The daily gazette., 1879-10-03
BEER.

n
A6E--sOMETHING ABOUT THE PEDI-
GREE OF BEER-ITs USE AMONG THE
|. ANCIENT EGyPTIANs--MErHoDs OF
BREWING-ALE FAsrKRs.
Man, the animal that cooks, may also,
1t is to be regretted, he defined ss lhe
being that gets drunk. In some temper
ance tract or other there is the edifying
story of a monkey who having once
been made excessively inebriated. be-
came sadder and wiser ape, and put
his human proprietor to shame by
thenceforth firmly refusing the danger
GUS cup AT what stage Of their evolu-
tion from molkeydom mel. first learned
to brew history sayeth not but we have
the dictstm Of no less an authority than
Professor Huxley that among the earli-
est records of all kind of men we find a
time recorded when they got drunk.
The discovery of roast pig is writ for al
time but We are not aware that any
one has yet portrayed the happy savage
who stumbled upon the invention of
beer. A muddy mess Of sodden grain 1t
probably WAS, but our early progenitors
doubtless flddled themselves upon 1t
with great satisfaction and complaisancs
and 1t was probably hundred times
more wholesome than the treacley to-
bacco juiced stuff in which the heart of
the agricultural laborer appears to de-
light.
THE PEDIGREE OF BEER.
Beer, at any rate, speedily makes its
bow upon the stage Of history, and some
authorities inform us that the very ex
preston "boozy" comes from an ancient
Egyptian name for ale derived from
Busirls. Be this as 1t may, it IL remark
able that to this the Nubians brew from
barley a liquor which they call buza, and
the Central Asiatic Supplies himself
with buza, beverage whi ,h has had
SO demors liziDg an effect on the Russian
soldier that strong efforts have been
made to stop its sale IN Tashkend. Keno
phon, with his wine drinking Greeks,
in the "Retreat of the Ten thousand"
came across tribe who drank beer and
made note oft. The liquor of barley
fermented to partial" resemblance to
wine, says Tacitus. was the favorite
beverage of the ancient Germani, and
from remark of the historian that
those interesting barbarlans would drink
Just as much as they we're able to get
we gather that the undyiug thirst which
charaoterizes the feuton OF TO day had
its prototype in his compatrlo. Of old.
HOW 1T WAS FoRMELY MADE.
In early times beer was merely an in
trusion of matted grain, partly ferment-
ei and drank sweet. By and by, AZ such
a compound would "keep, spices, cloves
and bitters, Us horehound or wormwood,
were added. Hops were not used In this
country until intr oduced from the Meth.
erlands, early In the sixteenth century
when they aroused such indignant oppo
sitiop--for pace Bismarck, who holds the
beer responsi BILE for "all the democrati,
pot policy talked over IL" your true bee
: topper tends to conservatism-that theil
/ use was forbidden by parliament. A re
action followed, however; and hops be
came, until recently, the only bitter TO
Y brewing permitted by law. We sa
, "until recently" for now not only is tn
addition of any wholesome bitter sane
r toned, but the latitude given tC brew
ers is such that, much as IL may surpris
the "gentle reader" beers have actual
been procuced which are innocent 9
d hops and malt alike. Usually, however
4 II Is when beer passes into the hands {
u the small publican that It's manipulate
y begins. There are few of these enterpi
# sing tradeslDen, in fact, whether the
practise IL or not, do not possess recip
1t for making something like three bare
,r ont Of two. The basis of this process
naturally water, but a. the ensuing lo
10 of flavor and color would prabably /
"a feel aggrieved by the consequent loss
W intoxic eating power, recourse is had
" many ingenious devices. Sugar helps
a restore flavor, caramel color, and ss
gives fictitious pungency, while,
ne recompense those injured gentlemt
ir who cannot get drunk fast enough, ..su,
unconsidercd trifies as cOccuius iytdict
le are, though happily more rarely, adde
&c These are the most common adulter
,, lions AT the present time.
ALE TAsTERs.
The sophisticatlon of beer probab
80 dates from the time when ale became
~ article of commerce. Three hundr
- years ago that happy time when,
va our cont mporary enviously observ,
le- there were no pubic analysts" q
municipal authorities in this count
took up the question of beer adulterati,
in and appointed officials whose office
he was to taste all ales before they we
sold by the brewers. We do not kLo
'ts whether responsible custodians we
is provided for those offices who might
49, overcome IN the conscientious and ze
u Gus discharge OF their duties, or whetl
Ell their heads were as nlmpresslonable
m those of the Connecticut people, W
:" have, 1t appears, beeen drinking for e'
ne so long beer cOntalng twice SO mt
ed alcoho as "Bass, and thinking it wa
-, temperance drink At any rate IL
Inc appear to have given satisfaction, for
mas practice, of "ale tasting is still in ex
M cnce in some places at the present til
'ii- In olden times ale tasters, like OF
Gu most people, wore leather breeches, {
n,s their method for determining the p
ence of sugar, which at all events pos
sod the merit of simplicity, was to p
ans pint of the suspected beer upo
bench and to sit upon I he same unit
'eh' dried; il on rising the leather contiI
the tions stuck to the bench, then NJ
" of was present. ou' II ho' inc Deer