The investigation, the results of which are reported in this bulletin,
was undertaken for the purpose of securing information in regard to the
composition of brewery products made in this country. The main object of
this investigation was to find, if possible, a means of distinguishing
beers and ales made entirely from malt from those made from malt
together with other cereal products, such as rice, corn, and cerealin.
It was concluded, after looking into the literature, that in order to
accomplish this purpose it would be necessary to collect a series of
samples made from the various raw materials ordinarily used and make a
study of the effect of these raw materials upon the composition of the
finished product.
The investigation seemed desirable for the reason that practically all
of the existing data related to foreign beers, in the preparation of
which a type of malt was used entirely different from that ordinarily
used in the production of American beers. Furthermore, very few of the
existing data relating either to foreign or domestic beers were based
upon samples concerning which exact information was available in regard
to the raw materials used in the wort.