Historical Document · 1858

Fermented Liquors A Treatise on Brewing, Distilling, and Rectifying

Author: Feuchtwanger
Year: 1858
Type: Historical Document

brewing

VA, ee Kh w. — ERMENTED LIQUORS: A TREATISE ON BREWING, DISTILLING, RECTIFYING, AND MANUFAOTURING OF SUGARS, WINES, SPIRITS, AND ALL KNOWN LIQUORS, INOLUDING OIDER AND VINEGAR. A1LS0, HUNDREDS OF VALUABLE DIRECTIONS IN MEDICINE, METALLURGY, PYROTECHNY, AND THE ARTS IN GENERAL. BY DR. LEWIS FEUCHTWANGER, PBACTICAL AND CONSULTING CHEMIST, 148 MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK. SBith BWoor-Cuts of DISTILLING, RECTIFYING, AND VINEGAR APPARATUS. PRICE TWO DOLLABS. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 1858. KDDLETY. ERRYAR cOoLLESE } Legare TCH She. . Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, By Dr. Lewis Fevcutrwanern, In the Clerk's Office of tho District Cuurt of the United States for the Southe:n District of New York. B.C. VALENTINE, Srergoryrsn anv Evecrgorrrsr, 81, 88, & 85 Centre-street, New Yorx. ° PREFACE. _ Numerous pamphlets containing recipes and guides for the distiller have of late years been promul- gated ; none, however, have realized the just expec- tations of those men who are traflicking in fermented liquors. They searched in vain for information, but could not find’it, and were disappointed in their pur- chases. The subject of distilling and brewing has not been treated as a science, and the author con- ceived the idea that such a vacancy may be supplied by his humble efforts. He has devoted several years to the investigation of this branch of chemistry, and has spent the great- er part of his life in the study of natural history and philosophy ; and he feels, therefore, that his claim for issuing a work bearing on these studies may have some weight with those persons who have long been acquainted with him. Although he is constrained to confess that he was not fully prepared to send forth to the public a full and comprehensive treatise on such important sub- jects as the title-page would indicate, and would 4 PREFACE. \ have preterred prosecuting his experiments for a longer time, so as to be fully satisfied himself that his labors will be crowned with success, and that his contributions on the subjects treated of should give unqualified satisfaction; yet, receiving numerous pressing letters and calls from a great many of his city and country customers,—who presumed that, being a rnanufacturer, importer, and dealer of the various essences, flavorings, and essential oils, he would be capable of giving at once every desired information, —and not wishing, by a refusal, to impede the prog- ress of his business relations, he has set to work and compiled the following pages, imperfect and incom- plete as they may be, which will contain many new preparations, manipulations, secrets, and drawings, that never appeared in print; and he trusts that his present efforts may prove useful and lucrative to his friends. ’ The author begs to call the attention of his read- ers to a number of subjects which have been intro- duced in this treatise, and which are altogether novel and instructive; such as the new rectifying process, and substances more effectual for the rectify- ing tubs; the apparatus for converting whisky into strong vinegar, within twelve hours, at a very trifling cost; the artificial cider, at less than half the usual price; and the manufacture of many wines and other liquors, never before made public. PREFACE. § The experience of thirty years’ active life in his profession, of a Practical Chemist—his desire to keep pace with the advancement of science, and to manu- facture all the new productions used of late years in - medicine and the arts, have given him many advan- tages; and he thought it advisable to communicate these stores of information to the public. Part II. treats on Hygeine, relating to health, enumerating the most common diseases, their reme- dies, and medical cases, for family use ; also describing hundreds of nostrums got up by empirics for the sake of gain. Part II. is the Polytechnic and concluding part. It comprises many new alloys employed in metal- lurgy, chemicals used in ambrotyping, artificial guano or fertilizers, artificial gum arabic, and a description of all the artificial gems, and how to imitate them; on bleaching of shellac and wax; on cleaning, clearing, and cleansing mixtures; on ce- ments, from that for filling cavities of teeth to that of an iron retort; on colored fires, a part of pyrotech- nics, giving many new mixtures for colors which are cheap; many new prescriptions in cosmetics, such as soaps, Cologne and other perfumed essences ; dentifri- ces, hair-dyes and invigorators; on ink and varnishes, and many other preparations highly useful to the druggist, chemist, perfumer, and the mechanic. All these prescriptions will be of considerable benefit; 1° 6 PREFACE. and we trust that many grateful acknowledgments await us from those who will amass fortunes by the information acquired through our advice. The books which the author has, for the compila- tion of the following pages, consulted, are Johnson’s * Chemistry of Common Life, Booth’s Encyclopedia, Wright’s Cordialanica, and Percy’s Lexicon. THE AUTHOR. New Yorg, March, 1858. : CONTENTS. Bod :5 37 (0) CHAPTER J.—FreMentTatTion EXPLAINED.......... . . Varieties of Fermentation: Vinous, acetous, putrefactive, lac- tic, and butyric—Ferment and gluten, vegetable albumen— Sugar the base of fermentation—Various kinds of sugar: Grape, cane, manna, and milk sugars—Manufacture of sugar-cane, beet, palm, maple, and corn sugars. CHAPTER II.—FEeRmMEntep LIQUORS. ......eseesse cece Atomical composition and equivalents—Starch, gluten, and diastase explained—Beer, malt, and hops—Zeilithoid, or new beer generator—Extract of malt—Alcohol contained in beer, porter, and ale—Chica, or corn beer—Bouza, or millet beer—Quarf, or rye beer—Koumiss, or milk beer—Ava, or South Sea Island beer—Beer constituents—U pper and lower fermentation—Scotch ale, Bavarian beer, Strasburg ale— Ginger beer, spruce beer, root and lager beer. CHAPTER ITI.—WINE .... cece eee cece cece neennens Apple wine cider and imitation cider—Grape wine, per centage of alcohol—Grape wine contains tartaric acid and cananthio ether—Physical distinction of wines—Fining of wines— Consumption of wines. CHAPTER IV.—WInE BEvERAGES ........00cscee cere Frouyr Winzs: Apple, pear, cherry, quince, raisin, gooseberry, currant, raspberry, elderberry, and root wines—Maple, car- rot, potato, palm, sugar-cane, agave, ginger, &c. Suear Wing: Columbia wine and mead. Ihoration Wines: Madeira, Burgandy, Medoo, Malaga, Mus- cat, Canary, Tokay, Port, Claret, Sherry, and Rhine. Sparxiwne Wings: Champagne, Champagne from gooseberry, . Champagne from cider. PaGE 18 20 80 88 8 CONTENTS. OHAPTER V.—Ootors FoR WINES.......eeccecceeees Sugar coloring—Table of alcohol per centage of all fermented liquors, by measure. . CHAPTER VI.—Arvent Spirits, Atconor, Branpy, AND ALL OTHER LIQUORS .....8... cece ec eee eves Composition from various materials—General remarks on the various products—Fusel oil of potato identical with Cognac oil or grape oil. OHAPTER VII.—DIsrinuaTion ......cccccceeccecvces Description of Simple, Pistorius’, and Dr. Gall’s perfect Dis- tilling Apparatus—Mashing process, preparation of the wort, and its fermentation—Yeast, description and manu- facture of. OHAPTER VIII.—Reoriryina PRoonss..........00e0 Rectifying by bone black—by charcoal—Rectifying apparatus with and without sand. OHAPTER IX.—HyYpDBoMETER ........ceccceccceccees Meaning of proof explained—Sykes’ hydrometer—Condensa- tion of volumes of alcoliol and water—Tables of contraction of alcohol and water. CHAPTER X.—Tue Hypromerer AND THEEMOMETER.. Reduction of temperature. OHAPTER XI.—Crearing or LIQUORS. ..6. ccc eeeo veces By mixture—By age and body. Preparation of Sugar syrup—Lemon syrup—Fruit syrup. OHAPTER XII.—Drivision or Liquors. .......eeeeeeee Rum, Arac, and Cognac—Derivation of the word Cognac— Rochelle brandy and whisky—Gin, cider, peach, cherry, plum, and cordials. Manufacture of arae—Cognac from oil—Cognac from essence— From extract of the grape-juice—From Brandy flavoring —Whiskies—Holland and London gins—How to clear a milky gin. Manofacture of Jamnaica ram—Of New England ram—Peach, . cider, cherry, blackberry, raspberry, plum, orange, cin— race 61. 70. 80- CONTENTS. $ PaGs namon, ginger, and clove brandies—Of peppermint, kim- * mel, anise, and wormwood liquors—Of stomachic bitters— Extract of punch. Corpiats :—Manufacture of absinthe, Curacao, Maraschino, anisette, parfait d’amour, cherry-bounce, raspberry, rail- road, elixir vite, orange elixir, Roman punch, kirechwasser, noyeuu, orgeat, and other cordiuls. CHAPTER XIII.—Acrrio Acip, Vinzear, AND QUICK VINEGAR. ces eee cece cece cece cstcsenccescesecces LOL Composition of acetic acid—Distilled vinegar—Wood or pyro- ligueous acid—Apparatus for the quick vinegar process— The latest improved process—Raspberry and forty-thieves vinegar—The latter explained. OHAPTER XIV.—ApvLTeRATIONS OF ALL FERMENTED LIQUORS 1... cece eee cece cee cc ceeccscccevecces 109 OHAPTER XV.—Bar-room Drinks or Beveraces.... 110 Mint julep, grog, negus, punch, &e. PART II. HYGEINE, OR TREATISE ON HEALTH. CHAPTER I.—Diszases, Remepigs, AND TREATMENT IN MEDIOAL Cass 0.0.0... cee cee cece ecee cece cees LE Properties of the principal medicines which are used in daily practice. CHAPTER IJ.—Mareria MeEp10,, or THE Use oF Famity Meproines, iw TasLE ForM, conTaintne Two Hun- DRED REMEDIES. .....0. cee ceecce ces cececccreres 180 OHAPTER III.—Mexpicoat Cases, THEIR SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT; CONTAINING THE MOST IMPORTANT Di8- BASES AND THEIR REMEDIES, WiTH 2560 Caszs...... 188 OHAPTER IV.—A Lisr oF approvep Hovusz ReMzpizs AND NOBSTRUMB...2.c00 cece ceccececececccccceces 14T 20 OONTENTS. PART III. POLYTECHNY ; OR A TREATISE ON THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF THE ARTS. OHAPTER I.—On M&rALLureGy .......0 cece ccccecee Explaining a number of new alloys and metallic compositions for writing-pens, imitation silver, imitation gold, German silver, and metallic pencils. CHAPTER II.—AmBrorypz CHEMIOALS........ceeccee Explaining the apparatus, and how to prepare the chemicals for this art. OHAPTER III.—On Arririorat Guano, on Fertiizer.. , Explaining several mixtores for the purpose of fertilizing the ground, and how to test the guano. Also, how to prepare an artificial gum arabic, equal in appearance and quality to the natural gum arabic. OHAPTER IV.—Anrtiriciat Precious STonzs....... oe How to imitate all the gems, from the diamond (the strass) to * the ruby, sapphire, emerald, opal, &e. CHAPTER V.—MIsogtranzous REOEIPTS.........0.00. , Blacking for boots and harness—Bleaching of shellac, sponge, “ &e.—Bottle and sealing wax—Cements and pastes—includ- ing many useful preparations for stone and iron, furniture, and hydraulic cements. CHAPTER VI.—On Cizanine, OLzansine, an CLEAR- ING MATERIALS......-- 0.0 ceecccees cece eoscecee ; Many simple and useful ingredients for polishing silver, brass, and furniture; also clearing mixtures for coffee, cider, and wines. CHAPTER VII.—Ow Conorep Fires or Pyrotgonntos.. The best prescriptions for producing fine colored fireworks, -. from the author’s own experience. PAGE 156 159 164 164 171 177 179 CONTENTS. 11 PaGs CHAPTER VIII.—Own CosMerios .......00ss0eceeeees 188 Comprises various branches, such as the preparation of useful soaps, as cosmetic, glycerrhine, cream, family, and deter- gent soap; starch polish, or linen gloss; the chemical whale oil soap; opodeldoc and transparent soaps. Comprises also the preparation of Cologne waters—Handker- chief perfumes—Dentifrices, such as tooth powders, tooth washes, and tooth pastes. ‘On Antique, Macassar Oils, and Pomatums, for the growth of hair, complexion, and lipsp—On Hair Dyes, several econo- mical and useful preparations—On Fumigating articles for sick-rooms and churches—Pastiles, liquid rouge, and smell- ing salts—On Hair Invigorators or Restorers, giving the best prescriptions how to prevent the hair from falling out. CHAPTER IX.—On Soipers anp SitvERines ......... 199 CHAPTER X.—ON VABNISHES........0.seseeccee cess 200 How to prepare the best boiled linseed oil without any danger— White copal and mastic varnishes. CHAPTER XI.—Own INKS........cccecee eee eee ccee 208 Good writing, stamping, and copying inks. CHAPTER XII.—On Poisons ror pestroyine Inszors INFESTING HOUSES.... 0... cece cece e cover sess eres 208 Giving valuable prescriptions for preparing the celebrated Rat Destroyer, a preparation of phosphorus—A valuable powder for driving away cockroaches —Fly paper, &c., d&c., &c. ~ Digitized by Google FERMENTED LIQUORS. ——_—_4+4—_—_- CHAPTER I. g I. FerMentration.—The word fermentation means a sponta- necus change, underguing iu solutions containing sugar, un- der certain circumstances. In the production of beer, which is the result of fermentation, the sugar is derived from the malt; in that of wine, it is from the juice of the grape; and no vegetable juice can be made to undergo the process of fermentation perfectly, if sugar is not contained in it in a considerable degree. The product of fermentation is an in- toxicating liquid, called alcohol. The alcoholic or vinous fermentation is therefore the change of a saccharine solu- tion, with the presence of yeast or ferment. The juice of ' fruits ferments spontaneously, as it incloses both the ferment and sugar. To the infusion of malted grain, ferment (yeast) is added; but, after fermentation, the quantity of yeast is increased, being formed from a substance existing in the grain. A number of substances produce their own peculiar fermentations, such as the vinous, acetous, putreyuctive, lactic, butyric, and other fermentations. In the vinous fermenta- tions, alcohol and carbonic acid are formed by the decompo- sition of the sugar contained in solution: but also a yellow or gray insoluble substance, containing a large quantity of nitrogen, is produced, which is called ferment, having the 2 14 FERMENTED LIQUOBRS. power of inducing fresh fermentation in a new solution of sugar, and which has its origin from the azotized constituents of the juices called gluten, or vegetable albumen. It is cer- tain that the wort, or infusion of malt, contains the azotized matter of the wort, or the gluten, and that the ferment is formed from the gluten at the same time that the transfor- mation of the sugar is effected, in the same condition as the gluten exists in the juice of grapes. The wort ferments by the addition of yeast ; but after its decomposition is comple- ted, the quantity of ferment or yeast is found to be thirty per cent. greater than it originally was. The yeast from beer and that from wine are quite identical. § IL. As sugar forms the base, and the ingredient from which our brewers and distillers manufacture their liquors, it is of some importance that the reader should be made familiar with all the varieties of sugar. The ancient world knew only the honey, grape, manna, and fruit sugars. In the present age we have added the cane, maple, beet, corn, and palm sugars. Sugar is also man- ufactured from potatoes and other substances rich in starch } from chickweed, sawdust, and from the milk of our cattle. The numerous varieties of useful sugars are arranged un- der four heads, which are—I. The grape sugars; II. The cane sugars; III. The manna and liquorice sugars ; and, IV. The animal or milk sugar. I. The grape sugar has again five varieties, which are,— 1. Sugar of the grape; 2. Sugar of honey; 8. Sugar of “fruits; 4. Sugar of potatoes, or starch sugar; and, 5. Elder- berry sugar. 1. Grape Sugar—tThe ripe grape, when dried, forms the well-known raisin. In this, when opened, are numerous whi- tish crystalline brittle grains, which are sweet to the taste. " BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. 15 This is called the grape sugar, which dissolves readily in water, and if yeast be added to the solution, soon enters into fermentation. The result of this fermentation is a spirituous liquor re- sembling wine, and afterwards, by continued fermentation, an acid liquor, like sour wine or vinegar. 2. Honey Sugars.—Honey is formed, or naturally depos- ited, in the nectaries of flowers, and is then extracted from them by the working bees; this they deposit in their crop, or honey-bag, and from this receptacle disgorge it again when they return to the hive. When liquid honey is allow- ed to stand for a length of time, it gradually thickens and congolidates; by pressure through a linen bag, a white solid sugar, consisting of minute crystals, remains, while the semi- fluid syrup runs through it. . 3. Fruit Sugars—The apple, pear, plum, peach, goose- berry, currant, and cherry, contain and owe their sweetness, acquired when fully ripened, to grape sugar, and the same may readily be extracted; they are mostly, however, either dried or made wine of. 4. Potato or Starch Sugar—It is a property of starch of all kinds to be insoluble in cold water, but to dissolve in boiling water, and to thicken into a jelly as it cools; but if asmall quantity of oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) he added to the water in which it is boiled, the solution gradually ac- quires a sweet taste, and ultimately the whole of the starch is converted into grape or honey sugar. A pound of acid, diluted with one hundred pounds of water, will convert a great many pounds of potato, wheat, or sago starch into sugar. If the acid be then separated by lime, and the liquor boiled down better, a rich syrup or a solid sugar may be ob- tained, Instead of sulphuric acid, we may mix with the water twelve to fifteen pounds of malt for every one hundred pounds of starch; heat for three hours to one hundred and: "16 FERMENTED LIQUORS. sixty degrees, and filter and evaporate the syrup. This sugar is much used in Europe for sweetening, for adulterating cane sugar, and for the manufacture of spirituous liquors. The French confectioners employ this syrup’ extensively, and brandy is distilled from it in Northern Europe. Instead of starch, woody fibre, paper, raw cotton, flax, cotton and linen rags, and sawdust, may be transformed into sugar by digestion in diluted sulphuric acid. This operation is explained by the acid first changing the fibre into starch, and then the starch into sugar. Likewise Iceland and Irish moss and Ceylon moss, and other sea-weeds which form a jelly when boiled in water, may be converted into grape sugar, when digested in diluted sulphuric acid. 5. Elderberry Sugar.—The sugar obtained from the el- derberry resembles likewise grape sugar, but differs some- what in other properties. II. The plants or fruits which possess distinctly acids, or sour juices, yield grape sugar; those which have little acid in their saps, contain for the most part cane sugar. The varieties of the sugar-cane are,—1. The Cane; 2. Beet; 8. Palm or Date ; 4. Maple; 5. Corn Sugar. 1. Sugar-cane or Chinese Sugar.—The soil where the sugar-cane grows is within the torrid zone, and at low ele- vations; it forms, in many tropical regions, a staple part of the ordinary food: the ripe stalk of the plant is chewed and sucked, and in the markets of Manilla and Rio Janeiro, in New Orleans, and in the Sandwich and other islands of the Pacific Ocean, affords food for the inhabitants. The nutritive property of the raw juice of the sugar-cane arises from the circumstance that it contains, besides the sugar to which its sweetness is owing, a considerable proportion of gluten, as well as of those necessary mineral substances which are pres- ent in all our staple forms of vegetable food. The juice of the sugar-cane varies in composition and richness with the . BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. — 17 variety of cane, the nature of the soil, the mode of cultiva- tion, and the dryness of the season. Its average composi- tion in sugar plantations, when the canes are fully ripe, is— sugar from 18-22 parts in 100, water and gluten 71 parta, woody fibre 10 parts, and saline matter 1 part. ‘Phe sugar is extracted in the following manner : the canes are cut, the leaves and tops are chopped off and left in the fields, while the under or ripe part is carried to the mill, where the ripe canes are passed between heavy iron crushing-rollera, which squeeze out the juice; this is run into large vessels, where it is clarified by the addition of lime or bisulphide of lime. This operation has a twofold object: it removes or neutralizes the acid which rapidly forms in the fresh juice, and at the same time it combines with the gluten of the juice and carries it to the bottom. This gluten acts as a natural ferment, causing the sugar to run to acid, and it re- quires to be speedily removed. After being clarified in this way, and sometimes filtered, the juice is boiled down rapidly and run into wooden vessels to cool and crystallize. It is finally put in perforated casks to drain: the raw or musco- vada sugar remains, and the drainings are the molasses, The molasses and skimmings are fermented and distilled for rum. The cane-sugar is much sweeter than the grape sugar, and dissolves more readily in water; for one pound of cold water dissolves three pounds of cane, and but one pound of grape sugar. 2, Beet-root Sugar is obtained from the sliced beet-root being squeezed out and the juice boiled down. When raw, jt possesses a peculiar unpleasant flavor, but when refined it is scarcely distinguishable in any respect from that of the sugar-cane. 3. Palm or Date Sugar.—Most trees of the palm tribe, such as the date-palm, gomuti-tree, the sap of the cocoa-nut Q* 18 FERMENTED LIQUORS. . tree, and wild date-palm, yield a copious supply of sweet juice when their top shoot or spadix is wounded. This palm-sugar, from whatever tree it is extracted, is exactly the same species of sugar as that yielded by the sugar-cane. Other non-acid fruits, like the melon, chesnut, and cocoa- nut, contain cane sugar. ° 4, Maple Sugar—This sugar is only prepared in the eastern section of the United States, where the maple-tree grows in abundance. It is identical with pure sugar-cane in all its properties. 5. Maize or Indian Corn Sugar.—The green stalks of the corn contain a sweet juice which, when boiled down, yields an agreeable variety of cane sugar. : 6. Sorghum Sugar, extracted in China from the dhurra plant, is likewise a species of the cane sugar. It has of late been cultivated in the northern part of the United States with a satisfactory result. It promises to be at a future day a great rival to the sugar-cane. III. Manna and Milk Sugare—These sugars are less sweet than the previous ones, and do not ferment when mix- ed with yeast. 1. Manna of the ash-tree, chiefly cultivated in Sicily and Calabria, is from the sap of the tree, which hardens on the outside of the tree. This manna contains two kinds of sugar: one-third of its weight is gum; one-third of white crystalline sugar, called mannite; and only about ten per cent of a sugar resembling grape sugar, which ferments with yeast. It is the large quantity of gum which dimin- ishes its sweetness. This species of sugar is contained in many sea-weeds and mosses, also in the common celery and dandelion roots. 2. The gum-tree manna of Australia and Van Dieman’s Land. This is sometimes seen to fall like a shower of snow over a large district, when the wind blows. The sweet BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. “19 substance exuding from the leaves of the gum-tree, drying in daytime in the sun, is carried off at night. It is a peculiar crystallizable sugar. It is probably the same sugar which even in this country, and last year in Utah, was found on the leaves in large quantities. 3. Manna sugar from many trees, such as an oak in Kur- distan, the European larch. The manna from the pine of Mount Lebanon, is much esteemed in Syria as a remedy for affections of the chest. The Persian manna or gen—in Persia, Bokhara, Arabia, and Palestine—serves as food for camels, sheep, and goats. It is obtained from the camel’s thorns, and is gathered by merely shaking the branches of the same. The manna of the Old Testament is the Tamarisk manna, growing abundantly in the neighbothood of Mount Sinai. The tree called the tarfa-tree resembles much the weeping birch-tree, and the manna flows out in drops from the ex- tremities of its slender boughs. . 4. The Orein manna is a sweet substance existing in cer tain species of lichen. The liquorice sugar, generally known as Spanish liquor- ice juice, is the extract of the liquorice root. A large tree of Southern Europe. It differs in flavor from all other su- gars; does not crystallize, nor does it ferment with yeast. It is used by brewers in the manufacture of porter. 5. Milk sugar. A peculiar species of sugar is contained in the milk after the curd is separated in making cheese. Its sugar remains in the whey, and is obtained in crystals by boiling the same down to a small bulk; it is hard and gritty, less soluble and less sweet than cane sugar, and it occurs in plants only in the acorn. 20 FERMENTED LIQUORS. . ‘ CHAPTER II. ; § IIL Fermentep Liquors.—Beer and wine are called fer- mented liquors, both deriving their elements from sugar. In the production of beer, the sugar is derived from the malt; in that of wine, from the juice of the grape. When grape sugar ‘is dissolved in water, and a little yeast is added to the solution, it begins speedily to ferment. During this fermentation, the sugar is split up into three different substances—alcohol, water, and carbonic acid. The first two remain in the liquid, while the carbonic acid gas escapes as bubbles into the air; and chemical analysis proves, beyond a doubt, that one atom of grape sugar having the number 40— consisting of 12 parts of carbon, 14 parts of bydrogen, and 14 parts of oxygen—will contain the same number of the products just described, viz. : 8 parts Carbon. 2 parte of alcohol, composed of 3 “Hydrogen. 4 “ Oxygen. 4 “ Carbon. 4 ‘ earbonic acid, “ 0 “ Hydrogen. 8 “ Oxygen. 0 “ Carbon. 2 “ water, “ 2 “ Hydrogen. \ 2 “ Oxygen. ” 0 : Oo H. 0 1 part grape sugar..... =12 144 M= Oo HR 0. 2 parts alcohol. ..........00.005 =8 12 4 4 “ carbonic acid ........... =4 0 8 2“ water....ccccec cee ee eee =0 2 2 : 12 14 14 BREWING, DISTILLING, AND BRECTIFYING. The same phenomenon takes place with cane sugar; as also with starch, converted into grape sugar by the action of dilute sulpkuric acid; or of a mixture of malt, if yeast is added to the sweet solution. The starch of barley and other , grains is converted into grape sugar before it is removed from the seed, and is then split up as before, by means of yeast, into the same elements just described. These grains, or cereals, consist more especially of two principal substances—starch and gluten. When moistened, and under favorable circumstances, the grains begin to sprout, and a chemical change begins to take place: the gluten is changed, among other products, into a white soluble sub- stance called Diastase, and the starch into soluble grape sugar ; hence the sweetness of the sprouted barley. This nat- ural change in the constituents of sprouting grains forms the art of brewing. Malt beers owe their appellation to the fact that they are manufactured, wholly or partially, from malted barley. § IV.—Bezr. 1. Malt.—When barley is moistened—that is, by adding nearly its bulk of water over it—put in heaps, spread on a floor in a dark room to heat and sprout, and the germ is about to burst from the envelop of the seed, the growth is ar- rested by drying the grain gently on the floor of the kiln. It is then malted barley, has a sweet taste, showing that it contains sugar. Corn, oats, wheat, and rye may be converted into malt by a similar process. 2. Beer—The malt is now bruised and introduced into the mash-tun, with warm water of 160° temperature, with rather more than its bulk of water; the mixture is stirred up for a few hours, then the liquor is run off, and more water added, until the malt is exhausted. These infusions are called wort, and the proper strength of the same on the . 22 ‘ FERMENTED LIQUORS. saccharometer scale is 0° at 70° temperature, or of a specific gravity 1.100. Hops are now added to the fresh boiling wort, to one- twentieth of the weight of the employed malt. .The object of the use of hops is to cover the sweetness of the liquor by av aromatic bitter, and to diminish its tendeney to acidity, . and also to assist in clarifying it. The boiled liquor is run off into shallow vessels, and cooled as rapidly as possible to the best fermenting temperature, . 60° Fahr.; it is then transferred to the fermenting vat, and, & sufficient quantity of yeast being added, allowed to fer- ment slowly for six or eight days. During this fermenta- tion, the sugar of the wort is split up into alcohol and water, which remains in the beer, and into carbonic acid gas, which mostly escapes. The liquor becomes then clear, has lost much of its sweetness, and, diminished in its specific gravity, acquired a new flavor, and become an intoxicating liquor. 8. The Zeilithoid, or new Beer Generator, or grainstone, introduced since 1852 by Rietsch, in Austria, for the pur- pose of producing beer in the cold way, is nothing but an ex- tract of grain (barley), and an addition of hops, and is a hard, yellow, tough masa, which does not spoil by keeping, but, when required for use, is dissolved in water, and fer- mented by yeast: a good beer, according to the quantity of material, is obtained in a very short time. This beer may be made on long sea-voyages, and in hot climates, in quan- tities to suit, for immediate use. 4, The Hetract of Malt is the same as the above, obtained by the evaporation of ready prepared beer to dryness, and its composition is undecomposed sugar, soluble gluten, from the- grain, and bitter substances from hops, and yields about eight per cent. from good beer. The nutritive qualities of beer depend upon the amount and nature of this extract, and the Jess fermented beers contain most of the extract. English ale BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. 23 contains four per cent. ; emall beer, fourteen per cent.; while _ the German drinks, scarcely half fermented, contain as much as thirty-nine per cent. 5. Beer contains, as a matter of course, alcohol, the result of fermentation; and this varies in quantity quite as much as the extract. For instance : Small beer contains but 14 per cent. alcohol Porter “ 54 “ “ Brown stout “ 64 “ “ Bitter and strong ale “ 10 “ “ And upon this alcohol depends the intoxicating effect of malt liquors. The English ales contain about the same strength, and have the same influence, as hock and light French wines. Beer is moreover food as well as drink, on account of the large amount of nutritive matter it con- tains, and is only distinguished from wine by the bitter, nar- cotic principle of hop. The Chica, or Indian-cora (maize) Beer, which is a com- ‘mon drink of South America, is prepared in the same man- ner as any other beer. Indian corn is malted instead of barley ; and the liquor after fermentation is of a dark yel- low color, and has an agreeable, slightly bitter, acid taste. This universal beverage, along the west coast of South America, is the only beverage of the country. The Chica mascada is the chewed corn, used for converting it into the chica. It is considered far superior to that prepared from corn crushed in the usual manner ; and the hosts in the val- leys of the Sierra know no greater luxury to offer their guests and strangers than a draught of the chica mascada, the ingredients of which have been ground between their own teeth. 7, Bouza, or Millet Beer, or Murwa, is a fermented beer from millet seed. Among the Crimean Tartars, it produces an excessively astringent beverage. On the southern slopes o4 FERMENTED LIQUORS. of the Himalaya mountains, the Millet beer is in general use, where it is drank while still warm ; is served in bamboo jugs, and sucked through a reed. It tastes, when fresh, like the negus of Cape Sherry. 8. The Quarf, or Rye Beer, is a favorite Russian drink, resembling the bouza in taste and appearance, except that it is made from fermented rye flour. 9. The Koumiss, or Milk Beer, is a fermented liquor, pro- duced by the addition of yeast to milk. It is the milk su- gar, along with the curd and butter, which produces the fer- mentation, transforming it into alcohol and carbonic acid. Mares’ milk is richer in sugar.than the milk of the cow. It takes two days for preparing, and has a sourish taste. In a cool place, in close vessels, it may be preserved for several months. It is always shaken before it is drank. It is a nourishing as well as exhilarating drink, and is not followed by the usual bad effects of intoxicating liquors. It is even very beneficial in dyspepsia and in general debility. It is very easily prepared by diluting new-milk with one-sixth of its bulk of water, adding a quantity of starch, and cover- ing the whole up in a warm place for twenty-four hours. It is then churned together till the curd and whey are inti- mately mixed, and is again left at rest for twenty-four hours, It is then put into a tall vessel, and agitated till it becomes perfectly homogeneous. This beer is the favorite drink of the Tartars. The Arabians and Turks prepare a similar milk beer. 10. The Ava, Cava, or Arva, is a beer prepared from the root of the long pepper, and is in use in the South Sea Isl- ands, all along the Pacific Ocean, in Tahiti, Sandwich Isl- ands, Tonga Islands, and Feejee Islands. It is similar in its preparations to the chica. The root is chewed, either fresh or dry, as the Indian chews the maize; the pulp is then mixed with cold water, which after a little while is strained BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. 25 from the chewed fibre, and is ready for use. None but young persons, who have good teeth, clean mouths, and have no colds, are employed in this operation. The women often assist in chewing the ava root in the Tonga Islands. The ava drinking of the king at Somu-somu, one of the Feejee Islands, is very peculiar and attended with much cer- emony, both religious and political. § V.—Genenat Remarks ox Beer. The difference iu the varieties of beer is of course in the materials employed for the production of fermented liquors, or in the process and management of brewing. Malt beer differs according to the kind of malt employed, and accord- ing to the proportion of hops and water. It differs from wine, not only in containing less alcohol, but also in contain- ing a much larger quantity of nutritive matter. It owes also its intoxicating property to the bitter and narcotic ingre- dients of hops. The specific gravity of small or table beer never exceeds 1,025, and contains about 5 per cent. of the malt extract, while ale, such as Burton’s, is as high as 1.111; porter, 1.055; and brown stout, 1.072. The color of the beer depends upon the color of the malt, and the duration of the boiling in the copper kettles. Pale ale is made from steam or sun-dried malt, and the young shvots of the hop; amber ale, from a mixture of pale, yellow, and brown malt; dark-brown beer, from partially carbonized or parched malt; and porter from high-dried malt,—hence its deep color, and the absence of any sweet taste, having lust by heat its sac- charine matter; while ale has a sweetish taste, and contains a much larger quantity of saccharine matter. A main fea-’ ture of good beer is its fine color and transparency. Various substances are used for refining, muddy or foul beer, such as isinglass and Irish moss; and some brewers add even the Iceland moss, which not only assists in clarifying, but also 3 26 _ FERMENTED LIQUORS. in imparting a pleasant bitter taste. The temperature and the manner in which the worts are made to ferment have a remarkable influence upon the quality of beer, especially in reference to its fitness for keeping. § VI. There are two kinds of fermentation, the upper and the lower or bottom fermentation. The former isa much more active fermentation; the gluten is only partially oxydized at the expense of the oxygen of a portion of the sugar, while a great portion remains dissolved in the liquor, and by its subsequent oxydation is apt to transfer oxygen to the alcohol and render it sour, unless it be kept at a very low tempera- ture. This is still more the case, if, during too violent a fermentation, the temperature rises too high, and especially if the air be not perfectly excluded, or a considerable ¢uan- tity of acetic acid be forined, by which an additional quan- tity of glutinous matter is dissolved; and it thus is not only apt to spoil from the slightest causes, but loses also its liquid- ity, and assumes a disagreeable taste, what is called yeast bitten. By the lower fermentation, on the contrary, the conver- sion of the sugar into alcohol is performed very slowly, and without any considerable rise of the temperature; so that the gluten is completely oxydized and precipitated by the oxygen of the air, and without conversion of the alcohol into acetic acid ; so that the resulting beer—as all the Bava- rian beers for example—is not liable to become sour. When this is not the case, the tendency to become sour is generally remedied by a large addition of hops and a greater proportion of malt, by which the beer becomes more nar- cotic and intoxicating, and less agreeable to the taste. BREWING, DISTILLING, AND RECTIFYING. 27 § VIT—A.es ax Berrs. 1. The Scotch ale is characterized by its pale amber color and its mild balsamic flavor, and the bitterness of the hop is so mellowed with the malt as not to predominate. The low temperature at which the Scotch brewer operates in. the colder months of the year, and his nicety in selecting his malt and hops, will always keep him pre-eminent to the other manufacturers of the world. 2. The Bavarian Leer is fermented very slowly, and at a very low temperature, by the so-called lower or bottom fer- mentation ; and it is incapable of undergoing the acetous fer- mentation, even by free exposure to the air. It keeps for years without turning sour. In the south of Germany a light beer is prepared trom various amylaceous substances besides the barley, such as potatoes; beans, turnips, beets, carrots, &c. 3. The Strasburg ale is mainly manufactured from mash- ed potatoes, mixed with about one-tenth of their weight of ground barley malt. This is mixed with some water, and exposed in a water bath to a heat of 160°, whereby it is partly converted into saccharine matter, and may then be boiled with hops, cooled and fermented into beer. § VIL There are several kinds, of beverages called beer, par excel- dence, but very improperly, as they are made from saccharine liquors, and advanced more or less into the vinous fermen- tation, and flavored with peculiar substances ; such as spruce, ginger, and root-beer, which I will shortly enumerate in their place. 1. Ginger-beer.—This beverage, a favorite summer drink .in the United States, is prepared quite simply in the follow- ing manner: To 3 gallons water add } pound bruised. gine 28 FEKMENTED LIQUORS. ger-root, 2 ounces cream tartar, and 4 pounds sugar; boil for a few minutes, and after cooling, add about 1 gill of fresh yeast; cover up the vessel with a thick flannel, and let it stand over night; add a little essence of lemon, strain it, and bottle the liquid in clean bottles, and tie the corks down by means of twine or iron wire: on the fourth dav the beer is tit to drink. Another Engiish ginger-Leer is prepared by boiling 14 ounces pulverized ginger, 1 ounce cream tartar, 1 pound su- gar, with 3 gallon water; when cold, add a little yeast (a tablespoontul) : the following day it is filtered. and drawn into bottles and well corked. 2. Spruce beer is prepsred by putting into the common soda