The amount of boiling determines the quality of the resulting liquor. If the sap is boiled down only one-fourth, the drink produced is of a sweetish taste and of a whitish appearance and, in my estimation, is not palatable. The more the sap is evaporated, the more it mellows and browns. The Manóbos of the upper Agúsan make a better drink than those of the lake region for the reason that they evaporate the juice one-half, while those of the latter-mentioned district only give it a cursory boiling. It is usual to employ a little gaging rod of bamboo for measuring the amount of evaporation, this being done by inserting it into the bamboo cylinder in the center of the pot, but an old hand at brewing can gage by the smell.
Fermentation.--After cooking, the decoction is unfit for immediate use. It must be left to undergo fermentation for at least three whole days. Five days are sufficient to render it fairly drinkable. The longer the period of fermentation, the liner the quality of the resulting liquor, ceteris paribus. When well-cooked brew has been kept for a few months, it assumes a translucid amber color, smells and tastes strongly of rum, and is highly intoxicating. The liquor during fermentation must be kept in closed jars or earthen pots in a cool moist place. If kept in bamboo joints, it will spoil.
In general, the drink is more intoxicating than coconut toddy, but it is wholesome, and its use is not attended by the after effects that are the result of overindulgence in certain other alcoholic drinks like vino. In this connection it may be well to remark that I have never observed a case of delirium tremens nor of any of the other serious consequences that in other parts of the world frequently afflict the habitual drinker. The only ill effects I have seen are the proverbial headache and thirst, but even these are very rare and usually occur only after periods of long and uninterrupted indulgence. As a rule such effects are at once dispelled by taking hot taro-top soup or by munching sugarcane.
MEAD
This is probably the finest beverage produced in Manóboland, but as the honey season is short and as the honey is consumed, both in the forest after taking the nest and in the house by the members of the family, the drink is scarce.
The preparation of the drink is identical with that of sugarcane brew. The same ferment is used, the same method of cooking is employed, and in general the same remarks apply, with the exception that in place of the sugarcane juice, honey and water are used. The honey is mixed with water in varying proportions. It is the proportion of water to honey that determines the strength, quality, and flavor of the final drink, A mixture of half and half is said to yield the best beverage. If fermentation is allowed to continue for a few months, the resulting liquor is of a clear crystalline color, and will compare both in flavor and strength with those more up to date.