Page:A Practical Treatise on Brewing (4th ed.).djvu/111

Rh with the plants during fermentation; fermentation takes place, the sugar is decomposed at the same time as the yeast, but no appearance of the production and reproduction of the seed of plants and animals, which these philosophers recognise as the agents of the phenomenon, is exhibited.”—(Annales de Chimie, lxxi. 187.)

When brewers get out of trim (technically so called), or in plainer language, into irregular fermentations, they immediately resort to changes of yeast as the only remedy to put themselves again to rights; such changes, however, are often more detrimental than useful. These irregularities, nine times out of ten, proceed either from tainted worts or atmospherical fluctuations, instead of any failure in the yeast. They cannot, therefore, be immediately remedied, unless by a better process of brewing, or a favourable change of electrical condition.

It often happens that the fermentation takes a favourable turn of this nature before a change of yeast can be had. Notwithstanding this, as effects are often attributed to wrong causes, particularly in the brewery, should the new yeast be used and any improvement follow, it is unhesitatingly ascribed by the brewer to the change, although his