Infusions of the leaf-stalks of the hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), fermented with yeast, have been used as spirituous drinks from time immemorial in North America, Northern Asia, Persia, Russia, Poland, and Silesia. The name "Bartzsch ' is given to the beverage in the two last-named countries.1 In Russia it is used in the preparation of the soup "Borchtsch," as well as for drinking. Kephir is the national beverage of the inhabitants of the Caucasus, and has also been used a good deal in Europe during the last thirty years. It is a nourishing beverage produced by the fermentation of milk with "kephir grains," containing certain yeasts and lactic acid bacilli. These organisms agglomerate in the fermenting milk, forming lumps, with cauliflower-like appearance, which can easily be separated from the liquid and used for a number of successive fermentations. Kephir ferment from different sources may apparently contain different varieties of yeasts and bacilli, as several micro-organisms have been isolated.1

1 Hartwich (Abst.), Yr.Bk. Pharm., 1912, 126.

Cow's, sheep's, and goat's milk are used for the preparation of kephir, the two last especially in the Caucasus. One method of making it is to proceed as follows: -

Half a litre of milk is sterilised by boiling, cooled to about 18-20°, and then mixed with not less than 12 grams of the ferment. The mixture is allowed to stand in a covered vessel, with occasional stirring, until it curdles, which usually occurs within thirty hours. The ferment is then removed by means of a coarse sieve, and the milk allowed to undergo after-fermentation at the ordinary temperature, in a bottle with a screw stopper. From time to time the bottle is well shaken, and the fermentation allowed to continue for 12-24 hours until the desired degree of acidity and aeration with carbon dioxide has been reached, when the product is ready for consumption. It is a pleasantly-acid, creamy liquid, which is often taken medicinally.

According to Konig, the average composition of kephir is: -

Koumiss is a spirituous beverage obtained by the fermentation of mare's milk. It is the chief spirituous drink used by the Tartars and other nomadic peoples of the Russian steppes. It is made by adding one part of old koumiss to ten of fresh milk, warming for two to three hours at 20-25°, and maturing in bottles. In Switzerland, an imitation of the Russian koumiss is made from cow's milk, skimmed, which is sweetened a little and fermented with yeast. The preparation contains 3 to 4 per cent. of alcohol, with 2 per cent. of sugar and 02 per cent. of lactic acid.

1 Henneberg, Zeitsch. Spiritusind.,'1912, 35, 170, 177, 184.

Sake is a Japanese spirituous drink prepared by the fermentation of rice with the mould Aspergillus oryzae. Steamed rice is spread out on mats and mixed with a culture of the mould, which develops and partly saccharifies the starch during its growth. The mass is kept from the light, and turned each day during three or four days. The culture thus obtained ("koji ") is used to ferment a small mash of more steamed rice, and the product in its turn is employed to carry out the fermentation of a larger mash. The whole process requires about thirty days for its completion. Other methods are in use which extend over forty to fifty days.1

Sake contains on an average about 17 per cent. of alcohol. It is of light-yellow colour,and in flavour resembles a mixture of beer and sherry.

Toddy is an Indian beverage, obtained, like sake, by the fermentation of rice, but mostly from the sap of various palms, especially the cocoanut palm. The sap undergoes spontaneous fermentation after being collected, the process usually being rapid, and extending only over a day or so. Arrack is obtained by the distillation of toddy.

1 Ikuta, Zeitsch. anal. Chem., 1875, 14, 439.