The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-08-30
LAGER BIER.


bearing this inscription, meet the Y {;
the regency ofits introduction into this
city, and the cabalistic character of the
words themselves, may perhaps render a
brief article upon this topic not ~uninter-
esting. Lager-bier is a matted liquor
originally made in Bavaria, in essential
properties identical with ordinary ale,
which it closelyr esembles in appearance,
though differing in taste; of much less
specific gravity; weaker and retaining
its foam a short time after being drawn.
Its taste is sub-acid pungent, and leaves
in the mouth apeculiar flavor. caused by
a coating of pitch which the interior Of
the barrels receive before being filled.
The difference between the mode of
brewing lager bier and ordinary ale is in
dictated by the etymology of the name Ia
ger-meaning rest-remaining in store !;
the former requiring to rest in a cool
vault from four to six months before it
becomes drinkable, while the latter can
be used Immediately after being emp
tied from the watts.
In Bavaria, the manufacture is carried
on under government inspectors, the
brewing period being prescribed by law,
from 29th September to % April, the
festivals of St. Nicholas and St. George.
There, it is oftwo kinds, one of which re-
tains its flavor only for a day or two
and the beer drinkers of Bavaria, who
are very numerous indulge so capricious
and delicate a palate, that when assem-
bled in their beer houses they wait i'm
patiently, if the cask ia use be half emp
ty, for a fresh one to be tapped. 1t is
said that in well frequented houses of this
kind, an ordinary cask lasts about an
hour.
From a German treatise, entitled " Der
Bier Brauer, 1--WE learn L" that the attach
ment of the Bavarians to the beer bev-
erage is such-a beverage descended from
their remotest ancestry-that they re-
gard the use of ardent spirits, even to
moderation, as so immoral a custom, as
almost TO disqualify habituates ofliquor-
drinking from respectable society,""
In effect, it is moderately exhilarating.
having but feeble intoxicating properties,
Ihdeed, lift was not comparatively innoc-
ulous in its effects; the enormous quanti-
ty consumed would effect sad havoc
amofg the drinkers-it being an unusu-
al occurrence for an individual to drink
a gallon daily and even more. That it
will ever become a favorite beverage with
Young America. however, is not proba-
BILE, the liking for it not being natural,
but acquired. Americans can readily
obtain q more delicious draught, and if
sought as a means of inducing intoxica-
ton, or to get up exuberance of spirits,
it will be found entirely too low pressure
for the purpose, and require too widely
distended a stomach for loco-motion af-
forwards. Its introduction has also Gre
ated the necessity of a new article of
glass ware, for a fastidious drinker would
be as reluctant to imbibe his favorite
draught from any other vessel than a Ia
gerber glass, as an American would
dislike to drink his morning coffee from
a tumbler. These glasses are of the
usual shape. save that they are wider at
the base than at the BRINE, and have a
curling ear, like the wine bottles which
John GilPin carried suspended on his
belt, on the day of his celebrated ride
" unto the Bell of Edmonton"
To gain an idea of the Partially of
the German palate for this beverage, let
the reader enter one of the German res
taurants. and he will find that every or
der for KaIts6raten NIT KartoF. ZEN"
" Spec init Eier," &C., is usually accom-
panied with the supplement and ein
gLas Lager-6deT." Upon them it seems
t. have an e~minently soothing and tran
QUILTING effect, and under its gentle in
SEPARATION, they grow communicative and
even eloquent. A young lady, whose
music teacher was particularly cross and
fault-fnding, upon complaining of his
to a friend who was also his pu-
pill, was laughiugly offered the sugges-
ton of giving him a glass of Lager-bier,
on his next vesit. Accordingly it was
done, and repeated at every future les
son, and the pupil henceforth ever spoke
of the amiability of her precep-
tor and his assiduity in instructing her.
1t is not our present purpose to moralize
upon the use or abuse of these beverages.
We are only dealing with facts; but
when, as an illustration af the amount of
our German friends imbibe,
mention that, in the little village of
Hoboken, from one hundred and fifty to
one hundred and eighty barrels are con-
sumed weekly, it shows plainly what
can be done in larger places. In some
Of the lager-bier gardens, where it is
drank in the open air, a band of music
snlivens the scene, though whether the
beer is swallowed for the music or the
music for the beer, We cannot clearly