The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1895-10-03
a MYSTERY OF IMPORTED BEER
The Sales Increasing, While the I'm
ports Are DecreaslnE.

1t is regarded by some persons as
surprising that while the importations
Of beer have fallen of considerably in
the last two years, the consumption OF
imported beer has Increased more than
flyefold. says a New York paper. Where
zen years ago there were, perhaps,
dozen places in town ar which import
ed beer was sold, there are now, prob
ably, six hundred. 1t has become, in
fact, prime necessity in saloons of the
first class TO have on draught imported
beer, and the multiplicity of such signs
is significant Of the constantly increas-
ing demand for the beverage. Some sa-
looms keep as many as six or seven va
rieties of imported beer; but at the
same time the receipt of barrels in
which 1t is contained-~it is shipped in
barrels, not kegs-is constantly falling
off.
The explanation of the matter is one
which can with much greater candOr be
given by a consumer than by a dealer
in the imported article. The fgt is
this; Very little of the so-called i'm
ported beer sold ia New York city sa
looms at present is really imported. 1t
is domestic beer of a different kind
from that usually sold, and the differ
ence is to be found in the use of color
Ing matter and in the larger infusion
Of alcohl. 1t is alcohol that gives to
imported beer its strength and which,
ct the same time, preserves 1t during
the ocean voyage and the constant
changes Of temperature to which it is
subjected in its transfer over 1900
miles of land and sea. Genuine i'm
ported beer sent from Germany to the
United States contains a larger pro-
portion of alcohol than the beer sold
and drunk in Germany. The distinctive
mark Of American beers Is that they
are what Is called light, of amber color,
and have a bitter taste, supplied in
good beer by the hops. Kaiser beer,
Pilsener beer, and some few other va
rieties of German beer are light, but
the great majority of beers sold in Ger
many are dark, of a reddish-brOwn
color, somewhat resembling mahogany
in hue. Now many American brewers,
and especially those in the city of New
York, brew two varieties-dark and
light. The dark is heavy; the light is
frothy. The general demand of con-
sumeries Is almost universally for light
beer, but the dark has some admirers,
especially among those persons who
like heavier article, sometimes pre-
subscribed for medical use, and resem-
bling, to some extent, porter in its nu
tritive properties. This dark beer, the
product Of American brewers, costs
usually a little more than the light.
but it costs considerably less than ne
imported article with the duty added'
TO 1t. So In many New York saloons
the So-called Imported" beer sold over
counters or at tables Is really nothing
more or less than the ordinary Ameri-
can dark beer, colored somewhat, and
with alcohol added. knowledge of this
fact thoroughly explains the apparent
paradox that while the importations Of
foreign beer have fallen off, the sales
of foreign beer in New York are in
creasing. During the last two years
many American brewers have been ex-
tending their trade by the manufacture
Of a variety recommended to invalids
to whom, heretofore, porter has been
prescribed. This variety OF domestic
beer has largely superseded porter, and,
TO some extent, ale, and the sale of 1t
appears to be increasing. 1t is brewed
only by very large concerns, however,
and considerable advertising work is
necessary to get it on the market.