Page:A Practical Treatise on Brewing (4th ed.).djvu/48

32 brewer and the wash of the distiller. The powerful and injurious effects produced by this agent in the manufacture of beer, I endeavoured to point out, in a little work, lately published, on Brewing; which, although it has excited some notice among a few practical men, yet the subject has not received that attention which its great importance deserves. But I entertain a hope, that this matter will stimulate some members of the Association minutely to examine the nature and extent of the electrical agency, and, by well-devised experiments (towards which, if required, I should most willingly give any information or assistance,) succeed in convincing brewers and distillers of the necessity of studying the laws which regulate this all-powerful agent, in order that they may avoid its injurious effects in the manufacture of beer or spirits. Beer, to the industrious classes in this country, may be considered a necessary of life; and its wholesomeness and purity must, therefore, be of vital importance. The quality varies exceedingly in different parts of the kingdom, and what is considered good beer in one district, may in other parts be pronounced execrable. One great cause of the inferiority of beer and ale in the country, and of the great diversity of flavour, is the want of competition; it being only in the large towns that effectual competition exists. In the country districts there is little or none. The brewers have been long in the habit of purchasing all the