Country. Nature of Tax. Amount per English Barrel (round numbers)
United States Beer tax 5s. 9d.
Germany —
—— N. German Customs Union Malt tax 1s. 6d
—— Bavaria Malt tax 3s. 5d. to 4s. 8d., according to quantity produced
Belgium Malt tax 2s. 9d.
France On Wort 4s. 1d.
Holland On cubic contents of Mash-Tun or on Malt About 1s. 9d. to 3s. 3d., according to quality
Austro-Hungarian Empire On Wort 6s. 8d.
Russia Malt tax 5s. to 6s. 8d.

Materials used in Brewing.—These are water, malt (q.v.), hops (q.v.), various substitutes for the two latter, and preservatives.

Water.—A satisfactory supply of water—which, it may here be mentioned, is always called liquor in the brewery—is a matter of great importance to the brewer. Certain waters, for instance, those contaminated to any extent with organic matter, cannot be used at all in brewing, as they give rise to unsatisfactory fermentation, cloudiness and abnormal flavour. Others again, although suited to the production of one type of beer, are quite unfit for the brewing of another. For black beers a soft water is a desideratum, for ales of the Burton type a hard water is a necessity. For the brewing of mild ales, again, a water containing a certain proportion of chlorides is required. The presence or absence of certain mineral substances as such in the finished beer is not, apparently, a matter of any moment as regards flavour or appearance, but the importance of the rôle played by these substances in the brewing process is due to the influence which they exert on the solvent action of the water on the various constituents of the malt, and possibly of the hops. The excellent quality of the Burton ales was long ago surmised to be due mainly to the well water obtainable in that town. On analysing Burton water it was found to contain a considerable quantity of calcium sulphate—gypsum—and of other calcium and magnesium salts, and it is now a well-known fact that good bitter ales cannot be brewed except with waters containing these substances in sufficient quantities. Similarly, good mild ale waters should contain a certain quantity of sodium chloride, and waters for stout very little mineral matter, excepting perhaps the carbonates of the alkaline earths, which are precipitated on boiling.

The following analyses (from W.J. Sykes, The Principles and Practice of Brewing) are fairly illustrative of typical brewing waters.

Burton Water (Pale Ale)

Grains per Gallon

Sodium Chloride

3.90

Potassium Sulphate

1.59

Sodium Nitrate

1.97

Calcium Sulphate

77.87

Calcium Carbonate

7.62

Magnesium Carbonate

21.31

Silica and Alumina

0.98

Dublin Water (Stout).

Sodium Chloride

1.83

Calcium Sulphate

4.45

Calcium Carbonate

14.21

Magnesium Carbonate

0.90

Iron Oxide and Alumina

0.24

Silica

0.26

Mild Ale Water.

Sodium Chloride

35.14

Calcium Chloride

3.88

Calcium Sulphate

6.23

Calcium Carbonate

4.01

Iron Oxide and Alumina

0.24

Silica

0.22

Our knowledge of the essential chemical constituents of brewing waters enables brewers in many cases to treat an unsatisfactory supply artificially in such a manner as to modify its character in a favourable sense. Thus, if a soft water only is to hand, and it is desired to brew a bitter ale, all that is necessary is to add a sufficiency of gypsum, magnesium sulphate and calcium chloride. If it is desired to convert a soft water lacking in chlorides into a satisfactory mild ale liquor, the addition of 30-40 grains of sodium chloride will be necessary. On the other hand, to convert a hard water into a soft supply is scarcely feasible for brewing purposes. To the substances used for treating brewing liquors already mentioned we may add kainite, a naturally deposited composite salt containing potassium and magnesium sulphates and magnesium chloride.

Malt Substitutes.—Prior to the repeal of the Malt Acts, the only substitute for malt allowed in the United Kingdom was sugar. The quantity of the latter employed was 295,865 cwt. in 1870, 1,136,434 cwt. in 1880, and 2,746,615 cwt. in 1905; that is to say, that the quantity used had been practically trebled during the last twenty-five years, although the quantity of malt employed had not materially increased. At the same time other substitutes, such as unmalted corn and preparations of rice and maize, had come into favour, the quantity of these substances used being in 1905 125,671 bushels of unmalted corn and 1,348,558 cwt. of rice, maize, &c.

The following statistics with regard to the use of malt substitutes in the United Kingdom are not without interest.

Year.

Quantities of Malt and Corn used in Brewing.

Quantities of Sugar, Rice, Maize, &c. used in Brewing.

Percentage of Substitutes to Total Material.

Bushels.

Bushels.

1878

59,388,905

3,825,148

6.05

1883

[[2]]51,331,451

[[3]]4,503,680

8.06

1890

[[2]]55,359,964

[[3]]7,904,708

12.48

1895

53,731,177

10,754,510

16.66

1905

51,942,368

15,706,413

23.22