not only to suppress adulteration, but to do their 

 best to assist in providing the humbler classes with a cheap pure 

 beverage, which it will not pay the vendors to sophisticate. 



So far, repressive legislation has been a dead letter ; we hear 

 now and then of the Act of Victoria 23 & 24, c. 84, being put in 

 force to prevent the sale of grossly adulterated food, or tea, but 

 although brewers will tell us that the Excise would punish adultera- 

 tion severely, I do not recollect ever having noticed a prosecution. 

 Public analysts may be appointed under this Act, and it is to be 

 hoped that the time is not far distant when this course will be 

 adopted, and the doctoring of what is really the staple beverage of 

 our people may be reduced to a minimum, if not entirely prevented. 



But we have another question to consider in connection with 

 the effects of beer upon our population, and that is its real or 

 reputed strength. For this purpose I have compiled the following 

 table, partly from the Dictionary articles referred to, and partly from 

 analyses made for me by chemical friends. 



A glance at this table and a moment's reflection will show why 

 English beer-drinkers are so often drunkards, whilst Germans, who 

 indulge in a similar beverage to the same extent, are comparatively 

 sober. It may be safely said that the percentage of alcohol in German 



