The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-05-13
PRACTICAL TALK BY AN
EXPERT ON D|STILL|NG

Had members of the Wednesday
Night club had an opportunity to pass
through the Hammond distillery, at
their leisure, accompanied by a COM
petent guide, they could hardly have
studied the making of whisky to bet
ter advantage to themselves than by
attending the regular Wednesday night
session of the club.
John Il. Fitzgerald, at the head of
one of the largest distnleries in the
country. and as such an expert in the
business, was the principal speaker of
the evening, and delighted an appre-
ciative audience.
The exact temperature which must
be applied to the various ingredients
at various times during the distilla
ton processes, was one of the things
that the speaker impressed upon his
audience from the very beginning. and
as he progressed this became more
apparent. He quoted temperature fig
ures with an ease and readiness,
which shows that he was well &C
quainted with his subject
Government Inspectors Everywhere.
The speaker began at the beginning
of the process, telling first, however,
of the manner in which the corn and
barley are handled, as they come from
the railroad cars. He showed how the
grain is weighed and inspected by the
government inspectors, how it is then
cleaned, elaborate machinery having
been installed for this, which includes
a huge magnet, which catches all iron
and steel material, such as nails, which
passes underneath with the grain.
The process of whisky making, as
explained last night, resolves itself into
two actions. the preparation of the
vinous mash and the distillation OF
alcohol.
In the preparation of the mash, a
quantity of water OF temperature OF
150 degree Fahrenheit, is run into the
mash tub and then the ground mixture
of malt and grain is added and the
whole is thoroughly mixed. The wash
is next cooled down to the proper tenn
perature for fermentation, by passing
it through series of pipes. surrounded
| by cold water, and it is then introduced
into the fermentation vat. Yeast is
next added. The making Of yeast it.
/ self requires the attention of an ex-
pert One of these immense fermenta-
| ton watts holds $4,000 gallons. and o.
| the twelve in the Hammond distillery
| they are constantly in use. In the en-
tire foregoing process the object was
4 to get at the sugar in the grains, az
sugar is the principal, necessary in thu
| fermentation of alcohol. 1t is uset
indirectly in the distilling of whisky
in which grains and some malt art
mashed" While these grains are il
the process of MASKING, sugar il
formed from the starch and this sugal
changes into alcohol while fermenting
the mash gradually becomes thinner IL
consequence, and as soon as the prop
er state is reached. which the hydro
meter determines. in order to proven
ascetic fermentation, 1t is ready fot
distillation
The Distlilation Process.
The distillation is the second process
1t is in this process that the fermenteC
substance is heated to boiling in I
still. and the water, alcohol and fuse
oil are separated from vegetable fiber
decomposed and undecomposed yeast
malt, grain and salts. The very nu
merous improved stills employed, a
/ present, in the manufacture of spirit
| effect the separation Of alcohol an