The estimation of glycerine is a troublesome and unsatisfactory determination to make, and as the information obtained in the case of beer is not sufficient to repay the labor of the analysis, except in special cases, I have omitted it.

The following method is used by the Bavarian chemists : 50cc. of beer are treated with about 3 grains of quicklime, evaporated to a sirup, then mixed with about 10 grams coarsely powdered marble or sand, and brought to dryness. The entire dried mass is transferred to an extraction apparatus, and extracted for six or eight hours with not over 50cc. strong alcohol. To the slightly colored extract is added an equal volume of water-free ether, and the solution after standing a short time is poured into a weighed flask, or filtered through a small filter, which is afterwards washed with a little ether-alcohol. After the evaporation of the ether and alcohol the residue is dried in the air bath at 100° to 105° C. in a loosely-closed flask, until the losses in weight are constant. With beers that are very rich in extract, the ash content of the glycerine may be determined and deducted from the total weight.

The methods recently published for the estimation of glycerine by its conversion into carbonic acid by sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash have been utilized for its determination in fermented liquors by Legler1 and promise to prove more expeditious and exact than the old methods.