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This article represents a section of the classic public domain brewing text "American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting, and Auxiliary Trades" by Robert Wahl and Max Henius.. See the main entry on this book for general information and a complete table of contents.

Beer in Dietetics and Economics

Purity of American beer.

What adulteration means.

The purity of American beer has been of late much under discussion, and charges of adulteration have been bandied about with great freedom.

Adulteration is defined in the Century Dictionary as "the act of adulterating, or corrupting by the admixture of foreign and baser elements, especially for fraudulent purposes; debasement." To adulterate, according to the same authority, is "to make impure by the admixture of other or baser ingredients; corrupt; render counterfeit."

With regard to an article of food or drink, adulteration consists in either or both of two things. One is to manufacture and sell an article that is not what it purports to be, but may still be harmless. The other is to sell an article, so misrepresented, that is injurious to the public health. From these two points of view adulteration is treated by the legislative authorities.

What beer was and is.

Applying these points of view to beer, one is met at the threshold of the inquiry by the difficulty, that there exists no standard definition of beer. From ancient times down to the present the popular beverage that passed by the name of "beer" has been undergoing so many changes that it is impossible to fix any determinate meaning for that term, from usage alone, with sufficient accuracy to draw the line between genuine beer and an adulterated article. In olden times it seems the beer of the Teutonic tribes was a sweet fermented beverage in which honey was a prominent constituent, while the Slavs seem to have employed hops from the earliest time, for the purpose of imparting a bitter aromatic taste and, as they imagined, giving the stimulating effect. During the latter part of the middle ages, hops began to be used in Germany. Later they found their way into England, but as late as the time of Henry VIII their use was forbidden.

As to the cereal base of the beverage, barley and wheat seem to have been the earliest grains used. Barley having been the grain almost universally used by Europeans in antiquity as the staple article of food, was also largely used in producing beer. When the art of baking bread began to become popular, to which barley does not lend itself readily, that cereal was crowded out by wheat and rye as a food, but continued to be largely employed in brewing beer, for which purpose, however, wheat and probably other starchy cereals were also employed. In modern times the variety of cereals used in the preparation of beer has been much increased, and in the United States Indian corn and rice have been quite generally introduced. As the true function of starch in beer-making came to be better understood, the process of conversion into sugar was anticipated and performed before the material reached the mash tub.

The idea that the only pure beer is an all-malt beer is thus seen to be false, both actually and historically.

Beer is a beverage produced by alcoholic fermentation from a hopped infusion, either of malted cereals, preferably malted barley, exclusively, or with an addition of unmalted or prepared cereals.

Report of the United States Senate committee on manufactures.

The actual properties and mode of preparation of American beer were made the subject of an inquiry by a committee appointed by the United States Senate, 1890-1900, called the Committee on Manufactures. The report made by this committee, of which Senator Mason of Illinois was chairman, summed up its conclusions as to American beer, as follows:

"One of the most important subjects under consideration has been that of the great American Brewing Industry. The committee has, through its agents, visited ninety-two breweries in nineteen cities and purchased nearly 400 samples of their products in open market, and, under the evidence of the government analytical chemists who analyzed said samples, we find but two samples of American beer, ale and porter containing preservatives.

"While the imported beers do not rank as high as American beers, a much larger per cent of the imported beer samples analyzed were found to contain preservatives.

"Two very important questions present themselves to the committee in consideration of beers.

"First, as to whether there be a national standard fixed for beers, fixing the minimum amount of malt extract to be contained in the beer product.

"Second, whether we should adopt in this country the law which prevails in some parts of the German Empire, which provides that beer should be made of barley, malt and hops exclusively, or whether the American brewer should be permitted to use in conjunction with malt and hops other cereals, such as corn and rice.

"The present methods pursued by the American brewer are the same as contained in the English law governing their brewing industries. As a rule, the American brewers make many different kinds of beer in the same brewery. The American taste for beer varies from that of other countries and the tastes in localities also vary. Some require a light beer, as more pleasant to the eye as well as taste, while others desire a much darker grade of beer.

"When the American brewer uses other cereals besides barley, it is used in an unmalted state—that is, corn or rice—which gives a lighter color to the beer. It has been charged in a general, unsubstantiated way, by either a witness or through a communication, that these cereals did not produce as healthy a beer as an all-malt beer. But the overwhelming and almost uncontradicted evidence is that the use of corn or rice, for the purposes as stated, is not in the least deleterious to public health, and while the practical brewers, maltsters, chemists and analytical experts, as well as medical experts, approve the use of the unmalted cereals for the purposes as stated, whenever interrogated on that point, no witness has stated before this committee why the use of corn or rice unmalted, or other unmalted cereals, ought not to be used as it is all over the world.

"Mr. Gladstone, speaking in the English Parliament upon this question, said:

"'The brewer will brew from what he pleases, and will have a perfect choice of his material and of his methods. I am of the opinion that it is of enormous advantage to the community to liberate an industry so large as this with regard to the choice of those materials.'

"The British parliamentary commission investigated this subject for four years, and the following is taken from their report, sustaining the bill which was passed upon the motion of Mr. Gladstone years before, which gave the free-malting privileges to brewers:

"'It cannot be admitted that the liquor made from malt, hops, yeast and water, only, has an exclusive right to the name of beer. or that the purchaser who demands beer demands an all-malt liquor. Sugar was intermittently permitted to be used in beer a century ago; for over fifty years its use has been continuously permitted by acts of Parliament, and eighteen years ago complete freedom in the use of all wholesome materials was deliberately granted to brewers by Parliament.'

"We also call attention to the following, taken from the English report:

"'The question as to the relative merits of different brewing materials cannot be unconditionally settled with the data at present available, but the balance of experience and authority inclines to the view that while an all-malt brewing from a blend of malt made from the best English and foreign barley is still the best for some descriptions of beer (pale bitter ale, for example), yet, for other descriptions, which constitute by far the larger proportion of the beer consumed, the medium or lower qualities of British barley-malt (and our barley-malt is not any better, that is, the average barley-malt), are improved as brewing materials by the addition of a moderate proportion of good brewing sugar, and this is especially the case when the barley from which the malt is made has been imperfectly ripened or harvested under unfavorable conditions.'

"The committee, then, is of the opinion that the present system in America is fairest and more nearly just to the manufacturer and consumer to permit the brewer to be the judge himself of what wholesome and healthy products he desires to be put into his beer; and the bill, which we will finally present to Congress, will prevent the use of any unwholesome preservatives or deleterious substances.

"Much public concern has been excited because it has been charged that the American brewer uses a large amount of salicylic or other acids to preserve the beers.

"The expert evidence before this committee is clear that a small amount of preservative is not dangerous, while the evidence and analysis of samples show that a very small amount of preservatives is used, and that by very few of the brewers, who use it in minutely small quantities to preserve bottled beer for export only. And the evidence is overwhelming that nearly every brewer and every bottler of beer in this country submits his bottled beer to the pasteurizing processes, which is simply submitting it to such an extreme heat in the bottle as to destroy germ life and prevent fermentation.

"The revenues derived from the great beer industry alone are $71,000,000, a double war tax. The value of money invested is $650,000,000, and the industry gives employment to 900,000 men.

"In the language of Mr. Gladstone, this committee feel that we should 'liberate as to choice of material and as to process of manufacturing an industry of so vast a scope as is this particular industry.'

"As to the other question, of fixing a standard of beer, ale and porter—that is, by fixing the minimum amount of alcohol, malt extract, etc.—every witness before this committee testified in favor of fixing said standard.

"Mr. Gallus Thomann, secretary of the United States Brewers' Association, favors such a law, as did every brewer and maltster who testified before this committee. And the committee is of the opinion that this may be done under the authority of the bureau that may be established in the Agricultural Department by Senate bill 2426.

"Whatever legislation may be passed should be national in its character. The brewing industry of this country has grown so extensively that the American brewers are selling their products not only in every state of the Union, but all over the world, and uniformity of standard, which is most desirable, can only be obtained by national legislation."

Analyses have also been made by state officials, all of which go to corroborate the conclusions of Senator Mason's committee, that American beer leaves nothing to be desired in point of purity, and will compare favorably with that produced in any other country.

A bill has been introduced in the United States Senate to create a chemical bureau in connection with the Department of Agriculture, which shall establish standards for articles of food and drink.

Report of British beer materials committee.

The most exhaustive inquiry into brewing materials was made by a British parliamentary committee, known as the Beer Materials Committee, which submitted its report in March, 1899. As this contains much that also applies to conditions in the United States, some of the important passages are here inserted:

In the introductory part this passage occurs:

"Broadly speaking, the main object of the transformations which the barley-grain — and the extract derived therefrom — undergo in the malt-house, the mash-tun, and the fermenting vessel is first to convert the starch of the grain into fermentable sugar, and next to convert the sugar in part into alcohol. At the same time certain by-products of the barley-grain, which do not undergo the same transformations, are carried along into the beer. Apart from such by-products the character of the finished article is not altered by the use of some other starchy grain alongside of malted barley, or by the addition to the wort of sugar more or less similar to the saccharine matter yielded by malt."

The malt adjuncts in use in breweries are classified as follows:

"Details as to the various ingredients at present used in the manufacture of beer will be found in the appendices. Those which are used as substitutes for, or adjuncts to, barley-malt may be roughly classified as

"l. Corn and kindred materials, e. g., unmalted barley, rice and maize rolled, cooked, or otherwise adapted for brewing by various mechanical and chemical processes.

"2. Sugar and kindred materials."

"Of these the most important are:

"(a) Invert sugar, i. e.. cape sugar treated by a process which renders it more easily fermentable.

"(b) Glucose, i. e., sugar prepared from starch by boiling with acid. The starches chiefly used for this purpose are those derived from sago and maize."

The general conclusions of the committee are laid down in these words:

"Passing from these preliminary observations to the questions expressly put before us, we have to report that, so far as we have been able to ascertain, no materials used in the manufacture of beer are deleterious, at all events in the quantities in which they are actually employed. We believe that the exceptions to this rule, if any, are so infrequent and unimportant that legislation is not required to deal with them. We refer, of course, to materials of normal quality—any materials (not least barley-malt) may be unwholesome if they are bad in quality."

The objections that have been urged against malt adjuncts are stated in this form:

"1. That these adjuncts, or some of them, are, or may be, positively injurious to health.

"2. That, even if they are not positively injurious, the beer made with any proportion of them is less nutritious and wholesome than all malt beer.

"3. That, apart from the question of wholesomeness, the consumer is entitled to know what he is getting; that the product of malt and substitutes is not the same in "nature, substance and quality" as the product of malt only; that beer means or ought to mean a liquor prepared from malt and hops only; and that, therefore, on the principles laid down by the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, the consumer is prejudiced if an adjunct beer is sold to him as beer without a declaration of the use of the adjuncts."

On the first point the committee begins by saying:

"In respect of injury to health no serious charge has been made against raw grain, or prepared grains other than barley, or brewing sugar made from cane sugar. As to glucose, however, there has been some conflict of evidence. The question is not, however, of great practical importance with regard to beer, for it appears that potato glucose is not now used in brewing in this country; and we are informed that, while it is more expensive than maize glucose, it has disadvantages (other than its alleged unwholesomeness) from a brewer's point of view.

"With regard to glucose made from sago, maize, etc., it is generally admitted that there has been great improvement in the process of manufacture in recent years; and we believe that all impurities that might be considered injurious to health are eliminated."

The dietetic value of malt and its adjuncts is discussed in this way:

"It is generally admitted that, in the present position of scientific knowledge, chemical analysis, by itself, is an imperfect test of the food value of any article of diet. We are thus thrown back on the aid of experience and common sense, but they do not yield any result possessing certainty and accuracy. But we may observe:

"(a) The amount of 'extract' (consisting of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous organic substance, and ash) found by analysis in beer, and generally assumed to represent approximately the 'nutritive matter,' depends as much on the methods of malting, mashing, and fermenting as on the materials used, within the limits practically prevalent with regard to the proportions of the different materials.

"(b) The amount of organic extract in beer is, as a rule, small, and it is doubtful whether the dietetic value of beer (any more than the commercial value) varies at all directly with the amount of such extract which it contains. It is quite possible that a beer with a low proportion of organic extract may be more valuable as an article of diet, as well as more acceptable as a beverage, than a beer containing more extract, but inferior in flavor, brightness, soundness and digestive properties.

(c) Here follows the paragraph quoted on page 1106, beginning 'The question as to the relative merits. . . .'"

As to adulterations the committee says:

"The analogy which it as been attempted to draw between the case of beer and that of articles which are more nearly natural products, such as butter and coffee, is not, in our opinion, valid. Beer is in any case the result of a chemical process, whereas, when other fat is added to butter, or chicory to coffee, these ingredients remain as such in the mixture.

"Further, one malt wort is not necessarily identical with another malt wort, and the question as to the nature, substance, and quality of an article is obviously in part a question of degree. We are, however, satisfied that, so far as our present knowledge goes, a beer brewed with the usual moderate proportion of sugar does not, as a general rule, differ from an all-malt beer more widely than one all-malt beer differs from another."

The definition of beer which excludes malt adjuncts is laid aside by the committee once and for all in the following:

"It cannot be admitted that the liquor made from malt, hops, yeast and water only has an exclusive right to the name 'beer;' or that a purchaser who demands beer demands an all-malt liquor. Sugar was intermittently permitted to be used in beer a century ago; for over fifty years its use has been continuously permitted by Act of Parliament; and eighteen years ago complete freedom in the use of all wholesome materials was deliberately granted to brewers by Parliament. Under these circumstances it must be presumed to be public knowledge that beer is not always made from malt and hops exclusively; and consequently we are of opinion that a person who demands beer and is supplied with a beer brewed with a proportion of malt substitutes is not thereby prejudiced.

"The question whether the law should be changed is, of course, a different one. If the liquor produced from malt only were clearly distinguishable from, and definitely superior to, the liquor brewed with a moderate proportion of malt adjuncts, it would be within the competence of Parliament, and might be in the public interest, to assign separate distinctive names to these liquors. But in our opinion this is not at present the case."

With regard to fanatical proposals for legislation, there occurs a passage which ought to be borne in mind by American legislators:

"We are satisfied that in the present state of scientific knowledge it is not possible to determine by chemical analysis with sufficient certainty to obtain a conviction whether malt adjuncts have or have not been used, except perhaps in cases where excessive proportions of such adjuncts have been employed.

"Consequently, a law making declaration of materials compulsory could not be enforced if we were to rely upon analysis for detection of violation of it; and we think that to create an offence, of which proof could not be established, would be undesirable."

Intemperance as affected by general natural laws.

This subject is treated interestingly in the third annual report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts by Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, and his letter was republished by the United States Brewers' Association under the title "Intemperance in the Light of Cosmic Laws." The board collected facts and opinions from a large number of correspondents and discussed the information thus brought together, summarizing the conclusions as follows:

First—Stimulants are used everywhere and, at times, abused by savage and by civilized man. Consequently, intoxication occurs all over the globe.

Second—This love of stimulants is one of the strongest of human instincts. It cannot be annihilated, but may be regulated by reason, by conscience, by education or by law when it encroaches on the rights of others.

Third—Climatic law governs it, the tendency to indulge to intoxication being not only greater as we go from the heat of the equator toward the north, but the character of that intoxication becomes more violent.

Fourth—Owing to this cosmic law, intemperance is very rare near the equator. It is there a social crime and a disgrace of the deepest dye. Licentiousness and gambling are small offences compared with it. To call a man a drunkard is the highest of insults. On the contrary, at the north of 50° it is very frequent, is less of a disgrace, is by no means a social crime.

Fifth—Intemperance causes little or no crime toward the equator. It is the almost constant cause of crime either directly or indirectly at the north above 50°.

Sixth—Intemperance is modified by race, as shown in the different tendencies to intoxication of different peoples.

Seventh—Races are modified physically and morally by the kind of liquor they use, as proved by examination of the returns from Austria and Switzerland.

Eighth—Beer, native light grape wines and ardent spirits should not be classed together, for they produce very different effects upon the individual and upon the race.

Ninth—Light German beer and ale can be used even freely without any very apparent injury to the individual, or without causing intoxication. They contain very small percentages of alcohol (4 or 4.5 to 6.5 per cent). Light grape wines, unfortified by an extra amount of alcohol, can be drunk less freely, but without apparent injury to the race, and with exhilaration rather than drunkenness. Some writers think they do no harm, but a real good, if used moderately. They never produce the violent, crazy drunkenness so noticeable from the ardent spirits of the north.

Ardent spirits, on the contrary, unless used very moderately, and with great temperance, and with the determination to omit them as soon as the occasion has passed for their use. are almost always injurious, if continued even moderately for any length oftime, for they gradually encroach on the vital powers. If