The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-16
the Scientific Brewer.


AR. EDITOR ~ person who signs himself
Benjamin Lee. having occupied nearly a column
IN last Fridays =. c. ADVERTISER in giving his
views on beer and other matters, I hope you
wall allow me space to make a few comments
thereon.
Mr. Lee say, 4 am a brewer. and though
not very old IL Years, profess to be so in ex-
perlence, hariag girsa much study 10 the scientific
branches Of my profession" The italics are mine.
Further on this gentleman who thus assures US
OF his scientific attainmentS, uses this language
" English ales have, generally, a specific gravity
OF II pounds to 20 pounds to the barrel, and the
lager beer as brewed in America IA pounds to
Is pounds, /. e., a barrel being so much heavier
than the same quantity of water so where does
the ii ounces of water to the pint come in"
A gentleman who has given so " much study
10 the scientific branches of his profession .
ought to know that specific gravity is not calcu-
lated or stated IN pounds or in ounces, bnt in
per centages. The specific gravity of any liquid
(beer incluGed) Is the comparative weight of
any given bulk thereof as compared with an
equal bulk of some other liquid which is ac-
eepted as = standard the standard generally be-
ing pure distilled water ut a temperature Of Coz.
When We say that the specific gravity of any
liquid is 1850 for instance, we mean that its
weight bulk for bulk, as compared with the
standard liquid, generally water, } is as 1850 to
1000. Specific gravity being therefore a COM
paIatve matter, Is not dependant on quantity.
The specific gravity of a teaspoonfull of beer is
precisely the same as that of a gallon or ten
thousand gallons. To speak of the specific grav-
ly of a barrel of beer being so many pounds is
simply nonsense. Possibly your correspondent
understands all these matters, and only writes
in the manner he does, as a concession to the
ignorance of rs outsiders who have not given so
much study to the scientific branches, ETC."
If Mr.. Lees words mean anything they prob
ably mean that n barrel of English ale weighs
from "a to PC pounds more, and a barrel Of
American lager from Il to IS pounds more than
q barrel of water of the same size. Assuming
these figures to be correct they afford us no data
for aisproying Mr.. Cruzan's statement about the
composition of a pint of ale, for the simple rea-
son that he neither gives the size of the barrel
or the actual weight of either the water or the
beer. His proposition fairly stated is this
given two barrels of equal, but unknown size,
containing one water and the other ale, the
weights of both the water and the ale being I'M
known, it follows that if the barrel of ale weighs
from 24 to 26 pounds more than the barrel of
water, then n pint of ale cannot consist of IA
ounces of water, a little extract of malt and one
ounce of ALCOHOL . more or less. / fear your
correspondents studies in science have been
at the expense of his mathematics. If a pint of
ale does not consist substantially of the ingre-
dients or i'll the proportions as stated by Mr..
CruZan, the proper course for your correspondent
is to tell US what it does consist of and in what
proportions. 1t is useless for him to stigmatize
Mr.. CruZan's statement as absurd unless he is
prepared to show wherein the absurdity consists.
This ought surely to be an easy t"sk to a gentle
man who has given so ''much study to the scien-
tifc branches OF his profession" BY the way,
We are not accustomed in the United States to
speak of beer making as a ''profession." To Mr..
Lees glowing eulogy on Eeer a as beverage, L
have nothing to say l understand that the
contemplates starting q brewery in
and it is but natural that he should
like to 'puff" his own wares.