Homemade & Commercial

Wine, Beer, Spirits, Cider & Mead Guides

Alcoholic beverages; most commonly beer and wines made at home. Brews made from brewing kits purchased at shops specialized in spirits. The Beer Pirate features homebrew recipes, equipment requirements, and commercial productions information; and all the best practices needed to make that perfect batch!

There are only two colors in wine-red and white.

Any wine containing the slightest tinge of red is a red wine.

White wines range from the very palest straw-color to deep, dark brown.

There is no wine that is absolutely colorless.

Red wines are generally dry. (Exceptions are Port and Port-type wines, some Italian and one or two Hungarian table wines, and, of course, kosher wines.)

White wines vary in sweetness, from the extreme dryness of a Manzanilla to the rich sweet lusciousness of a Tokay Eszencia.

The word “dry” is used in the wine trade to describe the opposite of sweet. Literally, it means lacking in sugar.

Four Main Classifications of Wines

Light Beverage (Natural still wines) - Red and white Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italian, Rhine, Moselle, Alsatian, Tokay, Hungarian table wines, American, California, etc. Alcoholic content 14% or less.

Sparkling - Champagne, sparkling Burgundy, Asti Spumante, sparkling Moselle, etc. Alcoholic content 14% or less.

Fortified - Sherry, Port, Madeira, Marsala, Malaga, etc. Alcoholic content 16% to 23%.

Aromatized - Vermouth, both Italian and French, quinined wines, etc. Alcoholic content 15% to 20%.

Wines with less than 14% alcohol will improve after bottling. Fortified and aromatized wines will improve very little or not at all, with the exception of Vintage Ports.

It is advisable for the hotel, restaurant or club manager to keep his service personnel well-informed. After all, they are his sales staff and they cannot be expected to increase the sale of beverages if they are not familiar with them. This applies equally to the wholesaler or distributor. The sales staff which is trained and can give information will become salesmen instead of order takers.

While the Guide has been designed primarily to be of use to the trade, it is the author’s earnest hope that it will be read by the most important person to the entire industry-the consumer. It is to please and serve him that the industry constantly strives. A greater familiarity with the beverages which are discussed in detail in this book would, we believe, not only aid him in purchasing with assurance, but would, perhaps, point out to him many intriguing qualities which he may have overlooked, and therefore increase his enjoyment.

To provide the reader with practical information, to increase his knowledge and enjoyment, and above all, to impart something of the fascination of the subject is the purpose of this Guide.

It is important to explain what we mean by the various terms we use, so that there may be no misconceptions.

What is Alcohol

Alcohol is a volatile, colorless liquid with an ethereal odor, obtained through the fermentation of a sugar-containing liquid. There are many members of the alcohol family, but, as Al Smith is the best-known Smith, so ethyl is the bestknown alcohol and the one which concerns us most, as it is the principal alcohol to be found in all alcoholic beverages. Chemically, alcohols are hydroxides of organic radicals. There is nothing in alcohol which, in itself, is poisonous or injurious to man’s health.

What is an Alcoholic Beverage

Literally, any potable liquid containing from liz of 1 per cent up to 75l1z per cent of ethyl alcohol by volume is an alcoholic beverage. However, social and economic factors enter the picture, and we find that, for the purposes of taxation, the Federal and several State Governments have set certain definite standards as to what constitutes an alcoholic beverage. Whereas beers containing as little as 2 per cent of alcohol by volume are taxable, certain bitters and medicinal compounds, which often contain upwards of 40 per cent, are not taxed because they are not considered alcoholic beverages in the tax sense. In 1919 the Congress of the United States established by law that an alcoholic beverage containing more than Y2 of 1 per cent of alcohol by volume was intoxicating, yet in later years, liqueurs containing 12 per cent of alcohol by volume were permitted to be sold as “non-alcoholic” cordials. One might draw the conclusion that, by 1930, 12 per cent of alcohol in a liqueur was not as intoxicating as 1 per cent was in beer.

What is Wine

Wine is the naturally fermented juice of freshly gathered ripe grapes, which have been pressed at or near the place where gathered. The Federal Alcohol Administration’s regulations, however, give a broader use to the term and say that it may be applied to the fermented juice of other fruits, or even herbs, such as blackberry, elderberry, peach, and dandelion wines. Wine is more than just water and alcohol. The Bible calls it the blood of the grape. Wine is a living thing in a constant state of change.

What is a Spirit

A spirit is a potable alcoholic beverage obtained from the distillation of an alcohol-containing liquid. It makes very little difference whether the original liquid contained a small or a large amount of alcohol. Once the principles of distillation are applied, nearly all of the alcohol may be separated from the liquid. In this process, however, it is inevitable that certain other matters will also be separated and it is these congeners, which we may call impurities, that give the several spirits their distinct character after the spirit has been matured in wood and the congeners, or impurities, have fully developed.

What is Beer

Beer is a liquor fermented from cereals and malt, flavored with hops.

The leaders of the industry are unanimous in preferring that more people drink and enjoy beverages, rather than that the individual drink more.

It is gratifying to note the moderation exercised by the public in the use of alcoholic beverages since Repeal. A per capita consumption of one gallon of spirits per year indicates an average of one-third of an ounce per day. Wine consumption is only about one-fifth of an ounce, while the beer average is about 4 ounces. A people whose alcoholic beverage consumption is so low may, without fear of contradiction, be called temperate.

The Guide has been divided into five main sections: wines; spirits; beers and ales; uses, merchandising, control, and so forth; and finally, the Appendices which contain useful, quick reference data. All of the material has been carefully cross-indexed so as to simplify the book’s use for reference purposes.

Condensed information on the entire industry is given, including the description of a product, its method of production, selling, care, and uses in public and private places. Naturally the practices described are those generally used in the United States, unless otherwise specified.

It is the author’s hope that you will find the Guide a comprehensive source of information on all phases of the subject; that producers, vintners, distillers and brewers will find it valuable as a general reference and in equipping their sales representatives with information about the other phases of the industry, which will enable them to win the confidence of their customers; that the wholesale distributor will find it invaluable as a training manual for his staff, and as a reference resource.

The various Appendices have been compiled with a view to practical use, particularly the list of foreign shippers and their American agents, and American producers.

Particular care has been taken in providing information on every phase of the industry for the use of retail establishments, whether off-premise (stores), or on-premise (hotels, restaurants or clubs).

During the Christmas season, there is an opportunity to sell liqueurs in their fancy bottles. It is good business to be posted on these, and to refer to the Guide if one is asked for a liqueur whose style or character may have been forgotten.

One of the leading Champagne shippers illustrated this point when he told me: “When I ship my wine, my name appears on the label. It is I who guarantee the quality. My reputation is more important to me than any pecuniary profit I may derive from the sale. It took my forebears 200 years to establish this reputation for shipping wines of quality, and rest assured that I am going to pass on as good a name to my successors as I received.” It is men of this type who have placed the wine and spirit trade on the high plane which has become traditional.

Based on these traditions, certain firms have established their brands so well that the public asks for their product by the name of the shipper. This has been particularly true in the case of Cognac and whiskies, but since Prohibition made our public “age conscious,” many people have been buying “numbers” rather than brands in whose name we have confidence. This has happened in the case of wines, as well. It is true that certain wines do improve with age-up to a point-but there are other wines which are more pleasant if drunk when young, as is the case with light white wines, whose charm lies in their freshness.

The industry as a whole is today a most important part of our business life, employing, directly or through allied enterprises, millions of men. It is one of the three most important sources of tax revenue for the Federal treasury and the several State treasuries.

Just as Prohibition is bad, so is excess, and in no case is this more true than in the use of alcoholic beverages. There is no better word of advice on this point than that which Lord Chesterfield gave to his son, in the letter dated London, March 27, 1747:

“Were I to begin the world again with the experience I now have of it, I would lead a life of real, not imaginary pleasures. I would enjoy the pleasures of the table, and of wine; but stop short of the pains inseparably annexed to an excess of either.”

The beginnings of the liquor industry are lost in the mazes of the past, almost as old as man himself, and our knowledge of it is made up of widely scattered information from the dawn of time in every language written or spoken. The entire subject lacks finality. It is continually developing and consequently is always intriguing. Like living things, it is subject to growth and fluctuations, and in that fact lies, perhaps, its chief fascination.

The development and improvement of the quality of alcoholic beverages have been a natural result of the advance of science and civilization. The role of science has been limited to assuring uniformity of quality and sound products year in and year out, for mysterious Mother Nature still insists she will have something to say in the matter, even when it comes to distilled spirits.

The vine, the brewing kettle, and the still have accompanied the spread of Christianity, establishing certain honorable traditions which the trade proudly upholds today. It is also interesting to note the esteem in which the wine trade is held abroad. It was the first “trade” considered sufficiently honorable and dignified for a member of the aristocracy to engage in, and many of the leading European firms are directed by men of noble families.

In England a wine merchant is consulted in matters pertaining to wines, spirits, or beers just as a lawyer is in legal matters. The confidence thus placed in him gives the merchant a keen consciousness of his responsibility. Also, as he knows that the business he builds will be continued by his sons and grandsons, family pride leads him to pass on an impeccable reputation. It is not unusual to find firms that have been doing business under the same name in the same place for hundreds of years-in some cases more than 400 years. This is the European custom and I am happy to note that it is beginning to take hold in the United States.

The early distillers used very crude and primitive equipment. Fermentation was carried on in open mash tubs, the yeast being the wild varieties which the air afforded. Since that day tremendous changes have taken place.

The making of American whiskies is basically the same as the making of grain whiskies in Scotland. The grains, of course, are different, and the whiskey is distilled out at a lower proof.

Briefly the steps are as follows:

1. The grain upon arrival at the distillery is carefully inspected and cleaned of all dust.
2. It is ground in the grist mill to a meal.
3. The meal, together with a small amount of malt, is cooked to convert the starches.
4. The cooled “wort” is yeasted with pure culture yeast, and goes to the fermenting vats to become “beer.”
5. The beer goes into a patent or double column still. The result is whiskey, which is distilled out at below 160 proof. It is now reduced in proof to 100 to 103 by the addition of pure well water.

The new whiskey is placed in a new charred white oak barrel to mature in a bonded warehouse, where it must remain under Treasury Department control until the Internal Revenue tax has been paid. The time limit was eight years until recently when it was extended to twenty years. This means that a whiskey or any other distilled spirit still in bond after twenty years is then subject to payment of the Internal Revenue tax, whether it can be sold or not.

Early American settlers brought spirituous liquors with them, as they were considered essential in withstanding the hardships of an ocean voyage, and a medicine in cases of illness in the new, savage land. For a long time, spirits had to be imported from Europe.

The first commercially distilled spirits in what is the present day United States was New England rum. Distilling of whiskey on a commercial scale began over a century later.

There is a record of experimental distilling in 1660, but it was not until the early eighteenth century that the distilling of whiskey began to develop. The grains used along the Eastern seaboard were rye and barley. As the settlements began extending westward, however, it became apparent that the transportation of newly grown grain back to the populous seaboard cities was difficult for the settlers, particularly those in Western Pennsylvania. They found it was simpler to distil their grain, both rye and com, into whiskey. It not only kept longer, but was easier to transport to the cities. Whiskey and furs, indeed, became the best means of exchange, particularly during the Revolutionary War period when Continental currency was worth less than five cents on the dollar.

Whiskey played a prominent part in our early history, in determining our right and ability to be a self-governed nation. It happened in this way. Whiskey had always been distilled in small, family-owned distilleries, without legal interference from any government. In 1791, not long after George Washington became President, money being a crying need for the new nation, an excise tax was levied on whiskey.

The independent Pennsylvania distillers resented the taxing of their product and said so in no uncertain terms. The tax collectors in some cases were even tarred and feathered. There were rioting and stormy scenes in these “western” communities, and President Washington, in great haste, sent a force of militia to quell the “insurrection.” It was done without bloodshed and accomplished its object. While in itself the “insurrection” was of minor importance, it was of tremendous significance to the future of the Federal Government, and is still known as the “Whiskey Rebellion.”

Many of the disgruntled Dutch, Scotch, and Irish farmer-distillers decided to move out of reach of the tax collector, which meant going farther west into Indian Territory. They found the proper water for distilling in Southern Indiana and Kentucky.

The first whiskey distilled in Kentucky is generally attributed to the Reverend Elijah Craig at Georgetown, which was in Bourbon County. The grain he employed was com (maize) as it was more plentiful than rye. It became known as Bourbon County whiskey, and the name Bourbon has remained as the designation of whiskies distilled from a com mash.

The three important whiskey-distilling areas in the United States are not located where they are from pure chance but because of the most important factor in the making of whiskey-the quality of the water. It comes from springs that pass up through layer on layer of limestone rock. The limestone mantel runs along Western Pennsylvania, cuts across Southern Indiana and over into Kentucky. There is another isolated limestone region in Maryland around Baltimore.

However, with the advancement of science and the development of inexpensive water technology the distiller has been freed from the necessity of locating his production at or near these limestone mantel outcroppings. Today he can and does distil whiskey in many other parts of the United States.

There is a common belief that Irish whiskey is a potato whiskey. This is not true at all. No doubt the misconception stems from the fact that the Irish refer to illicitly distilled whiskey as poteen, a term derived from the pot still in which it has traditionally been distilled. Yes, in Ireland they eat potatoes but do not use them for distilling purposes.

Whiskey in Ireland is distilled from a fermented mash of the same grains as are used in Scotland, namely, malted barley, unmalted barley, corn, rye and other small grains.

The barley malt used is dried in a kiln which has a solid floor, so that the smoke from the fuel-very often peat-has no opportunity to come in contact with the grain. Thus the malt is not “smoke-cured,” as is the case in Scotland. All Irish whiskey is triple distilled.

Irish whiskies are often all pot still distillations, and while often shipped as a blend of whiskies of the same distillery, they are also shipped as unblended straight whiskies, on occasion.

Grain whiskies are also distilled in column or patent stills. Some houses blend their malt whiskies with grain whiskies to produce a lighter-bodied and flavored whiskey.

Most Irish whiskies are seven years old or more before they are shipped. Irish is a particularly smooth whiskey, but with a great deal of body and a clean, malt flavor.

It is used in the same manner as Scotch whisky.

The whisky remains in cask, under government supervision, from the time it is distilled until it is sold for export or home consumption.

Until 1853, Scotch whiskies were always “straight” whiskies, but about that time a few distillers began the practice of blending whiskies from various sources and widely separated distilleries, all in Scotland, of course. The firm of Andrew Usher & Company is credited with beginning this practice. Before this time, the taste for Scotch was confined to Scotland, but after blending became a general practice, Scotch whisky became popular in England and throughout the world, as the blend of unmalted grain whisky with malts produced a drink generally liked.

As already pointed out, the four geographical divisions from which whiskies made entirely from malted barley are obtained are the Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltown and Islay. To these malted whiskies, we must now add unmalted whisky, known to the trade as grain whisky. Grain whisky in Scotland is whisky and not neutral spirits, as some people believe. The Scotch grain whiskies are distilled out at slightly over 180 proof. They are reduced to 124 proof when barreled in Sherry casks for aging.

The blending is done when the whiskies are from three to four years old. A master blender examines them and indicates the exact proportion of Highland, Lowland, Campbeltown, and Islay malts and of grain whisky which are to be married. This is accomplished by placing the whiskies in a large vat where they are thoroughly mixed both by rotating paddles and by compressed air blown up from the bottom. The whisky is then returned to Sherry casks for a further period of maturing.

The Immature Spirits Act of Great Britain specifically states that no whisky may be sold for consumption in the British Isles less than three years old. By the reciprocal trade agreement between Great Britain and the United States, Scotch and Irish whiskies imported into this country must be at least four years old to be imported without an age statement on the label.

The usual Scotch blend is composed of from 30 to 50 per cent of malt whisky, the balance being grain whisky. The original object of using grain whiskies, which are always distilled in patent stills, was to reduce the cost, but in doing so a lighter whisky was produced, which appealed much more to the other peoples of the world than had the fuller, smokier Scotch whiskies previously made.

The essential difference between blends consists in the proportions used of the four types of malts. Of these, of course, the Highland malts are considered the finest, and are always the most costly. They are fairly light in body and flavor, and do not have too much smoke. The finest Highland section is Banffshire, and within it the Glenlivet and Speyside regions are considered the best. Next in importance is Moray. Lowland malts are also light in body, but not as smoky in flavor. Incidentally, almost all of the grain whisky distilleries are in the Lowlands. Campbeltown malts are very full in body and quite smoky. The Islay malts are also very full, smoky, and pungent.

In the last analysis, the reasons for blending are to obtain a smoother, more balanced product than any of its single component parts, and to assure uniform continuity of a given brand. In this way the consumer can look for the same character, flavor, taste and quality year in and year out. A Scotch whisky blend can very easily be the result of a marriage of as many as 30 or 40 malt whiskies, together with five or more grain whiskies.

The age of the individual whiskies at the time of blending may vary widely since no single whisky will be employed before it has reached its proper maturity. The time (years) required for this is governed by the character of the whisky itself and the climatic conditions under which it is matured. The fuller-bodied malts of Islay and Campbeltown take much longer, sometimes ten to twelve years, while the Highland and Lowland malts may be ready in six to eight years, and the grain whiskies may only require four years. The greater the climatic dampness the slower the aging process.

Therefore, the secret of fine Scotch whisky lies in the art of the blender. On his unique ability depends the polish, smoothness and uniformity of the whisky. There are some 112 distilleries in Scotland (84 Highland Malt, 7 Lowland Malt, 8 Islay Malt, 2 Campbeltown Malt and 11 Grain Whisky distilleries) producing over 4000 brands or blends.

Scotch whisky is obtained primarily from barley, which is grown in Scotland preferably, but of late year’s barley from California, Canada, India, Africa, and other countries has been imported for distilling purposes.

There are five main processes in the making of Scotch: first, malting; second, mashing; third, fermenting; fourth, distilling; and fifth, maturing and blending.

On arrival at the distillery, the barley goes into the barley-receiving room where it is dressed, that is, sieved, or passed over screens so that small and inferior grain will be eliminated, after which the best grain is stored. When required for use, it is placed in tanks, called “steeps,” where it is soaked in water until thoroughly softened. It is then spread out on the floor of the malting house, and sprinkled with warm water for about three weeks, during which time the grain begins to germinate, that is, to sprout.

When the sprouts are about three-quarters of an inch long, the water is turned off and the grain is known as “green malt.” Please note that it is already malt, for malt is germinated grain. During this germination process, a chemical change has occurred in the grain which is important in its future function of producing whisky. Some of the starches have been changed into diastase, which has the property of converting the balance of the starch into sugars-maltose and dextrin-which are fermentable, whereas the starch in its original state is not.

The green malt is transferred to a kiln, where it rests on a screen directly above a peat (Peat is coal in its primary stage, and consists of partially carbonized vegetable material, usually found in bogs. Pressed and dried peat is generally used for fuel in both Scotland and Ireland.) fire. Like green wood, peat gives off a much more acrid and oily smoke than soft coal. This swirls around the grain, which becomes so impregnated with the aroma of the smoke that it is carried over into the spirit later distilled from it.

The kilning, or drying, process is very important, as it is here that the malt acquires a good part of its character, and a variation occurs here in the various regions; that is, the malt in the Lowlands is kilned less than in the Highlands; whereas the Campbeltown and Islay grains are more heavily roasted.

The kilned malt is now screened to remove the culm or dried sprouts, after which it goes to the mill room where it is ground into meal or “grist.”

The next step is mashing. The ground malt is thoroughly mixed with warm water in a mash-tub where it soaks until the water has liquefied all of the starches, and the diastase has converted them into sugars. When the water has absorbed all of the goodness from the grain, it is drawn off, cooled, and is known as wort.

The wort now passes into the fermenting vats where a small quantity of carefully cultivated pure yeast is added and fermentation takes place. The yeast acts upon the sugars in the wort in the same manner as the natural yeasts act upon the sugars in grape juice, producing alcohol and carbonic acid gas. When fermentation is completed, the liquid is known as beer, or wash. Up to this point the process is identical with that of the brewing of ales and beers, except for the omission of hops.

The beer now goes into a pot still which is known as the wash still. The result of the first distillation is a distillate of low alcoholic strength, which is known as low wines. The low wines pass into the spirit still where they are redistilled. The first and last part of the distillation (the heads and tails called the feints) is gathered separately from the middle portion, which is the useful part of the distillation. At the beginning and at the end of the distillation operation, too high a percentage of impurities are carried over with the spirit, which, if used, would impair the flavor of the spirit when matured. The feints, however, contain a substantial quantity of useful alcohol and are returned to the spirit still with the next charge of low wines, and the alcohol is distilled out. The impurities are disposed of with the residual slop from the spirit still operation, that is, the waste material which is thrown out.

The useful spirit, distilled off at between 140 and 142 proof, is now known as whisky, and flows into a spirit vat from where it is put in casks. These casks, generally made of American white oak, vary in size from 33 to 144 American gallons in capacity. The different sizes are used for convenience. They may be new or old, and very often are casks in which Sherry has been shipped. More often than not, the casks have been previously used for maturing whisky.

At the time of barreling the whisky is reduced in proof to 124 to 126.8 by the addition of water. According to Dr. P. Schidrowitz, whose notes are quoted by Peter Valaer in his excellent paper on Scotch whisky, “it is held that the best water is that which its origin as a spring has served with water which has passed through a red granite formation, and which, after rising from its source, passes through peaty country. Such waters are generally very soft, and possess certain qualities which are apparently due to the peaty soil or heather-clad moor through or over which the water passes on its way to the distillery.” The waters of Loch Katrine are reputed to be of the finest for Scotch whisky.