The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-10-23
THE pEDIeREE OF BEER,
rho History OF Popular Bevsrags-Itu Use
Among the AnsIsht EEIptIans.

Among the Ancient ERypuahs,
Man, the animal that cooks, may also,
it is to be regretted, be defined as the
being that gets drunk. In some temper.
ance tract or other there is the edifying
story of the monkey, who, having once
been made excessively inebriated, be
came a sadder and a wiser ape, and put
his human proprietor to shame by thence
forth firmly refusing the dangerous cup
At what stage of their evolution from
monkeydom men first learned to brew
history sayeth not; but We have the die
tum of no less an authority than Pro
fessor Huxley that among the earliest
records Of all kinds ofmen we f"d a time
recorded when they got drunk. The
discovery of roast pig is writ for all 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 it probably
was, but our early progenitors doubtless
fudded themselves upon it with great
satisfaction and complaisance, and it was
probably hundred times more whole.
some than the treacley, tobacco juiCed
stuff in which the heart of the agricul.
tural laborer appears to delight.
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 Blu.
sris. Be this as it may, it is remark
able that to this day the Nubians brew
from barley liquor which they call
bouza, and the Central AsiatiC stupe6es
himself with buza, a beverage which had
so demoralizing an effect on the Russian
soldier that strong efforts have been
made to stop its sale in Tashkend. Ken
ophon with his wine drinking Greek, in
the Retreat of the Ten Thousand" came
across tribe who drank beer, and made
note of it. The liquor of barley fer
mented to "partial" resemblance to
wine, says TaCitus, was the favorite bev.
erage of the ancient Germani, and from
a remark CT the historian that those in.
teresing barbarisns would drink jnst as
much as they were able to get, we gather
that the undying thirst which character.
ICES the Teuton of to-day had it's proto.
type in his compatriot of old.
In early times beer was made by an
infusion of matted grain partly fomented
and drank Weet. BY and by, as such
compound would not keep" spices,
cloves and bitters,a horehound or worm
wood, were added Hops we're not used
in this country until introduced from the
Netherlands early in the sixteenth cen.
tury, when they aroused such indignant
opposition - for, pace Bismarck, who
holds beer responsible for "all the Dem
ocratic pot police talked over it," your
true beer topper tends to conservatism
that their use was forbidden by Parlia-
ment. A reaction followed, however,
and hops became, until recently, the
only bitter for brewing permitted by
law. We say until recently" for now
not only is the addition of any whole.
some biters sanctioned, but the latiud9
given to brewers is such that, much az it
may surprise the gentle reader" beers
have actually been produced that were
innocent OF hops and m alt alike. Usually,
however, it is where beer passes into the
bands of the small publican that is
begins There are few of
these enterprising tradesmen, in fact,
who, whether they practice it or not, do
not possess recipe for making some
hing ike three barrels ont OF two. The
basis of this process is naturally water,
out as the ensuing loss of color aud fla
'or would naturally be resented, while
ome customers would feel aggrieved by
he consequent loss of Intoxicating pow.
,r, recourse is had to many ingenious
leviCes. Sugar helps to restore favor,
,aramel color, and salt gives fictitious
while to reCompense these in
ured gentlemen who cannot get drunk
ast enough, such unconsidered trifes as
oculus ind Gus are though happily more
arely, added. These are the most com.
non adulterations at the present time.
The sophistiCation of beer probably |
lates from the time when ale became an
.rticle of commerce. Three hundred |
ears ago, that happy time when, as our
contemporary enviously observes, there
we're no public analysts" the municipal |
in this country took up the
ubject of beer adulteration and appoint
d officials whose Office it WAS to taste
Ii ales before they were sold by the
rewers. We do not know whether re-
ponsible CustodiaDs were provided for
hese Offices who might be overcome in
he conscientious and jealous discharge
f their duties, or whether their heads
we're as unimpressionable as those of the
people, who have, it appears,
een drinking for ever 80 long a beer
about twice as much alcohol
8 "Bass," and thinking it was temper
nee drink, At any rate they appear to
ave given satisfaction, for the practice
{ "ale.tasting" is still in existence In
ONE places at the present time. Ia old.
n times ale tasters, like most other peo-
le, wore leather breeches, and their
nethod Of determining the presence of
ngar, which at all events possessed the
nerit Of simplicity, was to pour a pint
( the suspected beer upon the bench
nd to sit upon the same until it dried;
|, on rising, the leather combinations
tuck to the bench, then sugar was pres.
mt, but if not, the beer was pure
,ondon Examiner.
FREDERICK THE GREATS KNOWL-