But, O John, thou lover of a “_cauliflower head!_” art thou aware how this object of thy admiration, and indeed natural property of good beer is produced? No doubt thou wilt be hard of belief in this respect; but I must be candid with thee, and tell thee that the “fine frothy head,” the ne plus ultra of thy admiration and test of good porter, is produced by thy honest friend and crony, the publican, by the simple admixture of the delectable and harmless article “_beer heading_” with the “genuine stuff” he receives from his worthy compeer, the brewer. When thy “gentle friend” observes the frothy property of the beer to be lost by his admixture of the legitimate modicum of small beer or “aqua pura,” molasses, extract of gentian-root and isinglass, (all which ingredients, no doubt, good soul, he adds for thy better health, and to save it from the injurious effects of too strong potations,) he prudently throws in his beer-heading, which is a composition of common green vitriol, or copperas, alum, and salt. The publicans are supplied with this article either by the _regular_ and _accredited_ manufacturer, or they are instructed in its manufacture by those vile and infamous publications in circulation, known by the name of Publicans or Vintners’ Guides, Directors, Friends, &c.—I have carefully gone through those pestiferous books, and examined their farrago of mischievous receipts and instructions for the adulteration and “making up” of wines, spirits, beer, &c. and can safely say that more infernal ingenuity, and a more reckless want of honesty and humanity have never been displayed in the basest concoctions of fraud and villany than is the case in those wretched publications. It is, however, but fair to exempt from this censure a work which has recently appeared, entitled “_Clarke’s Publican and Innkeeper’s Guide, and Wine and Spirit Dealer’s Assistant_;” which, though not entirely exempt from objection, is evidently the production of a skilful, and, what is of greater importance to the public, of an honest man, and possesses the great recommendation of instructing the trade in all the _allowable_ secrets of the craft, without endangering the health and lives of the consumers; while it enables its readers to obtain better and more efficient results by its directions than can possibly be obtained by following the deadly and inefficient receipts of its predecessors. I have now, friend Bull, brought my disclosures respecting thy favourite beverage—thy fondly but mistakenly imagined “_pure_ extract from malt and hops,” to a close; but, shouldst thou still be hard of belief, I recommend thee to put thy tongue into the enchanting cauldron of some brewer-friend of thine; but, remember that I cannot ensure thee that thou will redraw it quite as unaffected or renovated as the tragic poet describes Æson to have sprung from the cauldron of Medea.