The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-10-18
to be gathered to his fathers BY natural causes

to be gathered to his fathers BY natural causes
and tie help Of purple cushion or two.
1twss beer" l'boozy" they call it now that in
spired the Egyptians when they tore pelmell over
the desert after the Isrsetes beer that led them
on to battle with the Romans to keep the crown
on Cleopatra's head beer that but perhaps, as
IT was beer that led them to do all the good things
they did. and ell the evil, We may refer our read
ers for the rest of their deeds to Egyptian history
There is no doubt that all the Scythisu and Tar
taric races brought from those great grassy plains
where they had tended their miles Of sheep bags Of
seedsfrom the huge tracts Of corn they had raised
and also the knowledge how to brew
from it strong water. good for raising
the spirits after battle, good after long
rides Of fight or pursuit, good to make
Tartar men fierce and bold, but apt, too, in over
doses. to make Tartar men cruel, raving, blood
as common in Gaul Spain. and, indeed, all through
the west of Europe. Pliny praises the Spanisrds
for making this beer so that 1t could be kept good
a long time, and then appends his moral:
$50 exquisite is the art Of mankind In gratifying
their vicious appetites, that they have thus in.
vented method to make even water itself intox.
eating"
Or does it prove only that nature has in every
country provided q stimulus. harmless IN modera-
ton, which shall refresh weary nature, lessen ex-
haustion, and repair ahe losses produced by ex-
element, labor and anxiety!
Isidore, describing the beverage of the ancient
Britons, says:
ne gram Is eteepeO IN Whttr, anu mbuo 10
germinate by which its spirits are excited and set
at liberty IL 10 then dried and ground; after
which it is infused in q certain quantity of water,
which, being fermented, becomes pleasant,
warming. Strengthening and intoxicating liquor"
Our rude forefsthers made beer of wheat. oats,
and millet- The Picts. We believe. made drink
heather, the secret of which persisted in Q general
engagement which swept away the last of the
race. At least Sir Walter, who knew everything
about the land Of the heather used to relate some
such tradition with much gusto. Perhaps, after
all, the Pict drink was only another form of
whisky, and the alchemists did not discover aqua
vita, and mistake ii for the Elixir Of Life, az gen.
orally reported, after all.
: The Welsh, who fought against Edward and his
mailed men, and went cheerfuily to death, led by
three thousand drunken harpers, playing madly
The Men of Harlech." and "Of Noble Race
was shenkin.r and those bare-legged sinewy
Scotch who wrestled with the enemies of Bruce,
Wallace and the Douglas, had two kinds Of ale
common ale and spiced ale. One of their old
laws specifies:
"fa farmer have no mead. he shall pay two
casks of spiced ale, or four casks of common ale,
for one cask of mead" ..-
Wine was no doubt slow in reaching Wales, the
purple casks of Gascon and Burgundian wine hav.
ing 10 pass by too many Norman gate to reach
Wales often safely, or without paying heavy toll.
Fed on bad beer, no wonder the Welshmen went
down before the charge of the Norman knights.
Is beer as good as 1t used to be! Was railways
the custom, when hops were dear. to add liquor
ice and black resin to give flavor, tone and color?
Did molasses, raw grain and sugar often take the
place of malt? Were brewers chemists always
as respectable, honest, above board and ingenious
as they now are?
If eentian, bitterwort root, marsh trefoil and
qnassia were used formerly, instead of hops, we
did not know it, and were therefore happy. We
used to feel kind of warmth after draught of
good ale, and never knew that it was derived
from cspsicum; or that the solid crest of froth
came from the stimulating influence Of salts of
steel and copperas. Is it possible that the beer
we used to quah at Putney, after boating, and
thought nectar, was made from flown malt, coo.
culus indicus, the bitter bean of St. Ignatius,
tobacco, or the poisonous nux vomicaf That
sweet flavor was honey, that refreshing headyness
csraway and coriander seeds, that effervesceuce
jalsp, that indescribable something we used to
fOndly term " the strawberry flavor" was COM
posed of ginger, grains of paradise, nge-peel,
long pepper, opium, hartshorn shavings, marble
dust, egg shells and oyster-shells Ito check acid
ity). sub.csrbonate of soda, msgnesia and pc as.
ss. Such was the liquor prepared for us, and call
ed in brewers advertisements q healthy. bright,
exhilarating ale gently stimulating the digestive
organs of the dyspeptc, and gracefully nourishing
the strength Of the robust"
Porter was invented in the year 1871, by q Lon
don brewer, named Harwood, who combined the
flavor Of "half-and hall" or "three threads" as
ii was then called. in beverage which he was
pleased to call " entire butt" The new combine
ton took In the city, among the T" porters,n and
brawBy men with knots all day resting their
broad backs against the church walls, or on the
tramp between Lombard street and the Docks. pa.
tronzed the brown refreshing drink, and found it
gave them fresh heart to endure the curse Of Cain.
The demagogues of the crowd, the hard htters
from the shoulder led the rabble to the same brown
fountain; they too drank. were cheered, and
smiled gracious approval. The fan-taed hats
and wearers of obscure white stockings, who took
an interest in Goals and the Newcastle trade on
the shore Of the Thames, very soon gave in their
vote also, and q plumper was for the same black
brown liquid, 80 gently acid, 30 harmless, so in.
vigorsting.
But there are still yexstious antiqusrians who
declare that the honest liquor honest at least in its
you HI never derived its name from the brawny
porters of London, but, the contrary, derived it
from Hsrwoods practice OF having his new bev-
erage pOTfeTed or carried round TO his customers
areas. in shining pewter pots in long covered
racks; his pot-boys shouting porter" to
announce their auspicious arrival. as they rat-tst-
tatted at the door. More than a century this
brown, mantling liquor-thin, slightly watery, but
pleasant and heartening-has gone frothing up in
frothiDg up forever! Good porter should have
fulness, potency and flavor; it should not be
thin and vnous, Ike good ale; for it Is Of hum
bier origin, has no blue blood 1t its veins, and is
only q sort of cousin-germsn Of that fat, merry,
laughing knight old Sir John Bsrleycorn. Good
porter should be made from black.scorched malt,
made from good sound barley, of a uniform
chocolate color. The burnt sugar contained in
the scorched malt and the mucisge imparts the
odor to porter, and gives it its fine flavor and
tenacity. The gluten in the wort is. however,
destroyed by too long boiling. An eminent
brewer says: I" The general method of ferment
ing porter differs from the cool and gradual pro-
cess so essential to preserve the flavor and rich.
ness of ale. Porter owes much Of its tart and
sstrngent flavor to high, rapid fermentation,
which carries down the density without diminish
ing the high flavor drawn from the materials
The rapid process also suits the brown malt,
which, being less dense than that from pale, can
not support q vigorous fermentation, and the
yeast. beng more rapidly thrown of, leaves the
beer clear and durable"
One misfortune of porter is. that brewers often
scorch their damaged malt, aud SO disguised use
it for porter-making.
We much regret that we are unable to give the
exact date of the introduction of that fat, potent
liquid. stout. Still, we can 20 pretty near the
bull's-eye, If we do not exact touch its center.
AS Mr.. Kirkman, the bographer of Macklin, who
died in 1897, at the age Of one hundred and
seven, particularly records the fact that his hero
drank only sort of beer called " stout; 4" it was
evidently not long instituted in l767. Kirkmsn
says: