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BEER.
6l
Seer.
BEER
or
to
call
it
by
the
name
that
is
at
present
more
en
vogue,
Lager
consists,
or
at
least
ought
to
consist,
of
a
fermented
extract
of
malt
and
hops.
While
in
the
first
quarter
of
this
century
this
healthy
and
agreeable
beverage
used
to
be
prepared
often
enough
from
a
mixture
containing
many
violent
poisons,
as
Indian
hemp,
opium,
sulphuric
acid,
sulphate
of
iron,
etc.
nay,
the
addition
of
strychnia,
even,
was
suspected
the
principal
adulterations
of
it,
at
the
present
time,
consist
of
water,
to
increase
the
bulk
of
the
fluid,
and
burnt
sugar
and
salt,
to
restore
in
a
measure
its
color
and
flavor.
The
addition
of
water
does
not
render
beer
injurious,
but
it
cheats
people
out
of
their
money.
Burnt
sugar,
or
treacle,
was
extensively
employed,
with
the
view
of
increasing
the
dark
color
of
porter,
stout,
or
other
heavy
beers;
the
ingredient
known
as
essentia
bina,
formerly
used
in
the
manufacture
of
beer,
con-
sisted
of
moist
sugar
boiled
in
an
iron
vessel
until
it
had
become
syrupy,
perfectly
black,
and
extremely
bitter.
The
acidity
in
beer
is
very
desirable;
it
depends,
probably,
on
the
presence
of
malic
and
lactic
acid.
In
many
cases,
however,
acetic
acid,
or
vinegar,
is
formed
in
beer
from
a
decomposition
of
excessive
fermentation
of
its
sugar;
the
beverage
is
then
very
sour,
and
unfit