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IJurtun-on-Treiil
lies
in
a
basin
ol'
marl
and
fj^ypsum
which
strongly
impregnate
the
water
collected
in
the
brewery
wells.
The
water
is,
therefore,
very
"hard,"
and
this,
as
we
shall
see,
is
of
great
benefit.
Good
water
is
indispensable
to
good
brewing,
but
ab.solutely
pure
water
(oxide
of
hydrogen)
is
never
met
with
in
nature.
Its
solvent
properties
are
so
great
that
it
dissolves
more
or
less
of
most
substances
with
which
it
comes
in
contact.
The
smallest
trace
of
organic
matter
renders
it
utterly
unfit
for
brewing
purposes;
no
matter
how
bright
and
sparkling
it
may
appear
to
the
eye,
such
water
will
not
"keep,"
and
therefore
the
Beer
which
migiit
he
l)rewed
from
it
would
not
keep
either.
"Hard"
water
is
suitable
only
for
Ale,
not
for
Stout.
It
is
this
simple
fact,
and
not
mere
caprice,
which
has
singled
out
Dublin
as the
more
appropriate
birthplace
for
Stout.
"Soft"
water
extracts
more
from
the
malt
than
is
desired
by
the
brewers
of
Ale,
while
the
hard
Burton
water
has
less
attinity
for the
albuminous
principles
contained
in
the
malt.
Much
in
the
same
way
when
peas
are
boiled
in
soft
water
they
are
reduced
to
pulp,
but
if
boiled
in
hard
water
their
outside
.skin
is
toughened,
and
they
retain
their
individual
shape.
It
is
frequently
supposed
that
the
water
u.sed
for
brewing
at
Burton
is
taken
from
the
River
Trent.
This,
of
course,
is
a
mistake
—
It
is
drawn
from
wells.
The
demands
made
by
brew-
ers
upon
these
wells
of
late
years
have
sometimes
.severely
taxed
their
resources,
and
the
si)ring
water
is
now
used
only
for
con-
version
into
Ale.
But
we
must
not
linger
o\er
the
crystal
water,
fresh
from
its
rock
depths,
for
we
have
to
\'isit
the
maltings.
These
great
detached
buildings
stretch
in
a
long
and
uniform
line
as
far
as.
the
eye
can
carry,
and
they
are
used
exclusively
for
the
purpose
of
converting
the
barley
into
malt,
which
must
be
done
ere
it
is
fit
for
brewing.
The
grain
be.st
suited
to
brewing
Beer
is
barley,
and
much
depends
on
the
character
of
the
-soil
that
grows
it,
as
well as
on
the
dryness
or
wetne.ss
of
the
.sea.son.
It
is
not
every kind
of
barley
that
will
make
good
malt,
and
great
is
the
care
and
zeal
exercised
at
Burton
to
obtain
the
very
choicest
and
most
suitable
growths,
no
matter
whether
they
be
from
the
United
Kingdom
or
abroad.
The
operation
of
malting
is
performed
as
follow\s:
The
barley
is
first
placed
in
shallow
ci.sterns,
where
it is
.steeped
in
water,
and
afterwards
spread
out
to
the
depth
of
a
few
inches
on
large
drying
floors.
It
(juickly
gets
warm
of
its
own
accord,
and
under
the
com-
bined
inOuence
of
warmth
and
moisture
it
.soon
begins
to
.sprout.