which will make it anything but a “temperance” drink. Any maker who is using as much as even 1/2 pound of sugar per gallon is bound to get more spirit than the law allows. Meanwhile it is scarcely accurate to term ginger beers, etc., non-alcoholic.
Alcohol Deodorizer.—
| Alcohol | 160 ounces |
| Powdered quicklime | 300 grains |
| Powdered alum | 150 grains |
| Spirit of nitrous ether | 1 1/4 drachms |
Mix the lime and alum intimately by trituration; add the alcohol and shake well; then add the spirit of nitrous ether; set aside for 7 days and filter through animal charcoal.
Denaturized Alcohol.
—There are two general classes or degrees of denaturizing, viz., the “complete” and the “incomplete,” according to the purpose for {46} which the alcohol so denaturized is to be ultimately used.
I.—Complete denaturization by the German system is accomplished by the addition to every 100 liters (equal to 26 1/2 gallons) of spirits:
(a) Two and one-half liters of the “standard” denaturizer, made of 4 parts of wood alcohol, 1 part of pyridine (a nitrogenous base obtained by distilling bone oil or coal tar), with the addition of 50 grams to each liter of oil of lavender or rosemary.
(b) One and one-fourth liters of the above “standard” and 2 liters of benzol with every 100 liters of alcohol.
II.—Incomplete denaturization—i.e., sufficient to prevent alcohol from being drunk, but not to disqualify it from use for various special purposes, for which the wholly denaturized spirits would be unavailable—is accomplished by several methods as follows, the quantity and nature of each substance given being the prescribed dose for each 100 liters (26 1/2 gallons) of spirits:
(c) Five liters of wood alcohol or 1/2 liter of pyridine.
(d) Twenty liters of solution of shellac, containing 1 part gum to 2 parts alcohol of 90-per-cent purity. Alcohol for the manufacture of celluloid and pegamoid is denaturized.
(e) By the addition of 1 kilogram of camphor or 2 liters oil of turpentine or 1/2 liter benzol to each 100 liters of spirits. Alcohol to be used in the manufacture of ethers, aldehyde, agaricin, white lead, bromo-silver gelatines, photographic papers and plates, electrode plates, collodion, salicylic acid and salts, aniline chemistry, and a great number of other purposes, is denaturized by the addition of—
(f) Ten liters sulphuric ether, or 1 part of benzol, or 1/2 part oil of turpentine, or 0.025 part of animal oil.
For the manufacture of varnishes and inks alcohol is denaturized by the addition of oil of turpentine or animal oil, and for the production of soda soaps by the addition of 1 kilogram of castor oil. Alcohol for the production of lanolin is prepared by adding 5 liters of benzine to each hectoliter of spirits.
Ale.
The ale of the modern brewer is manufactured in several varieties, which are determined by the wants of the consumer and the particular market for which it is intended. Thus, the finer kinds of Burton, East India, Bavarian, and other like ales, having undergone a thorough fermentation, contain only a small quantity of undecomposed sugar and gum, varying from 1 to 5 per cent. Some of these are highly “hopped” or “bittered,” the further to promote their preservation during transit and change of temperature. Mild or sweet ales, on the contrary, are less accentuated by lengthened fermentation, and abound in saccharine and gummy matter. They are, therefore, more nutritious, though less intoxicating, than those previously referred to.
In brewing the finer kinds of ales, pale malt and the best hops of the current season’s growth are always employed; and when it is desired to produce a liquor possessing little color, very great attention is paid to their selection. With the same object, the boiling is conducted with more than the usual precautions, and the fermentation is carried on at a somewhat lower temperature than that commonly allowed for other varieties of beer. For ordinary ale, intended for immediate use, the malt may be all pale; but, if the liquor be brewed for keeping, and in warm weather, when a slight color is not objectionable, one-fifth, or even one-fourth of amber malt may be advantageously employed. From 4 1/2 to 6 pounds of hops is the quantity commonly used to the one-fourth of malt, for ordinary ales; and 7 pounds to 10 pounds for “keeping” ales. The proportions, however, must greatly depend on the intended quality and description of the brewing and the period that will be allowed for its maturation.
The stronger varieties of ale usually contain from 6 to 8 per cent of “absolute alcohol”; ordinary strong ale, 4 1/2 to 6 per cent; mild ale, 3 to 4 percent; and table ale, 1 to 1 1/2 per cent (each by volume); together with some undecomposed saccharine, gummy, and extractive matter, the bitter and narcotic principles of the hop, some acetic acid formed by the oxidation of the alcohol, and very small and variable quantities of mineral and saline matter.
Ordinary ale-wort (preferably pale), sufficient to produce 1 barrel, is slowly boiled with about 3 handfuls of hops, and 12 to 14 pounds of crushed groats, until the whole of the soluble matter of the latter is extracted. The resulting liquor, after being run through a coarse strainer and become lukewarm, is fermented with 2 or 3 pints of yeast; and, as soon as the fermentation is at its height, is either closely bunged up for draft or is at once put into strong stoneware bottles, which are then well corked and wired.
White ale is said to be very nutritious, though apt to prove laxative to those {47} unaccustomed to its use. It is drunk in a state of effervescence or lively fermentation; the glass or cup containing it being kept in constant motion, when removed from the mouth, until the whole is consumed, in order that the thicker portion may not subside to the bottom.
ALE, GINGER: See Beverages.
ALFENIDE METAL: See Alloys.
ALKALI, HOW TO DETECT: See Soaps.
ALKALOIDS, ANTIDOTES TO: See Atropine.
ALLOYS
No general rules can be given for alloying metals. Alloys differing greatly in fusibility are commonly made by adding the more fusible ones, either in the melted state or in small portions at a time, to the other melted or heated to the lowest possible temperature at which a perfect union will take place between them. The mixture is usually effected under a flux, or some material that will promote liquefaction and prevent volatilization and unnecessary exposure to the air. Thus, in melting lead and tin together for solder, rosin or tallow is thrown upon the surface is rubbed with sal ammoniac; and in combining some metals, powdered charcoal is used for the same purpose. Mercury or quicksilver combines with many metals in the cold, forming AMALGAMS, or easily fusible alloys (q. v.).
Alloys generally possess characteristics unshared by their component metals. Thus, copper and zinc form brass, which has a different density, hardness, and color from either of its constituents. Whether the metals tend to unite in atomic proportions or in any definite ratio is still undetermined. The evidence afforded by the natural alloys of gold and silver, and by the phenomena accompanying
