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.