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The
water
is,
therefore,
very
"hard,"
and
this,
as
Ave
shall
see,
is
of
great
benefit.
Good
water
is
indispensable
to
good
brewing,
bnt
abso-
lu
tely
pure
water
(oxide
of
hydrogen)
is
never
met
Avith
in
nature.
Its
solvent
properties
are
so
great
that
it
dissolves
more
or
less
of
most
substances
Avith
Avhieh
it
cornes
in
contact.
The
smallest
trace
of
organic
matter
renders
it
utterly
unfit
for
breAving
purposes;
no
matter
how
briglit
and
sparkling
it
may
appear
to
the
eye,
such
water
Avili
not
"keep,"
and
therefore
the
Beer
whicb
miglit
be
brewed from
it
would
not
keep
either.
"Hard"
Avater
is
suitable
only
for
Aie,
not
for
Stout.
It
is
this
simple
fact,
and
not
mere
caprice,
wkich
bas
singled
ont
Dublin
as
the
more
appropriate
birthplace
for
Stout.
"Soft"
water
extracts
more
from
the
malt
than
is
desired
by
the
breAvers
of
Aie,
Avhile
the
hard
Burton
Avater
lias
less
affinity
for
the
albuminous
ijrinciples
contained
in
the
malt.
Much
in
the
same
way
when
peas
are
boiled
in
soft
Avater
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
used
for
brewing
at
Burton
is
taken
from
the
Hiver
Trent.
This,
of
course,
is
a
mistake
—
it
is
drawn
from
wells.
The
demands
made
by
brew-
ers
upon
thèse
wells
of
late
years
have
sometimes
severely
taxed
their
resources,
and
the
sijring
Avater
is
now
used
only
for
con-
version
into
Aie.
But
we
must
not
linger
over
the
crystal
water,
fresh
from
its
rock
depths,
for
Ave
have
to
visit
the
maltings.
Thèse
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
ère
it
is
fit
for
breAving.
The
grain
best
suited
to
brewing
Beer
is
barley,
and
much
dépends
on
the
character
of
the
soil
that
grows
it,
as
Avell
as
on
the
dryness
or
wetness
of
the
season.
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
opération
of
malting
is
performed
as
f
oIIoavs
:
The
barley
is
first
placed
in
shallow
cisterns,
Avhere
it
is
steeped
in
Avater,
and
afterwards spread
ont
to
the
depth
of
a
few
inches
on
large
dry
in
g
floors.
It
quickly
gets
w&rm
of
its
own
accord,
and
under
the
com-
bined
influence
of
warmth
and
moisture
it
soon
begins
to
sprout.
When
this
lias
proceeded
a
certain
length
it
is
dried
by
the
kiln,
which,
of
course,
stops
further
germination,
and,