1885 New Guide Hotel Bar Restaurant

THE NEW GUIDE FOR HOTELS, ETC.

1 6

At the present time it is charged on the

about five months.

beer and has to be paid monthly. In the first instance the duty charged was at the rate of 22s. per quarter (of eight bushels), now with the extra duty 28s. Years ago sugar was too dear to take the place of malt, and not only this, the Excise officer kept a watchful eye on the brewer to prevent him using it or any other ingredient, even raw grain in secret, for the reason, that the duty was charged entirely upon the malt ; therefore any material in the place of it was a loss to the revenue. The duty as at present charged is upon the beer. By giving the required notice to the Excise officer, you can now brew malt and raw grain combined, or entirely from sugar, the latter being a great inducement to the brewer, for the simple reason that 28 lbs. of sugar at the cost say of 2s. 9d. represents a bushel of malt at 5s. 6d. (according to quality) the consequences being, that a large quantity of the former is used, to the bene- fit of the foreign sugar producer, and to the detriment of the English barley grower, although by supporting the latter we should tend to produce a far purer beverage, and thereby confer a great national benefit." We may remark that the action of beer brewed from sugar, on some constitutions, is to produce symptoms of gouty inflammation, a retarding of the circulation of the blood, which produces a localization of the blood particles in the extremities of the body such as the hands and feet, pro- ducing a disease similar to, if not identical with rheumatic gout. Invalid beers and porters, for people subject to inflammatory afl'ections of the blood, should be brewed from pure malt and hops, even if the brewer has to pay a larger price for his material, and sell the output at a higher rate.