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ALL ALE
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For the annual holiday of the stafF I should be
afraid to state from memory how many special
trains are required to convey the great hive of
workers to Brighton, and other far - distant
watering-places, and back to Burton again. In
short, it would be hard to find a spot in the
inhabited world in which the name of Bass is
not known and respected.
I mentioned further back Scotch and English
barleys as being employed for malting purposes ;
but as a matter of fact the produce of many
countries is used, in a blend, the whole being
divided into two classes, heavy and light. And
in making choice of barleys it is necessary that
they should be thoroughly and equally ripened,
well " got" or harvested, and as far as possible
presented to the brewer in the perfect husk or
envelope with which nature has furnished the
kernel. Ancient and modern modes of thrashing
and dressing to a greater or less extent damage
both the husk and the kernel, and thus at the
very threshold introduce one of the causes of
disease. Whenever the grain is broken or bruised
it is liable to beattacked whenmoist by a variety
of moulds which lead to more or less serious
disaster.
Of the dilFerent varieties of beer, " pale ale"
or " bitter " is a highly-hopped beer made from
the very finest selected malt and hops ; whilst
" mild ale," or as it is called in Scotland " sweet
ale," is of greater gravity or strength, and is
comparatively lightly hopped.
" Old ale" is,
naturally, the best stuff that can be brewed, in a
state of maturity ; and it is a peculiarity of ale