Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-08-26
THE INGREDIENTS OF
BEER.
Answer Of the Brewers to the
Business Mems Moderation
Sncfafy

Answer or the brewers 10 the
Business Mems Moderation
Society.
n. Y. Tribune.
In the interests OF good beer" and
the public benefit" the Business Mems
Society for the Encouragement OF Mod
Grafton, on August 9 sent a circular to
the beer brewers of this city and its
vicinity, asking certain questions as 10
the materials used in brewing beer, the
amount of beer brewed, and other ques'
tons of interest to beer consumers. An
answer to its circular wGs sent yester-
day by the executive committee OF the
Association OF the United Lager Beer
Brewers OF New York and Vicinity"
which is signed by seventy one firms,
of which twenty nine are in this city,
five on Staten Island, twenty on Long
Island, eleven in Newark and six "scat-
tering."
The brewers state in this answer that
some of the association use in making
beer corn, not matted, but in the form
of corn meal, corn starch, rice or grape
sugar, in proportions varying from five
to twenty per cent, as substitute for
barley, malt or hops They say they
will discontinue the use OF any OF these
substances when the fact is established
that they are authorizations. or are
deleterious in beer. They do not use
matted corn, molasses or aloes.
They also say that they would be will
ing to have any reputable chemist select
ed by the Moderation Society examine
and analyze their stock at his own
choice and discretion, and are willing TO
allow an authorized sgent OF the society
10 inspect their brewing book" and
United States revenue books for the last
FIVE years. They employ no essence or
extract OF hops, nor any other substitute
for choice hops. They decline TO state
how many barrels each brewer brewed
last year, as the publication of such STA
tistics has been found to foster I'M
healthy competition in the trade. They
brew their stock lager beer in the win
ter months, and generally have their
beer from three to five months old
Very few brewers blend their old and
new beer; nearly all sell their "oldest
beer, and aim to attain an age OF at least
three months" From two and quar-
ter to two and three.quarters bushels OF
malt, and from one and a half to two
and quarter pounds Of hops to a barrel
are used. To all these answers they
say they are willing to make oath.
The society further asked the brewers
to explain their reasons for using other
than barley, malt and hops. In COM
plying, tine brewers explain the process
of brewing, and the way in which glu-
Cose is used, to show that the latter sub
stance is not injurious. The moistened
grain develops a substance known as
diastase, having the power to convert
starch into the sugar necessary Tor the
sustenance OF the young plant. The
diastase in the malt infusion converts
the starch of the malt into grape sugar
(glucose). Glucose is made in this
country from the starch OF Indian corn,
and is used at certain stage OF the
brewing, when used at all, to strength
en- the malt tea or wort, and to save ex-
cessive boiling, which would give the
beer a very dark color. Glucose from
Germany, made from potato starch,
costs more when imported to this coun-
try than barley malt, and glucose made
here costs fully as much.
The corn, corn starch, rice, grape
sugar and glucose, the brewers further
say, are not used to cheaper the beer,
but to make desirable variations in color
and flavor, the addition OF any OF these
substances making lighter colored beer
than malt alone, and each one varying
the flavor. The brewers using them be-
lieve they make better beer, and they
know that it suits the taste OF their Gus.
toners. None of the substances are
cheaper than malt, unless it BE corn
meal or prepared corn.