Part 84

It is usually stated in works on brewing that certain temperatures must be reached by each variety of beer, during the progress of the fermentation, in order for the liquor to acquire its characteristic flavour. Thus, it is stated that mild beer begins to acquire flavour when the heat of fermentation arrives at 75° Fahr., increases at 80°, and is highest at 90°, but sometimes even reaches 100°. Old ale is said to obtain its best flavour at a temperature not exceeding 75°; and porter at 70° Fahr. In order to reach these temperatures the worts are directed to be set at from 10° to 15° lower, the rise being due to the heat generated during the fermentation. That these statements refer principally to the old methods of brewing is shown by the fact that some of the brewers of Bavaria, Scotland, and Burton-on-Trent produce rich and high-flavoured liquors at temperatures vastly below those above enumerated. Still, however, the fact must not be concealed, that since the introduction of the new German system of brewing into England the general character of its beers, as they reach the consumer, are inferior in strength and flavour to those of a former period. We may now seek almost in vain for the fine vinous, high-flavoured, invigorating old beers vended in our early days by the common publicans and tavern-keepers, of whom the larger majority were their own brewers. Under the new system of chemical brewing, as worked by those huge monopolists, the 'great brewers,' the only object appears to be to obtain the largest quantity possible of saccharine out of the quarter of malt, and to convert this into the largest possible quantity of beer, with little regard to flavour or quality, but an excessive one for their own profits. In due course this liquor is forced on their helpless tenants the publicans, who, in their turn, 'reduce' and 'doctor' the liquor, until, by the time it reaches the consumer, its insipidity and low strength would have led even a brewer's drayman of the last century to cast it into the kennel.

The best times for brewing are the spring and autumn; as at those periods of the year the temperature of the air is such as to permit of the easy cooling of worts sufficiently low, without having recourse to artificial refrigeration, or to the use of machinery for the purpose. Old ale cannot be conveniently brewed in summer.

Beers are classed by the brewers into--

_Small beers_--made from worts not exceeding the sp. gr. 1·025, or 9 lbs. per barrel. _Middlings_--made from worts of the sp. gr. 1·030 to 1·050, and averaging about 14 lbs. per barrel. _Strong beers_--made from worts of the sp. gr. 1·040 to 1·080, extending from about 35 lbs. per barrel upwards.

The densities of the worts employed for different kinds of beer vary considerably, as will be seen by the following table:--

TABLE _of the Densities of Beers_.

|----------------------------------------------------| | | Pounds | | | Description. | per | Specific Gravity. | | | barrel. | | |----------------------------------------------------| |Burton ale, Class 1 |40 to 43 | 1·111 to 1·120 | | " " 2 |35 " 40 | 1·097 " 1·111 | | " " 3 |28 " 33 | 1·077 " 1·092 | |Ordinary ale |25 " 27 | 1·070 " 1·075 | |Common " | 21 | 1·058 | |Scotch ale, Class 1 |40 to 44 | 1·111 to 1·122 | | " " 2 |33 " 40 | 1·092 " 1·111 | |Porter (ordinary) | 18 | 1·050 | | " (good) |18 to 21 | 1·050 to 1·058 | | " (double) |{?} to 22| 1·055 " 1·060 | |Brown stout | 23 | 1·064 | | " (best) | 26 | 1·072 | |Table beer |12 to 14 | 1·033 to 1·039 | |Small " (com.) | 6 | 1·017 | |----------------------------------------------------|

EXPORTATION OF BEER:--When beer is exported from any part of the United Kingdom, either as merchandise or ships' stores, the brewer or exporter of such beer is allowed a certain drawback of duty. The amount is proportional to the quantity of malt or sugar inferred to have been used in the brewing of the beer. Thus, if the original specific gravity of the worts from which the beer was brewed were not less than 1·040, a drawback is granted of 4_s._ 3_d._ per barrel. This is equivalent to a return of the duty on 1-1/2 bushels of malt, with an allowance of 3_d._ for licence duty, now charged in lieu of the abolished hop duty. For every additional 5 degrees of specific gravity, from 1040° to 1125° inclusive, a further sum of 5_d._ per barrel is allowed.

[For further information connected with the above subject the reader is referred to the separate articles--ALE, BEER, DEXTRINE, DIASTASE, FERMENTATION, MALT LIQUORS, PORTER, SACCHAROMETER, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, WORT, YEAST, &c.]

=Brewing Uten'sils.= The cleansing and preservation of brewing utensils, beer casks, &c., has frequently engaged the attention of practical men and brewers' chemists. To preserve them sweet they should always be thoroughly cleaned before setting them aside. Contact with soap, or any greasy material, should be carefully avoided. A scrubbing-brush and scalding-hot water are generally sufficient to clean them. Great care should be taken to remove every particle of yeast or fur on the sides and bottom; and after being well drained they should be stowed away in some clean and cold situation, properly exposed to the fresh air. Should they become tainted or mouldy, a strong lye of pearl-ash, common salt, or quick-lime, may be spread over them, scalding hot, with a broom or scrubbing-brush. Washing them with oil of vitriol diluted with about 7 or 8 times its bulk of water, is another excellent and very effective method. Fresh-burnt charcoal has also been employed for the same purpose. In each case the vessels must be subsequently thoroughly washed out with clean water, as before. Steam, assisted by the action of a chain, has been successfully applied to clean casks in several breweries. Bisulphite of lime has, within the last few years, been highly recommended for sweetening and cleaning vats, casks, &c. It is also said to prevent beer from developing acidity. See CASKS, VATS, SPOROKTON, &c.

=BRICKS.= Brick-making scarcely comes within the province of this work. In connection with hygiene, however, we may call the reader's attention to the superior advantages of both hollow and waterproof bricks; the first, for ventilation and lightness; the last, for preserving the dryness and integrity of our homes under all the vicissitudes of climate, season, and weather, either on damp soils or dry ones. Workman's "Patent Waterproof Bricks" received a strong commendatory notice from the Commissioners of the "Great International Exhibition" of 1851.

=BRILLIANTINE.= 1. Castor oil, 1 part; eau de Cologne, 4 parts. Mix. 2. Honey, 1 _oz._; glycerin, 1/2 _oz._; eau de Cologne, 1/2 _oz._; spirit of wine, 2 _oz._ Mix.

=BRINE= (for Meat). _Prep._ 1. A nearly saturated solution of common salt, 1 lb.; and saltpetre, 1 oz.; in soft water.

2. To the last add of sugar or treacle, 1/2 lb. Bay-salt is recommended when the meat is to be kept for a very long period. Meat preserved in brine that has been used for curing several times is said to become poisonous. See PICKLING, &c.

=Brine, Red-Cabbage.= Red-cabbage leaves steeped in a strong solution of common salt. Used as a test for acids and alkalies.

=Brine, Vi'olet.= From the petals of the blue violet, as the last. Used as a test for acids.

=BRIOCHE PASTE= (bre-[=o]sh'). In _cookery_, a species of paste, or crust, prepared of eggs and flour, fermented with yeast, to which a little salt, a large quantity of sugar, and about half as much butter as the weight of the flour used, are afterwards added, and well worked in. Used as an addition to soup, and as a casing for lobsters, patties, eggs, &c.

=BRISK'NESS.= The natural briskness and sparkling of fermented liquors depends on the gradual evolution of carbonic acid gas within the body of the fluid, by the process of fermentation. See MALT LIQUORS, PORTER, WINES, &c.

=BRIS'TLES= (br[)i]s'lz). The stiff hair of swine, &c. They are commonly stiffened by immersion for a short time in alum-water; and are dyed by steeping them for a short time in any of the common dyes used for cotton or wool.

=BRITAN'NIA METAL.= _Syn._ TUTANIA. A superior species of pewter, used for teapots, spoons, &c.

_Prep._ 1. Plate-brass, bismuth, antimony, and tin, equal parts, melted together, and the resulting alloy added at discretion to melted tin, until it acquires the proper degree of colour and hardness.

2. To the first alloy, prepared as in No. 1, add one fifth of its weight of metallic arsenic, before mixing it with the melted tin.

3. Antimony, 1 part; brass, 4 parts; tin, 5 or 6 parts; melted together. See QUEEN'S METAL (ALLOYS), PEWTER, &c.

4. Tin, 150 parts; copper, 3 parts; antimony, 10 parts.

5. Tin, 46-1/2 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 3 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Casting.= _a._ Tin, 100 parts; hardening (see _below_), 5 parts; antimony, 5 parts. _b._ Tin, 105 parts; copper, 2 parts; antimony, 12 parts.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Handles.= Tin, 140 parts; copper, 2 parts; antimony, 5 parts.

=Britannia Metal, Hardening for.= Tin, 1 part; copper, 2 parts.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Lamps, Pillars, and Spouts.= Tin, 75 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 3-3/4 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Registers.= Tin, 25 parts; antimony, 2 parts; hardening, 2 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Spinning.= Tin, 25 parts; antimony, 1 part; hardening, 1 part.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Spoons.= Tin, 20 parts; antimony, 2 parts; hardening, 1 part.

=Britannia Metal for Spouts.= Tin, 46-1/2 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 2 parts.

=BRITANNIA SILVER.= Under this name there is, or was, offered to the public at Vienna, and probably elsewhere, under the misleading recommendation that it is a perfect substitute for silver, a heterogeneous metallic composition, in the form of spoons, forks, candlesticks, cups, &c. The Britannia silver is sometimes, or always, light, silvered, Britannia metal (an alloy of 86 tin, 10 antimony, 3 zinc, 1 copper; or of 2 copper, 6 zinc, 21 antimony, 71 tin; or of 1·84 copper, 81·90 tin, 16·25 antimony, and 1 zinc). One firm announces that Britannia silver is silver-white throughout, a colour which can only be obtained in similar alloys by the addition of arsenic. Another firm sells candlesticks of inferior packfong as Britannia metal, and another actually sells tinned Bessemer steel-plate cups as guaranteed Britannia silver. (Ackerman.)

=BRIT'ISH GUM.= See GUM.

=BRITISH WINES.= See WINES.

=BROC'COLI.= [Eng., L., Ger.] _Syn._ BROCOLI, Fr.; BROCCOLO, It. A well-known sub-variety of cauliflower. The qualities, and the mode of dressing broccoli, are similar to those of cabbages, noticed elsewhere. See VEGETABLES (Culinary), &c.

=BROKEN KNEES= (IN HORSES). The wound should first be thoroughly washed, and then sewn up, and fomented with tepid water. Afterwards cold-water dressings containing a little carbolic acid may be applied. Perfect rest is essential, and, where necessary, splints and slings must be had recourse to. After the wound has thoroughly healed blisters are recommended for restoring the hair.

=BROKEN WIND= (IN HORSES). Of the many remedies said to be useful in this malady few, if any, appear to exercise any permanent advantage. There is no reason, however, why a horse affected with broken wind should not be made serviceable if the precaution be taken to put him to moderately slow work, if the following precautions be followed. His food should be given him in small quantity and at frequent intervals. The oats should be bruised and the hay cut small, and both be slightly damped before he partakes of them. This dietary may be varied by small doses of carrots or turnips.

The amount of fluids should be restricted, and he should be fed and watered at least an hour before going to work. A mild physic ball should also be occasionally administered.

Dogs suffering from asthma should be subjected to the same treatment. To a full-sized dog ten drops each of ether and tincture of belladonna may be given every hour during an attack of spasm until the breathing becomes easier.

=BRO'MA.= _Prep._ 1. Pure cocoa, 1 lb.; sugar and sago-meal, of each 4 oz.; mix. British arrow-root (_i. e._ carefully prepared potato-starch) is often substituted for the sago.

2. As the last, but using fine wheat flour in lieu of sago-meal. Made into a beverage in a similar way to cocoa.

=BRO'MAL.= C_{2}Br_{3}HO. A colourless, oily liquid, obtained by the action of bromine on alcohol. Sp. gr. 3·34; boiling point above 212° F. Like chloral it yields a solid hydrate with water. Because of its powerful irritant properties it seems unlikely to prove useful, either as a hypnotic or as an anæsthetic.

=BRO'MIDE= (-m[)i]d). _Syn._ BRO'MURET*, HYDROBRO'MATE*; BROMI'DUM, BROMURE'TUM, HYDROBRO'MAS, L.; BROMIDE, BROMURE. Fr. A chemical compound of bromine with another radical.

_Prop._, _&c._ The soluble bromides give white precipitates with nitrate of silver, acetate of lead, and protonitrate of mercury. That from the first of these is insoluble in dilute nitric acid and in ammonia water unless concentrated; and it has a slight yellowish tinge, changing to a violet on exposure to the light. A few drops of liquid chlorine poured upon a bromide, followed by agitation of the mixture with a little sulphuric ether, furnishes an ethereal solution of bromine. [For the other bromides see the respective bases.]

=BRO'MINE= (-m[)i]n), (_bromos_, a stink). Br. _Syn._ BROME*; BRO'MIUM, BROMIN'IUM, L.; BRÔME, Fr. An elementary substance, discovered by M. Balard, of Montpellier, in 1826.

_Prep._ 1. A current of gaseous chlorine is passed through the uncrystallisable residuum of sea-water called bittern, which then assumes an orange tint, in consequence of bromine being set free from its combinations; sulphuric ether is then agitated with it, and the mixture is allowed to stand, in a close vessel, until the ethereal portion floats upon the surface. This is a solution of crude bromine, and for common purposes the ether may be at once evaporated by a very gentle heat. To render it pure, caustic potassa is added in excess to the ethereal solution, or the latter is agitated with a solution of potassa, by which means bromide and bromate of potassium are formed. The whole is evaporated to dryness, and submitted to a dull red heat. The residuum is next powdered and mixed with pure peroxide of manganese; the mixture having been placed in a retort, sulphuric acid (diluted with half its weight of water) is poured in. Red vapours immediately arise, and condense into drops of bromine, which are collected by plunging the neck of the retort nearly to the bottom of a small receiver containing a little very cold water. The bromine forms a stratum beneath the water, and may be collected and at once put into a stoppered bottle; or it may be further purified by distillation from dry chloride of calcium.

2. Leisler's patent for a method of obtaining bromine consists in decomposing the lye containing the bromine salt by heating it with hydrochloric acid and bichromate of potash in a leaden still having an earthenware head. The volatilised bromine with the vapour of water is conducted into a receiver containing iron turnings, bromide of iron, which dissolves in the water contained in the receiver, being formed. The bromide of iron so produced is either converted into other metallic bromides by the usual processes, or the bromine is obtained in a separate state from the iodide by treatment with sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash.

3. Large quantities of bromine are extracted from the mother liquor of carnallite, a double chloride of magnesium of potassium occurring in enormous quantities in a bed of clay in the neighbourhood of Stassfurt, near Magdeburg. The mother liquid of the carnallite at 35° B. is first freed as much as possible from the chloride of calcium it contains, by means of refrigeration. It is next evaporated down until it acquires a density of 40° B. Frank says it cannot be concentrated to the above extent, because of a waste of bromine resulting from the formation of hydrobromic acid produced by the decomposition of the lye, owing to its being overheated at the bottom of the pan. Upon being cooled to 25° C. a quantity of chloride of magnesium crystallises out, whilst the remaining liquor contains from 0·3 to 0·5 of bromine as bromide of magnesium. The liquor is then put into a sandstone apparatus such as is used for the preparation of chlorine, and the requisite quantity of manganese and hydrochloric acid being added, steam is poured into the apparatus. After about a quarter of an hour the bromine is evolved in the form of vapour, which becomes condensed by being made to pass through a leaden worm cooled in water, and is finally collected as liquid bromine in Woolff's bottles.

The crude bromine so obtained is purified by redistillation in glass retorts. It is stated that the sandstone apparatus can be charged six times in 24 hours. In order to free the bromine from the presence of any chloride it is shaken up with a solution of bromide of potassium.

The chlorine unites with the potassium, forming chloride of potassium and liberating an equivalent quantity of bromine in so doing. Dr Frank suggests the use of earthenware worms in preference to leaden ones, these latter being acted upon and corroded by liquid bromine. In Dr Frank's bromine works at Stassfurt the distillation is conducted in cubic stoneware vessels, having a capacity of about three cubic metres. These vessels are surrounded with belts of iron, in case of the occurrence of fracture. It was found that few stones answered the purpose required of them, as by reason of their porous nature they permitted the chloride of manganese formed during the distillation to ooze through. To remedy this the stones had to be coated with tar, a process which entailed a very serious loss of bromine, from the formation of bromine compounds with the hydrocarbons of the tar, as well as a contamination of the bromine with the tar. Subsequently Dr Frank found in the neighbourhood of Porta Westphalia a stone which answered the purpose without requiring the previous objectionable and expensive preparation with tar.

It seems that the workmen discard the respirators which are provided for their use in the bromine works, and merely tie a cloth over the mouth and nose (sometimes neglecting this precaution) when decanting the bromine.

To lessen the evil effects of the vapours upon the health of the workmen under these circumstances, the building is rendered as airy as possible by being thoroughly ventilated throughout. No workmen afflicted with asthma or with any catarrhal affection are employed, whilst those engaged are strictly prohibited from taking spirituous liquids in any form, a custom which begets an irritability of the mucous membranes, which is found to be exceedingly dangerous; on the contrary, a generous diet, and one consisting of an abundant use of bacon and butter, was found very beneficial.

Bromine is sometimes contaminated with chlorine, iodine, and occasionally bromide of carbon. A small quantity of the bromine agitated with a solution of soda, in such proportion that the fluid is made very slightly alkaline, forms a colourless solution, which, if coloured by the further addition of a small quantity of the bromine, does not become blue on the subsequent addition of a cold solution of starch. This shows the absence of iodine. Chlorine may be detected by adding a small quantity of the suspected bromine to some warm solution of potash in a capsule, evaporating, drying the residue, and distilling with bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid. Bromide of carbon has a higher boiling-point than pure bromine.

_Prop., &c._ A dark, reddish-coloured, volatile liquid, having an odour intermediate between that of chlorine and iodine, but much more suffocating and offensive. It solidifies at about 19°, and boils at about 145° Fahr. It is slightly soluble in water, more so in alcohol, and abundantly so in ether. Its aqueous solution bleaches like chlorine, but less powerfully. With hydrogen it forms HYDROBRO'MIC ACID; and with the bases, compounds called BRO'MIDES. Its sp. gr. is 2·976; that of its vapour, 5·39.

_Tests._ It is readily recognised by its colour, odour, and volatility, and by the colour of its vapour; by its giving a yellowish-white precipitate with nitrate of silver, which is turned violet by the action of light; and by its solutions giving an orange or yellow colour to starch, and a red tinge to solution of chloride of gold.

_Uses, &c._ Bromine possesses very similar medicinal properties to iodine, and has been administered in goitre, scrofula, &c., in the form of an aqueous solution composed of 1 part of bromine to 40 of water, of which 5 or 6 drops is the dose; but it is more usually given under the form of bromide of potassium (which _see_). The compounds of bromine are also largely used in photography in the manufacture of certain coal-tar colours, and in scientific chemistry the solution has also been used as a lotion. Bromine is a good disinfectant. It is very poisonous; the antidotes, &c., resemble those for iodine. See BROMIDE, SOLUTIONS, &c.

=BROMOCHLORALUM= (Tilden & Co., New York), for the removal of bad smells, as a disinfectant, and antiseptic. A fluid, sp. gr. 1·43, containing 27·5 per cent. of solid matter. The latter consists of 18·5 per cent. of aluminium chloride, with chalk and a considerable quantity of alkaline salts. Free bromine is not present. (H. En{?}demann.)

=BROMOFORM= (CHBr_{3}). A colourless liquid obtained by distilling bromide of calcium with alcohol. It has a sp. gr. of 2·90; and boils at 305·6° F., emitting a vapour having a density 8·632. It is somewhat similar in properties to chloroform, but much more irritating; hence it has been rarely employed medicinally.

=BROMTHEE--BRAMBLE TEA= (?)--is a mixture of 5 parts lime flowers _cum bracteis_, 5 parts senna leaves, 5 parts acacia flowers, 8 parts cort. frangulæ, and 2 parts sassafras chips. (Hager.)

=BROHCHI'TIS= (br[)o]ng-k[=i]'). [L.; prim. Gr.] In _pathology_, inflammation of the mucous lining of the bronchia or smaller ramifications of the windpipe. In its milder form it is popularly called a 'cold on the chest.'

_Symp._ The usual symptoms are hoarseness, dry cough, and a slight degree of fever, followed by expectoration of mucus, at first thin, and afterwards thick and copious. In the severer forms there is more fever, cough, and oppression at the chest, &c.

_Treatm._ It generally yields to small and repeated doses of ipecacuanha and antimonial diaphoretics; a light diet and mild purgatives being at the same time adopted, but in every case it is safer to have recourse to medical aid.

HORSES.--Finlay Dun prescribes the following:--Tincture of aconite, inhalation of the vapour of water, ether and belladonna, carbolic acid, sulphurous acid, mash diet, salines, chlorate of potash, the salts of ammonia, chloral hydrate, mustard externally, warm clothing, but cool air. Symptoms very similar to those of bronchitis are frequently caused in calves and young cattle by the presence in the bronchii of threadworms or filaria. The cause is generally removed by the administration of a dose or two of oil of turpentine, given at intervals of a day or two.

=BRON'CHOCELE= (br[)o]ng'-ko-s[=e]le). See GOITRE.