From these statements, and the seizures that have been made of illegal ingredients at various breweries, it is obvious that the adulterations of beer are not imaginary. It will be noticed, however, that some of the sophistications are comparatively harmless, whilst others are effected by substances deleterious to health.

The following list exhibits some of the unlawful substances seized at different breweries and at chemical laboratories.

List of Illegal Ingredients, seized from 1812 to 1818, at various Breweries and Brewers' Druggists.[62]

1812, July. Josiah Nibbs, at Tooting, Surrey.
Multum84lbs.
Cocculus indicus12
Colouring4galls.
Honeyabout180lbs.
Hartshorn Shavings14
Spanish Juice46
Orange Powder17
Ginger56
Penalty 300l.

1813, June 13. Sarah Willis, at West Ham, Essex.
Cocculus indicus1lb.
Spanish Juice12
Hartshorn Shavings6
Orange Powder1
Penalty 200l.

August 3. Cratcherode Whiffing, Limehouse.
Grains of Paradise44lbs.
Quassia10
Liquorice64
Ginger80
Caraway Seeds40
Orange Powder14
Copperas4
Penalty 200l.

Nov. 25. Elizabeth Hasler, at Stratford.
Cocculus indicus12lbs.
Multum26
Grains of Paradise12
Spanish Juice30
Orange Powder3
Penalty 200l.

Dec. 14. John Abbott, at Canterbury, Kent.
Copperas, &c.14lbs.
Orange powder2
Penalty 500l., and Crown's costs.
Proof of using drugs at various times.

1815, Feb. 15. Mantel and Cook, Castle-street,
Bloomsbury-square.

Proof of mixing strong with table beer, and using colouring and other things.

Compromised for 300l.

1817. From Peter Stevenson, an old Servant to Dunn
and Waller, St. John-street, brewers' druggists.

Cocculus Indicus Extract6lbs.
Multum560
Capsicum88
Copperas310
Quassia150
Colouring and Drugs84
Mixed Drugs240
Spanish Liquorice420
Hartshorn Shavings77
Liquorice Powder175
Orange powder126
Caraway Seeds100
Ginger110
Ginger Root176
Condemned, not being claimed.

July 30. Luke Lyons, Shadwell.
Capsicum1lb
Liquorice Root Powder2
Coriander Seed2
Copperas1
Orange Powder8
Spanish Liquorice1/2
Beer Colouring24galls
Not tried. (7th May, 1818.)

Aug. 6. John Gray, at West Ham.
Multum4lbs.
Spanish Liquorice21
Liquorice Root Powder113
Ginger116
Honey11

Penalty, 300l., and costs; including mixing strong beer with table, and paying table-beer duty for strong beer, &c.

Numerous other seizures of illegal substances, made at breweries, might be advanced, were it necessary to enlarge this subject to a greater extent.

Mr. James West, from the excise office, being asked in the Committee of the House of Commons, appointed, 1819, to examine and report on the petition of several inhabitants of London, complaining of the high price and inferior quality of beer, produced the following seized articles:—"One bladder of honey, one bladder of extract of cocculus indicus, ground guinea pepper or capsicum, vitriol or copperas, orange powder, quassia, ground beer-heading, hard multum, another kind of multum or beer preparation, liquorice powder, and ground grains of paradise."

Witness being asked "Where did you seize these things?" Answer, "Some of them were seized from brewers, and some of them from brewers' druggists, within these two years past." (May 8, 1818.)

Another fraud frequently committed, both by brewers and publicans, (as is evident from the Excise Report,) is the practice of adulterating strong beer with small beer—This fraud is prohibited by law, since both the revenue and the public suffer by it.[63] "The duty upon strong beer is ten shillings a barrel; and upon table beer it is two shillings. The revenue suffers, because a larger quantity of beer is sold as strong beer; that is, at a price exceeding the price of table beer, without the strong beer duty being paid. In the next place, the brewer suffers, because the retailer gets table or mild beer, and retails it as strong beer." The following are the words of the Act, prohibiting the brewers mixing table beer with strong beer.