JOURNAL
OF
THE INSTITUTE OF BREWING
SHORT PAPERS COMMUNICATED.
Notes on the Malt Substitutes used in a Brussels Brewery during the German Occupation, 1915—1918.
The following notes, supplied by the chemist at the Wielemans Ceuppens Brewery at Brussels, give some idea of the difficulties faced and surmounted by Belgian brewers during the German occupation. In order to supplement the small output possible with the restricted supply of grain, endeavours had to be made to find suitable substitutes, and despite the unpromising nature of the materials available and the extremely low gravity of the worts, 1005—1010, the bottom-fermentation beers produced wore very good in appearance and agreeable to the palate, though only the ghost of the celebrated pre-war lagers.
The prices paid for the malt substitutes were very high. The vetches fetching 350 francs per 100 kilograms, and the beans, 600 francs. But some of those with a high albuminoid-content proved of value as yeast food in the very thin worts, in this respect counter balancing the disadvantages of high percentages of water and fat.
Crescent City Brew Talk 