Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 29.djvu/87

Rh alcohol, there will be a waste of material, and consequently a pecuniary loss to the manufacturer.

Can pure unadulterated alcoholic liquors be now obtained? This is a question frequently asked with a doubtful accent. I answer yes, as pure as were ever made, which assertion I will substantiate by giving a description of their manufacture. And as whisky is one of the most common liquors, it may be taken as an example. Malt is an almost indispensable article in connection with whisky-distilling, and is usually made of rye or barley. The grain is soaked in water until it begins to swell; it is then placed in a pile on the malting-floor, where it remains until heat is generated and saccharine fermentation takes place, causing the grain to germinate or sprout, and developing the saccharine matter and a peculiar ferment called diastase, which is the main object in the process of malting. When the process of germination has arrived at the point desired, the grain is spread over the floor to dry, for the purpose of suspending further fermentation; when dry, the grain is very sweet and brittle, easily ground, and is known to commerce as rye and barley malt.

The best distillers are very particular about the quality of grain they use, buying only the best in market. The proportions of each kind of grain used vary according to the particular brand of whisky desired. The usual proportions of grain are, two thirds corn and one third rye and malt. The corn is ground into a fine granulated meal, the rye to a medium fineness, and the malt is coarsely ground. The meal is all weighed, scalded, and mashed under the supervision of the United States internal revenue storekeeper. The corn-meal, being more difficult to scald than rye and malt, is first put into a mash-tub containing a proper quantity of hot water, and while the mash is being vigorously stirred with a revolving rake driven by steam or waterpower, the temperature is raised to about 170° Fahr. This operation scalds the corn-meal and develops the starch; after remaining at this temperature for the proper length of time, cold water is added to reduce the temperature to about 150° Fahr., the rye and malt are then added, and the whole mass is continually stirred until the scalding is complete, and the starch is developed and converted into dextrine, and then into saccharine matter by the potency of the diastase contained in the malt. It is then cooled down as quickly as possible, in order to avoid viscous fermentation, by the addition of cold water and ice, to about 80° Fahr., and drawn off into a fermenting vat, and the yeast which has been previously prepared is added.

The fermenting period varies from forty-eight to seventy-two hours, according to the kind of yeast used. By testing the density and temperature of the mash at the time of setting, and on the completion of fermentation, with the aid of a saccharometer and thermometer, a close approximation can be obtained of the quantity of proof spirit contained in the beer—by which name the mash is called after