The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-11-28
SLOP? NO.! ITS
BREW is GOOD,
CLAIMS EXPERT
Veteran City Master of Kegs
Says Home Liquor Kick
Merely Gas lag
BY ARCH sTEINEL

And so they call it 'slop' It's
not. It's just a good mild beer.
One thing it'll do, If legalized, is
to get RID Of lot of these gas jags
that the citizens OF indianapolis
have been afflicted with under pro-
hibition home brew"
That's the lowdown en- 275 per
cent beer and an answer to Indi-
ana's senator, Jim Watson, for his
Stop charge.
1t comes straight from the barley
sacks and the hops vsts in the
words OF John j. Giesen, brew
master, and owner of the Giesen
Products Company, 1880 Madison
avenue.
When Giesen says 275 beer by
weight isn't "slop," he knows what
he's talking about, for he's been
close to brewing since he was 10
years old.
Beer Won Gold Medals
He brewed the old Dusseldorfer
beer of the Indianapolis Brewing
Company that won the gold medal
at worlds fairs in Paris and ST.
Louis.
Giesen's attack at critics of ITS
beer isn't halted at that, for he
turns on the home brewer-and de-
clares that since prohibition the
home brewer has been on "gas jags."
They think they're intoxicated
when, in truth, they've been drink
ing beer with probably less alco-
holic content than 2.75 per cent
They're just kidding themselves. It's
the gas in the yeast that's still in
the beer that does it, 1t goes to
their head, and they get a first
class gas jag on" Giesen said.
"The beer proposed for congress
TO act on will be mild beer 1t
will be notwithstanding, in fact,
and be minus the gas jag of the
home brewer.
Stronger Brew SOurs
THE fellow who makes his own
will tell you his beer that runs 6,
and IA per cent alcohol That's
in their head. Do you know that
beer of more than 5 per cent alco-
hol, by volume, will sour, and no
one will drink it?
Just to give you an idea of brew
ing in the days before state prohi-
bition-beer had to be fermented for
fourteen days, and generally stayed
in storage for two to three months
in INSTRUMENTATION before it was
placed on the market.
Now do you think he added,
that the man who makes home
brew let's his beer stand that long
to gain alcoholic content and fla
vor? Mo- He bottles it almost as
quick as he makes it."
Glesen pointed out that ITS PER
cent beer, by weight-the same beer
made during wartime-was 3.45 per
cent alcohol, by volume.
4.S1 by Volume
From list of beer analysis made
back in 1917, he drew out one re-
port to brewery he headed, which
showed the old-time schooner held
lager of 481 per cent, by volume,
and 3.77 per cent by weight.
The average American beer was
around 4.80 per cent by volume be-
fore the eighteenth amendment was
a part Of the Constitution" he said.
Giesen doesn't believe the racke-
teers can have ''look-in" in at
tempts to 'muscle-in" on the
legitimate brewing industry if con-
gress makes 2.75 beer legal.
He declares that a fair tax for
Der would be 81 a barrel and that
any tax that exceeds that would
merely result in less consumption
and tax to the government.
At a "a barrel tax he says beer
could be sold at 10 cents a pint, 5
cents glass, and $150 a case, and
still make fair profit for the
brewer.
Giesen has handled soft drinks
and near beers since prohibition,
and he speaks with authority and
knowledge when he forecasts that
the return of beer will not lessen
the sales in soft drinks.