BEER

is nominally prepared from malt by fermentation, and by the addition of a solution of hops, but in reality much of the beer on the market consists of aleohol prepared from sugar, which is manufactured from rags or sawdust, and to which various cheap bitters have been added. It was in the sulphuric acid used in the manufacture of sugar that the arsenic was accidentally introduced, which caused the outbreak of arsenical poisoning in the Midlands during 1901. Much of the chemical beer is wholesome enough, but it seems only fair that the public should know when they buy it. Beer, when light is a wholesome dinner drink, because the bitter it contains stimulates the stomach, and the alcohol is in weak solution, 2 to 4 per cent; the sugar it contains, however, is not only fattening but disagrees with the digestion of many people, whilo the hops promote sleep, which makes beer unsuitable for lunch in many cases. Lager beer contains le alcohol and is often borne when the heavier beers are not, but the gouty and those liable to gravel should avoid beer at & Tho stronger ales contain about 6 per cent. of alcoho [s. 335]