Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-09
VARIOUS SUMMER BEVERAGES.
How Some Of the Most Common Inter-Ab-
dominai W A.h-. Are Produced.

Prom The Boston Herald
Summer drinks are taken 60 qnench thirst,
not 10 increase IT, Thirst is caused by too
much heat in the body. cue 90 the too great
proportion Of hcat-producing food consumed,
such AS fatty, farinaceous and sacchArine arsi-
cles OF diet.
Liquids are taken 60 carry Of this heat from
the body through the pores Of the skin. and
thus TO preserve a normal temperature in A.
Nov, il the drinks which We take 90 allay
thirst in the summer season are Of themselves
charged with heat producing matter, is the
case with unduly swee;ened coda drinks. root
beers. &c, the end for which they are imbibed
10 defeated, and the thirsty citizen who aims 60
quench his thirst by such beverages nnds IL in
creased, and Keeps on drinking much 10 his
discomfort and little 10 his relief.
He has an idea that acid drinks are cooling.
| and goes into u wel-known place ahere temper
! ance drinks only are supplied. There he axis
| for lactart acid phosphate, orangrade or lemon
AIDE. and. while he IL given a certain amount 10
the acid. u is smothered in sarup. and 10 h
with all drinks taken from the soda fountain,
save the plain soda water itself. which is one u
the best beverages cNtant 20 quench thirst.
This leads 90 the consideration Of the soda
fountain itself, 50 called. and the ageucv IL nov
has IN furnishing summer drinks. The
called soda water Is not soda water at all. but
water impregnAted with carbonic acid gas. de-
l.
when il was first made carbonate II soda We
| used 70 obtain the carbouic acid.
Now carbonate Of lime or marble dust IL used,
and carbonic acid is liberated from IL bv the
agency OF sulphuric acid, which. having .
| greater affinity for the lime seizes II, freeing
the gas and forming sulphate Of lime.
The water Imprecnated by tins gas IL no moro
q soda water than Il Is lime water. IL IL
neither IN fact, but carbonic acid water ~ it
| Is ANYTHING. The gas is produced IN a strong
/ md h. ,.s.. Ny.. n.
torts containing the water 90 be impregnated
under a pressure Of about 200 pounds 20 the
| square inch.
retort will hold rhout fifteen gallons OF
water, but only ten gal ms are put in. room be-
ing reserved for the mixture of the gas with
the water. This combination is effected by
agitating the water in the retort by subjecting
the retort 60 a kind Of oscillating movement by
which each end Is raised and lowered alternately
and the water thrown from one end 20 the
other.
An agitation Of some ten or twelve minutes
usually sufhces 20 charge the water under
pressure, which has increased in the operation
by abou; two gallons. or one-ffth.
IL may here be stated that the soda water Of
today Is quite different affair from what it
was m former wears. Then ordinary service
water, and in some cases spring water.
used. Now only distilled water is used to be
impregnated with carbouic acid gas.
| This water il produced from a steam boiler,
a. is well known, by condensation from the
steam, the latter being into n cooling
chamber or condenser where the heat j. alb
stracted from il by running cold water over
the surface. The distilled water when first con-
densed is at a high temperature. and. TO cool
1t, il is run through coils in ice box which
are surrounded with ice.
When the water il warm or hot il will not
take up the carbonic acid gas. and the lower
Its temperature the more readily the latter will
combine with il.
| Now from this samoa ,ba s,la fountain 4.
derived the great bulk Of our summer temper
ance drinks, and IL IL a satisfaction to know
that the charged water employed is absolutely
pure
Carbonic acid. which is so dangerous to
breathe, appears TO have good, il not tonic,
effect on the stomach. In wines and beers,
where II Is produced by fermentation. IL l. the
life of these drinks, for without it they would
be fat and tasteless 20 a degree.
| The art OF introducing IL artificially into nom
alcoholic drinks is a great benefit to humanity.
The effect Of the extended employment II the
soda fountain now is that: II person IL thirsty
and wants a cooling. efferyescing drink. he re-
pairs 10 the nearest apothecary store. or place
where summer drinks are dispensed. and calls
for any kind of drink he may desire.
The compromising Of such drinks IL very
simple and very quickly accomplished by the
clerk. The various extracts, such root beer,
and hayors. such as vanilla. lemon. &c., are al
ready prepared and combined, and are drawn
from faucets in the fountain to the required
amount in the bottom of the tumbler. Then
the glass is filled with the carbonized water and
palatable drink Is ready for the customer.
The only criticism that can be made on these
drinks for summer consumption il that they are
too sweet and therefore too heating.
Perhaps the public taste demands these over
sweetened drinks, but the public taste Is wrong.
As before stated ii il IL desired 10 quench thirst
a glass of plain soda is the best drink that
be taken. even better than spring water.
| SO-ealled tonic hpfflei beers are made N the
same way that the drinks are compounded at
the soda fountain. The required amount 81
strip with the favor is drawn into the bottle
and the bottle filled with the charged water.
These tonic drinks produced in large
quantities. and are good and Wholesome as .
beverage, but after the bottle-which is quite
large-is opened once or twice. the carbonio
acid gas escapes 20 a greater or less extent, and
the later draughts from it are comparatively
| fat Still where the soda fountain cannot be
afforded. this is good substitute for il.
| A few kinds of root beer still made. placed
in retoris and charged with carbonic acid gas.
| The trouble with such beverages, owing To the
saccharine ingredients in them. is that when
drawn from the faucet they foam TO such de-
gree as TO be undrinksble, and TO dispense them
in portable form the shopman must draw the
beer in large vessels and allow il TO condense,
when glass of beer il called for he places il
under the faucet. draws a small amount of foam
in il. and then fills in the beer from a pitcher
| There is another class OF summer drinks
styled nerve foods. nerve TONES. &C.. whose
bitter tonic principle is usually extract
of NORWOOD or some other bitter vegetable
juice or extract-w hich may merit mention,
as they have grown into extended Use on ac-
count Of their tonic properties. in part. but
quite largely from liberal advertising. These
nerve food beers are made in the same way
that the ordinary tonic beers are, only that in
addition TO fiavoring extracts they contain the
bitter principle aforesaid. and sometimes only
that alone in combination with the sirup-
These nerve food" drinks are very agree
able to some palates. the bitter principle act
ing as a tonic. but no doubt some of their good
effects may be ascribed to the imagination Of
the users or their faith in the claims made for
the drinks
From the above enumeration Of summer tenn
perance drinks il will be that in them all
the Preventative principle has been altogether
eliminated, and it's resultant carbonic acid gas
artificially produced and introduced.
Whether this is for the benefit Of the human
stomach or not is still open question; the
great majority of opinions, however, will no
doubt be on the affirmative side of the ques-
ton, for the reason that all Preventative drinks
are more or less alcoholic, and that alcohol
is injurious not only to the body, but to mind
and morals.
Among summer drinks one of the best II
Il L.,Ss~ e rnl To-