whether the brewer adds the salt as salt, or first mixes it with sugar. However, analytical proof of sufficient chlorides naturally present in concrete sugar, to raise the salt in beer made from ordinary materials to over 50 grains per gallon, is wanting; and all the evidence in its favour has been derived from loose statements. § 273. Adulteration of Beer with Sugar.-In 48 and 49 Vict., c. 51, Sect. 8, it is enacted— (1.) A brewer of beer for sale shall not adulterate beer, or add any matter or thing thereto (except finings for the purpose of clarification, or other matter or thing sanctioned by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue), before the same is delivered for consumption, and any beer found to be adulterated or mixed with any other matter or thing (except as aforesaid) in the possession of a brewer of beer, for sale, shall be forfeited, and he shall incur a fine of fifty pounds. (2.) A dealer in, or retailer of, beer shall not adulterate or dilute beer, or add any matter or thing thereto (except finings for the purpose of clarification), and any beer found to be adulterated or diluted, or mixed with any other matter or thing (except finings), in the possession of a dealer in, or retailer of, beer shall be forfeited, and he shall incur a fine of fifty pounds. There have been a great number of prosecutions by the Excise under this Act, either for the offence of adding sugar to or diluting the beer. It is not practicable for the public analyst, in the absence of definite standards, to certify to either sugar or water, save, of course, in some extreme cases. The Excise authorities are able to detect sugar and water, because they have power to go down in the publican's cellar and take samples of beer as it has been delivered from the wholesale house, and also of the same beer prepared for the retail. The authorities are thus able to take for their standard the undcctored beer, and to calculate the amount of water and sugar per barrel (36 galls.) which has been added to the doctored beer. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Analytic Report on Dublin XXX Porter. Med. Press and Circular, 1869. BONNEWIN.-Note sur la picrotoxine. Bull. Acad. de Méd. de Belgique, 1869, p. 837. BRUNAER.-Présence de l'acide picrique dans la bière. Journ. Pharm. et Chim., 2e série, 1873, t. xviij., p. 247. CLAUSNIZER, F.-"Zur Glycerine Bestimmung in Bier." Chemie, xx. 80. Z. für Anal. DRAGENDORFF.-"Recherche des substances amères dans la bière." Paris, 1876. ENDERS.-Arch. f. Pharm., Bd. 185, p. 225. Analyst, No. 20, 1877. HASSALL, A.-"Food: its Adulterations detected." LASSAIGNE, J. L.-Note sur le moyen de constater et sence de l'acide picrique introduit dans la bière. 3e série, 1863, t. ix., p. 495. London, 1876. de démontrer la préJourn. Chim. Méd., LINTNER, C.-"Lehrbuch der Bierbrauerei," 1877. MULDER.-Des falsifications de la bière. Ann. d'Hyg. et de Méd. Lég., 20 série, 1861, t. xvj., pp. 33, 430. PASTEUR, M. L. "Etudes sur la bière, ses malades, causes qui les provoquent," &c. Paris, 1876. POEL.-Moyen de déceler l'acide picrique dans la bière. Journ. Pharm. et Chim., 3e série, 1856, t. xxix., p. 465. BAUWEZ, J. V.-Moyen simple de reconnaître une bière à l'aloes. Journ. Chim. Méd., 4e série, 1862, t. x., p. 233. SCHMIDT.-Bière falsifiée avec de la picrotoxine. Journ. Pharm. et Chim..., SCHÜTZENBERGER, P.-"On Fermentation." London, 1876. VOGEL, HERM. W.-"Practische Spectral Analyse," &c. Nordlingen, 1877. WENKE." Das Bier und seine Verfälschung." Weimar, 1861. WITTSTEIN, G. C.-Detection of Adulterations in Beer. Arch. Pharm. [3], v. 25-23. WINE. § 274. Constituents of Wine.-Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, with such additions only as are essential to the stability, or keeping of the liquid (Dupré). The constituents of grape juice and wine may be arranged and compared as follows:: * A. Henninger, operating on 50 litres of Bordeaux, succeeded in isolating, by fractional distillation, 6 grms. of isobutylglycol, boiling point 178°5. Making a correction for the glycol carried away by aqueous vapour, he considers the amount in wine to be equal to 0.05 per cent., or about one-fifteenth of the glycerin. (Comptes Rendus, xcv., 94-96.) + Among the mineral matters of the grape, and, therefore, generally also in wines, is a small quantity of boric acid. The mineral matters of the ash of eighteen samples of grape juice have been quantitatively determined by Mr. Carter Bell, Analyst (November, 1881); the chief results are as follows: Maximum, . 54-24 10:54 Minimum, 31.23 3.39 13.68 7.28 13.99 12:57 1.68 3.85 23.73 *98 29 .29 3.14 •22 *65 ⚫96 *05 *05 3.13 *08 42.14 3.37 1.09 9.14 3:00 4.55 9.67 *63 ⚫87 12.78 *29 This may be compared with the mineral constituents of wine given at p. 579. § 275. Changes taking place in Wine through Age.-Berthelot has made several analyses of wines 100 and 45 years old respectively, which are interesting as contributing to more accurate knowledge regarding the effect of age upon wine. The wines were both samples of Port. The one 100 years old had a large deposit of colouring-matter, and was yellow; the colour of the second sample was dark, but yet lighter than that of new wine. The results of the analyses are as follows: The analyses of the deposits gave the following results:— This research of Berthelot's, as well as the more recent investigations of Schmidt,† show that there is a gradual deposit of the colouring-matter, and that some of the sugar has disappeared from the old wine, which gives a smaller residue. Cane-sugar is practically absent in the sample 100 years old, a fact which Berthelot interprets as confirmatory of his observation of the slow invertive action of inorganic acids on cane-sugar. The alcohol is lower in old wines than new, and the acidity tends to diminish, the acids combining with alcohols to produce esters. The experiments of Macagno may also be here cited, from which it appears that in wines of the same class the tannin decreases through age, while the glycerin increases. § 276. Adulterations of Wine.-The adulterations of wine are as follows:-Watering, fortifying with spirit, fortifying and watering, the addition of various fermented liquids (such as Comptes Rendus, 88, 1879, 626. ↑ Die Weine, Berlin, 1893. wines of low value to those of high value-that is to say, alcoholic liquids made from the fermentation of glucoses or various sugars, or wines made from raisins or figs to wines made from the grape the mixing or blending of wines (this may be a necessary operation in some cases, in others it takes the form of sophistication, when wines of higher quality are mixed with wines of low quality and sold as wines of the higher quality), plastering, the addition of bitartrate of potash and ethers (such as œnanthic ether) to give a fictitious appearance of age, the addition of alum to brighten the colour, the artificial colouring of wines, the addition of antiseptics (such as salicylic acid), and the addition of fluoborates or fluosilicates. § 277. The Analysis of Wine.-The analysis may be divided conveniently into:-I., Physical characters; II., the estimation and qualitative detection of constituents volatile at or below 100°; III., estimation and identification of matters not volatile at 100°; IV., the estimation of the total constituents of the mineral matters of the ash, and, similarly, the identification and estimation of the separate constituents of the ash. I. Physical Characters.-This embraces the specific gravity and the action on polarised light. II. Constituents Volatile at or below 100°.-This embraces the estimation of alcohol, volatile esters, sulphurous acid, aldehydesulphurous acid, volatile acid, and, as far as practicable, the identification of the constituents comprised under those names. III. Constituents not Volatile at or below 100°.-This embraces total extract,* total fixed acid, free tartaric acid, sugars, potassic tartrate, fixed esters, glycerin, potassic sulphate, tannin, and colouring matters. IV. The Ash.-Special processes may be required for the detection and estimation of some of the adulterants mentioned. The table on p. 550 gives, according to this plan, the results of the analysis of a number of wines of considerable age and high price analysed by Dr. Conrad Schmidt.† The tables on pp. 548 and 549 give a number of analyses by Dr. Dupré. * E. Riegler (Zeit. f. anal. Chemie, 1896, H. 1, s. 27) has published an easy and rapid method of determining the amount of alcohol and extract in wine. The refraction is taken of the wine by means of an Abbe's or a Pulfrich's refractometer; the alcohol is next got rid of by boiling a measured quantity; after cooling and making up with water to the original bulk the refraction is again taken. He finds that a gramme of extract in 100 cc. of wine raises the refraction beyond that of water 0·00145, and 1 grm. of alcohol in 100 cc. of wine raises the refraction 0.00068. If N the refraction of the undistilled wine; a, the refraction of the distilled pure water; a + b, the refraction of the wine freed from alcohol and made rp to the original volume, then alcohol in grms. per 100 cc. of wine and b 0.00145 N (a + b) 0.00068 extract in 100 cc. wine. + "Die Weine des herzoglich nassauischen Cabinetskeller,” von Hofrath Dr. Conrad Schmidt. Berlin, 1893. |